Author name: TNN

by Angela Meekins, West Tennessee Regional Manager, Tennessee Nonprofit Network First, I am fine! Just a banged-up leg on the mend. But the story of how it happened—and what I felt afterward—made me stop in my tracks and think about something that matters to every nonprofit: how we take care of our employees. It was […]

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network Nonprofit and philanthropic leaders from across Tennessee recently came together in Nashville for a pre-conference roundtable to address the pressing challenges facing the state’s nonprofit sector. Co-hosted by Tennessee Nonprofit Network and the Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund and facilitated by staff at Elevate Consulting,

From the staff, Board of Directors, and Community Action Council of Tennessee Nonprofit Network It’s been a tough few weeks in our country. We’re all feeling the tension in the air, the weight of the news, and the further division that recent events have caused across our country. In the nonprofit sector, we are on

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network The nonprofit workplace can be a crucible of ambition, potlucks, and the subtle, lingering scent of suspicion. We’ve all been there. You’re in a meeting, your supervisor gives you a look that could curdle milk, and a cold dread settles in your stomach. They’re out

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network When Melissa and I sat down for coffee, she was brimming with a familiar brand of resolve—the kind that fuels a good leader when their back is against the wall. Her nonprofit, a vital lifeline providing housing to victims of domestic violence, was facing a

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network Welcome, friends, to the new era of the nonprofit sector, where the phrase “business as usual” is a relic of a bygone time, a quaint notion whispered by those who still think a physical Rolodex is a viable contact management system. We’ve entered a landscape

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In the high-stakes, caffeine-fueled world of nonprofit development, stories of near-misses and epic fails are whispered like ghost stories around a campfire. We laugh, we cringe, and we learn. One such tale involves a development director named Brenda, a true hero of the small-but-mighty nonprofit

Transform Your Nonprofit’s Future! Ready to supercharge your board’s effectiveness and create a powerhouse of collaboration? Tennessee Nonprofit Network, in partnership with the Community Foundation of West Tennessee, is thrilled to launch the BoardBuild Board Governance Cohort. This is a four-month journey designed to give CEOs like you the tools to lead with confidence and

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network I once had lunch with a new nonprofit CEO at the recommendation of a well-meaning foundation leader. I’ll admit, the moment he sat down, I was immediately put off. His demeanor, what he said, and especially how he said it, all screamed “I am very

by Dr. Kevin Dean, President & CEO, Tennessee Nonprofit Network In family therapy circles, there’s a well-worn tale about the “Family System.” It’s a complex, often bizarre, contraption of emotions, unspoken rules, and deeply ingrained habits. In this system, one child, the scapegoat, is unknowingly designated to carry the burden of the family’s unaddressed problems.