Last week William Foster, Executive Director of the Jacobson Family Foundation and former Bridgespan Group Senior Partner, spoke about philanthropic and executive leadership in bringing nonprofits to scale at an event sponsored by UpStart Bay Area, the Foundation Center, and the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.

Foster raised a number of important ideas for nonprofit leaders and funders to consider, some of which Ill explore here.

Scaling growth, whether in nonprofits or social benefit enterprises, continues to generate attention and buzz. The underlying concepts behind scaling growth are not new. But scaling growth has gained further traction in recent years as the philanthropic and social investment sectors have increased their focus on improving and documenting organizational effectiveness, developed new collaborative funding models to address systemic problems, and supported individual donors interests in maximizing the impact of their charitable giving and social investments. Efforts like the Social Capital Markets conference (SOCAP), the Social Impact Exchange, the Social Innovation Fund, Investing in Innovation (i3), and Social Impact Bonds, all touch on or extend the parameters of the scaling growth dialogue.

An upcoming event (link) on scaling growth of nonprofits with William Foster, Bridgespan Group Senior Partner and incoming Executive Director of the Jacobson Family Foundation, continues this dialogue. Sponsored by UpStart Bay Area, the Foundation Center, and the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, this event will build on Fosters decade of primary research and client work. The discussions will focus on what nonprofits need to do in order to achieve scale, how their program models relate to their funding models, and philanthropy's central role and common failings in helping nonprofits scale.

I recently took a walk in the woods with two women, one twenty years older than I am, the other forty years older, to discuss the challenges of aging. We paused when we saw white-tailed deer hop-freeze beside us in the thicket. We shared stories about women in our lives, and how they navigated the aging process. We talked about our own changing bodies, changing minds, changing children, changing communities. We turned our faces towards the sunshine and stopped in our tracks when someone shared a particularly resonant insight, as we let it wash over us.

The context was The Conversation, which brings together Jewish professionals from diverse geographical and experiential backgrounds, to talk about the future of American Jewish life. The format was Open Space, which allows the participants to drive the direction and nature of the conversations, rendering the work of the organizers swan-like; they appear to be gliding seemingly seamlessly upon the water, as their feet paddle incessantly beneath the surface as they strive to create a container for growth. My small group of three took advantage of the flexible rules (you need only two people to have a conversation) and took literally the idea of open space, bringing our feet and the wide sky into our discussion about Jewish wisdom and spiritual guidance around aging.

At the core of leadership is the ability to assess a situation, name its challenges, imagine new possibilities, and attempt [...]

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the good fortune of spending time with two of our board members thinking about the direction of Moishe House as well as meeting with several of our major funding partners.

I noticed after the first day that a lot of the conversation revolved around how Moishe House is solving problems in the Jewish community, which is not the first time I have engaged in this type of conversation. For example, what are we doing to solve the problems of Synagogue membership, Federation involvement, Jewish families and lack of Jewish knowledge and/or leadership for young adults in their 20s? I have to admit that, through these conversations, I get caught thinking in these terms what are we doing to solve the problems that the Jewish community and funders see as critical?

On June 30 I retired as Founder and Executive Director of a non-profit that I began in 2003. At the end of many ups and downs, Ive turned over an organization that has global impact, enough operating capital for six months, and an efficient and economical delivery system.

In just one month the new Executive Director has improved the organization. She more than doubled the size of the Board, with a concomitant doubling of the Boards effectiveness, prestige, and resourcing. She has correctly rescheduled the launch of some new programs, and successfully launched new programming in a related but unserved demographic. So far, our second succession plan is working. Second because we tried once before; our first attempt was thwarted by unforeseen external events.  Heres what we learned:

JDub has done it right. They’ve delivered impact. Diversified their revenue base. Enacted their mission and driven toward their vision. Made a huge, positive change in Jewish cultural life.

From this perspective, we can look at JDub’s short life and say:  "mission accomplished."

It is a fitting time in the Jewish calendar for Jewish start-ups to begin or renew their journey with UpStart. As a people, we are counting the days from Passover to Shavuot, from the Exodus from Egypt to the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. This period of time is also an agricultural period, during which time the wheat was harvested, and the first fruits gathered, precious offerings to be brought to the Temple. It is a time of reflection and growth, which results in the gift of something new to the community.

In this weeks Corner Office interview in The New York Times Sunday business section, Romil Bahl, President & CEO of PRGX, a data mining firm, talks about the importance of creating a culture in which everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas. He says:

The best idea can come from anyone, and lets open up our minds to getting thinking from cross-functional areas. Thats something that comes from that notion of equality and diversity you have to get good people around you and then make sure they feel comfortable putting their ideas out there, because somewhere in there, theres a gem.

Easier said than done. What happens when that good idea is hard to hear, and even harder to implement? What if the gem challenges your organizations very foundations, or your assumptions about the purpose of your work, or even your self worth? What if it comes from the most unlikely of sources, at the most unlikely of times?

Purims upon us again, and its texts hint that its worth looking for those gems, listening to the diverse voices that might speak them, and optimistically celebrating the mayhem that may emerge when changes occur.

Innovation has certainly been a very popular buzzword over the past two years. Not just in the Jewish community, but in every aspect of promotion and advertising, we continue to hear about the benefits of innovation. Ranging from car commercials to the Presidents State of the Union, innovation is clearly seen as a huge benefit. The overarching question, however, is, What is innovation? Although I didnt think about being an innovator when I created Moishe House, I have since sat on many panels discussing the topic and we have even received generous funding targeted towards innovation. So, how can innovation be pushed and nurtured?