Agents of Nonprofit Nonprofit Innovation and Execution with Michelle Flores Vryn
In this episode of Agents of Nonprofit, I talk to Michelle Flores Vryn, the Chief Development Officer of OneStar. She has worked in almost every area of development: major gifts, institutional giving, membership, capital campaigns, consulting, special events, and annual giving.
Before joining OneStar as the Chief Development Officer, she worked in international fundraising, led the communications and development team at a nature center in Houston and, as a board member, helped launch Exploration Green—a 200-acre green space for conservation, recreation, and flood detention in Greater Houston.
Michelle is passionate about mentoring Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) nonprofit professionals and creating better workplace cultures where they can thrive. She helped form the inaugural Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee for EarthShare of Texas and is active on committees with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Global and the Donor Participation Project.
The topics we cover:
- What innovation means in the nonprofit space
- Ideas are cheap; execution is costly. The need for emphasis on idea execution, not just idea generation, and how to encourage nonprofits to implement ideas.
- How gamification, badges, and incentives could promote friendly competition and impact of nonprofits
- Better to try and fail than not try at all. How to get nonprofits more comfortable around risk and recognize that failure is part of success.
- Creating psychologically safe teams in the nonprofit world.
- How to measure success of an idea and the indicators that tell whether an idea is a success or failure
- When to seek external advice and why nonprofits need to listen more to internal staff over external advisors and consultants
To learn more and connect with Michele Flores Vryn:
Michelle Flores Vryn LinkedIn
Resources mentioned:
How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business, by Douglas W. Hubbard - https://www.amazon.ca/How-Measure-Anything-Intangibles-Business/dp/1118539273
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