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Why every nonprofit needs a theory of change
I may be completely wrong, but I feel like a lot of us in the nonprofit space hear “theory of change” and we nod. “Yes, yes, theory of change! Very important!” If asked, we answer, “oh yes, we have one.” If pressed we might say, “we think the team knows what it is.” But from there, could we really be confident that the team could articulate it or explain how their day-to-day work connects to it? A theory of change so often is part of the nonprofit jargon that we learn in scho
Nahtahna Cabanes
Nov 5, 20254 min read
We’re exhausted. What do we do? Moving from outrage to action.
I could say that I’ve been busy, which is somewhat true. I have been knee-deep in research on the risk factors for gang involvement. But...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Jul 31, 20253 min read
Service as community building, a survival technique.
I don’t know if you saw the video circulating of Levar Burton - famed Roots and Star Trek actor, Reading Rainbow host, Peabody...
Nahtahna Cabanes
May 12, 20253 min read
What a year in the psych emergency room taught me about handling crisis.
In 2011, as part of my first-year placement as a social work student, I spent time in a psychiatric facility.
Nahtahna Cabanes
Mar 11, 20254 min read
Nonprofit problem-solving, getting to the "rat" of the issue.
Just before Thanksgiving, my dishwasher stopped working. Well, to be precise, it stopped stopping. One evening I set it, it ran past the...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Jan 4, 20253 min read
Strengthening nonprofits for an uncertain future - Lessons from the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, the strongest part of the town was its castle- often built atop the highest point of town and fortified by thick...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Nov 18, 20242 min read
Where there is goodwill, anything is possible.
For the past month I have been traveling through Catalunya. I say Catalunya instead of Spain because in many of the areas here, the...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Oct 6, 20244 min read
Driving forces: three keys to unlocking the nonprofit workforce challenge.
To solve a current crisis, it may serve us to heed words of wisdom from the past. In Daniel Pink’s popular 2009 TED Talk (at last count...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Aug 25, 20244 min read
From burnout to bow out: uncovering the nonprofit retention crisis
Experts advise that all new business ventures should begin with a "customer discovery" stage. The customer discovery stage seeks to...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Jul 6, 20243 min read
My 7 cardinal rules for data collection
In the data world, there is a term called “dirty data,” which is a funny phrase to me because it feels like it should be the title of a...
Nahtahna Cabanes
May 29, 20244 min read
My journey from Algebra dunce to data activist
The irony is not lost on me that the girl who had to take Algebra four times has now become a go-to data person. To delve into the...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Apr 11, 20243 min read
Annual Reports - Do they matter?
In my endeavors to identify ways to maximize efforts and outcomes for small nonprofits, I found myself exploring the value of annual...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Mar 3, 20243 min read
Challenging the status quo in Corporate Social Responsibility…again
What I’m about to say isn’t new. In fact, it’s been written about again and again. So why am I bothering to write about what’s already...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Feb 13, 20243 min read
How the government grant process unintentionally shuts out small nonprofits.
Last week I wrote a grant application for a small nonprofit that serves people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. The experience...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Jan 30, 20243 min read
Congratulations, You’ve been funded! Now what?
I was once brought in to a nonprofit to turn around a failing program. This program accounted for a third of the nonprofit’s budget and...
Nahtahna Cabanes
Jan 20, 20243 min read
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