By Rachel Sams
This year, nonprofits faced new and ongoing challenges, from international conflict to inflation to rising demand for services. We worked with clients to meet these challenges and many more while staying true to their missions and strategizing for the future. Risk leaders found this year that it was important to have a plan, but even more important to adjust and readjust in response to rapid change. We provided members, readers, and clients with resources and tips on how to manage risk in a changing world. Here’s a look back at our most-read articles of the past year, based on our RISK eNews open rates. Review these articles to brush up on your risk management skills and enter the new year ready for anything.
#1 – With Regret
If you’re a risk leader who has adopted a ‘no regrets’ mantra for your life or life’s work, you might regret buying Daniel Pink’s book The Power of Regret. But if you’re a risk leader who relishes the contrary view, the unworn path, or simply changing your mind after acquiring new insights, The Power of Regret might lead you to think more deeply about regret’s role in life and risk practice.
#2 – NRMC Launches Website with Free HR and Risk Resources for Nonprofits
NRMC has launched a new website full of free resources to help nonprofit organizations build strong, supportive relationships with employees and manage the risk issues they face. The site was made possible by a $90,000 grant from the Fidelity Charitable Trustees’ Initiative. Insights NRMC gathered from focus groups and beta testing by nonprofit leaders shaped the design and content of the new website.
#3 – Risk Management Should Unite Your Team, Not Divide It
At the final day of NRMC’s 2022 Virtual Risk Summit, which focused on enterprise and advanced risk management, the risk function emerged as a way to help different parts of a nonprofit organization speak a shared language and see each other’s points of view.
#4 – How to Take More Risks in Your Leadership
Three years into a cycle of endless grief and disruption, any nonprofit leader must focus on their team members first, the work second. Here are some ways nonprofit and risk leaders can build trust with their teams in challenging times.
#5 – For Granted
Risk leaders around the globe continue to champion building resilient systems, support, and strategies. These leaders know that accurately forecasting the future is futile; being better prepared for a range of outcomes is reasonable and worthwhile. To identify resilience gaps and opportunities, reflect on the people and things you may be taking for granted.
#6 – Call It What It Is: Organizational Trauma Isn’t Burnout
Organizational trauma harms both individuals and the collective. Nonprofits can unwind and address the patterns of organizational trauma. It may require a change from the approach that brought the organization this far. But the principles mission-driven organizations bring to their work can help them address harmful patterns that develop in their workplaces.
#7 – Four Simple Steps to Improve Cyberhygiene at Your Nonprofit
Many nonprofits possess huge amounts of valuable data. Plenty of hackers would love to get their hands on the personal data of your employees and the individuals your organization serves, as well as confidential information pertinent to your operations. While a data privacy breach can happen to even the best-protected organization, these steps will help your nonprofit become a less vulnerable target.
#8 – You’re Focused on the Wrong Thing Right Now
Do you frequently struggle to focus on one topic, task, or conversation? Do you sometimes ‘zone out’ during meetings or conversations by checking email? All of these human tendencies inhibit our ability to assess and manage risk.
#9 – Uncertain, but Unafraid
Anyone can pretend to conquer uncertainty by making bold, unfounded predictions. The true value of a risk management function or risk capability is to help a mission cope and thrive with inevitable uncertainty.
#10 – How to Build and Fortify a Critical Incident Process
Nonprofit teams that want to launch or evolve incident reporting must consider a variety of issues, from how to track incidents to how to foster a culture of trust. Not sure where to start on your journey? Here’s a road map.
Rachel Sams is a Consultant and Staff Writer at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She’s wowed by the creative ways nonprofits met their challenges in 2022, and is eager to see how they continue to evolve and innovate in 2023. Reach her with your ideas and questions about tackling 2023 risks at rachel@nonprofitrisk.org or 505-456-4045.