Teen Nonprofit Leadership

Communication & Execution Basics (20-Minute Workshop)

Today’s Goal

Learn how to:

  • Take ownership

  • Communicate so things actually move

  • Run your nonprofit in a basic, professional way

Key idea: Passion is great. Execution is what makes impact.

1. Ownership: Who Owns It, Owns It All

Rule #1:
 👉 If it’s yours, you own it from start to finish.

What “ownership” means

If you are responsible for something, you:

  • Follow up without being reminded

  • Coordinate with others

  • Ask for help early

  • Give updates (even when things aren’t done)

⚠️ Being new is not an excuse for dropping responsibility.

Case discussion

If someone was responsible for the library expo, but coordination didn’t happen.

Discussion questions:

  • What should he have done differently?
    What should the team lead have done?

📝 Notes:

✅ Actionable habit

Before the end of every meeting, ask:

“Who owns this, and when is the update?”

2. Communication: Information ≠ Action

Rule #2:
 👉 Good communication = information + clear action request.

Common problem

  • Messages are sent

  • No one responds

  • Everyone assumes someone else will act

Real example

“Paul from the Albany Library notified me of another event STAR can present at. It starts January 11.”

❌ What’s missing?

  • No action

  • No owner

  • No deadline

Better “action-based” message

✅ Example:

“Paul from the Albany Library invited STAR to present at an event starting Jan 11.
Action needed: Should we participate?
Owner: Who will follow up with Paul?
Deadline: Please respond by tonight.”

📝 Rewrite this message with a clear action:

✅ Actionable habit

Every message should answer at least one of these:

  • What do you need?

  • From whom?

  • By when?

3. Running a Nonprofit Like a Real Organization

Rule #3:
 👉 Organizations don’t run on memory—they run on systems.

The 4 basic business practices

1️⃣ Regular Meetings

  • Same time, same cadence (weekly / biweekly)

  • Short agenda

  • Clear outcomes

📝 One thing we can improve in meetings:

2️⃣ Proposals Before Action

Before doing something new, answer:

  • What are we doing?

  • Why does it matter?

  • Who owns it?

  • Timeline?

  • Consider using Google Calendar

📝 A proposal should include:

3️⃣ Decisions (Not “Maybe”)

  • Decide: Yes / No / Later

  • No decision = no progress

📝 A recent situation where we didn’t decide clearly:

4️⃣ Planning Ahead

❌ Last-minute thinking → rushed results
✅ Early planning → better execution

📝 How much earlier can we realistically start next time?

Final Takeaways

Leadership is not your title—it’s how you follow through.
 Communication isn’t what you send—it’s what happens next.

Personal Commitment (Write One)

One thing I will do differently in the next project: