Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast: Mini-Series - How To Diagnose Your Nonprofit's Design Deficit Hosted by Brooke Richie-Babbage | Released on May 20, 2025
Introduction
In the latest episode of the Nonprofit Mastermind Podcast, host Brooke Richie-Babbage delves into the critical topic of diagnosing design deficits within nonprofit organizations. Building upon insights from the previous episode, Brooke emphasizes that operational chaos stems not from personal shortcomings but from structural design issues. This episode serves as a guide for nonprofit leaders to identify and address these underlying design problems to foster resilient and high-impact organizations.
Overview of the Strong Framework
Brooke introduces her proprietary S.T.R.O.N.G. Framework, an acronym representing six core pillars essential for a healthy and resilient nonprofit organization. This framework enables leaders to move beyond reacting to surface-level symptoms and focus on redesigning systems to strengthen their organizations fundamentally.
“Your operational chaos is not a you problem, it's a design problem.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [00:00]
The Strong Framework helps organizations pinpoint where their design deficits lie, allowing for intentional and strategic solutions rather than attempting to fix everything simultaneously.
The Six Pillars of the Strong Framework
1. Strategic Clarity
Definition: Acts as the organization’s North Star, ensuring alignment with external stakeholders and guiding internal operations.
Key Indicators of a Deficit:
- Difficulty in securing support from funders and donors.
- Challenges in crafting manageable annual work plans.
Audit Questions:
- Do we have a crystal clear North Star guiding our actions?
- Is our vision clear and shared across the organization?
- Is our progress measurable and actionable?
“Do we have A crystal clear North Star that's guiding everything we do.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified]
2. Team and Ownership
Definition: Focuses on how work is led and owned within the organization, beyond just the organizational chart or employee manuals.
Key Indicators of a Deficit:
- Overlapping lines of accountability.
- Excessive decision-making centralized on leadership.
Audit Questions:
- Do we have the right roles to support our strategic goals?
- Are team members empowered with clear scope of authority and autonomy?
- Do we have systems that facilitate information sharing and decision-making?
“You have people implicitly or explicitly looking at one another and saying, oh, I thought you had that.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified]
3. Resources
Definition: Pertains to the funding and financial health of the organization, focusing on how money is raised, organized, and sustained.
Key Indicators of a Deficit:
- Operating in a feast or famine financial mode.
- Inability to transition from chasing to attracting funds.
Audit Questions:
- Do we have a diversified funding model that supports growth?
- Is there a clear, measurable definition of financial health?
- Are the team and board aligned with financial health indicators?
4. Operations
Definition: The operational backbone, including technology, systems, tools, and infrastructure that support the organization's functions.
Key Indicators of a Deficit:
- Constantly reinventing core functions like volunteer onboarding or donor recognition.
- Excessive manual tasks hindering productivity.
Audit Questions:
- Are there areas where friction can be reduced through better systems or automation?
- Do our current tools and systems integrate seamlessly to support scalability?
“Fixing the wing and then the door fell off and you got to fix that.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified]
5. Networked Capacity
Definition: Utilizes the broader ecosystem of supporters, advisors, partners, and ambassadors to enhance the organization's capacity and impact.
Key Indicators of a Deficit:
- Over-reliance on internal resources without leveraging external support.
- Limited engagement with potential partners and advisors.
Audit Questions:
- Are we fully leveraging our ecosystem of supporters and partners?
- How can we expand our network to support our mission more effectively?
“Are we leveraging our full ecosystem or are we carrying too much of our mission and our work alone, institutionally alone?”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified]
6. Governance
Definition: The structures and processes that oversee the organization's work, ensuring clarity and accountability at the board level.
Key Indicators of a Deficit:
- Boards that either overreach, micromanage, or disengage.
- Misalignment between board members’ expertise and the organization's strategic priorities.
Audit Questions:
- Do we have clear structures to ensure accountability for our board?
- Are our board members aligned with and capable of supporting our strategic goals?
“Do we have the right roles? Do we have the people on our board that are aligned with, and set up to help us achieve our strategic priorities?”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified]
Key Insights and Lessons
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Continuous Growth: Brooke shares a story highlighting that organizational growth is an ongoing process. Leaders often think that once a particular aspect (like team design) is addressed, they can move on, only to find new challenges as the organization evolves.
“There is always a next step in your growth. There is always a next thing to diagnose and shift and sustain.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified] -
Leadership Reframe: Leaders should shift from trying to keep all aspects of the organization perfectly aligned at all times to strategically prioritizing and letting go of less critical elements. This approach reduces overwhelm and fosters a more sustainable growth trajectory.
“Part of the skill of leadership is knowing which balls to strategically let drop and when to pick them back up.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Timestamp not specified] -
Diagnostic Tools: Brooke offers practical tools for leaders to assess their organizations, including her Strong Assessment, available by texting the word "strong" to 66866. She emphasizes that diagnosis is the first step toward intentional redesign, not a means to fix everything at once.
Conclusion
Brooke Richie-Babbage concludes the episode by reinforcing that design deficits are structural issues that, once identified, can be systematically addressed to enhance organizational strength and impact. She encourages leaders to utilize the Strong Framework to diagnose their nonprofit's design challenges and embark on a path of strategic redesign.
“Your problems are not random. They're structural. And once you know where your deficits are, then you can begin to redesign what's underneath them.”
— Brooke Richie-Babbage [Closing Remarks]
In the upcoming episode, Brooke promises to provide a straightforward process for taking the next steps after diagnosing design deficits, focusing on the "one shift method" for effective redesign and rebuilding.
Additional Resources:
- Strong Assessment: Text "strong" to 66866 for a free diagnostic tool.
- Next Level Nonprofit Application: Apply at nextlevelnonprofit.com
- Newsletter: Sign up for additional insights by texting "impact" to 66866.
- Podcast Links and Resources: Visit brookerichybabbage.com for more information.
If you found this summary helpful, consider listening to the full episode for a deeper dive into diagnosing and addressing your nonprofit's design deficits.