Discovering Nonprofit Environmental Dynamics

About this learning path…

Environmental context is the external environment within which our nonprofit operates, and this course emphasizes strength in understanding where we fit in and how to maximize our role in the bigger community. While “environmental context’ sounds a bit technical, it’s actually a broad term that simply means understanding where our organization fits into the bigger picture. This bigger picture might include our local community, the landscape of our particular mission’s relevance to current affairs, and even our place in time. For that final reason, environmental context has a lot of connection with the concept of sustainability, and how our nonprofit will last over time.

Nonprofit environmental context refers to the external factors and conditions that impact an organization’s operations and strategic decisions. These factors can include economic conditions, regulatory changes, cultural trends, and political climates. Understanding the environmental context is crucial for nonprofits as it enables them to anticipate and adapt to changes, identify opportunities and threats, and create strategies that are resilient and responsive. Developing skills in environmental scanning and analysis helps organizations remain relevant and effective, ensuring that they can continue to serve their communities efficiently even in times of uncertainty.

What You’ll Learn…

• The three levels of the nonprofit environment: micro, meso, and macro.

• How your environmental context can inform each aspect of the planning process.

• The impact of environmental context on nonprofit sustainability and spotting a nonprofit starvation cycle.

• A three-part strategic planning framework that maps to environmental levels and determines control.

• Four key leadership behaviors that will build an understanding of your environmental context.

• How SWOT, PEST, and DIME frameworks can help us harness community-based evidence.

• Using SWOT “pairings” to develop personal and institutional goals that will also help us seek out missing data.

• The natural difficulties we face in trying to understand our nonprofit’s environment, and several antidotes to these.

Who is this learning path for?

If you’re interested in understanding the forces at play in your nonprofit’s mission success, while also learning the leadership styles in nonprofit organizations that work, then this course is for you!

This course explores the following Korn Ferry competencies:

• Strategic Mindset

• Nimble Learning

• Global Perspective

• Managing Ambiguity

• Business Insight

• Managing Complexity

Who this course is for:

• If you’re interested in understanding the forces at play in your nonprofit’s mission success, while also learning the leadership styles in nonprofit organizations that work, then this series is for you!