Engine of Impact: Essentials of Strategic Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector

Product Description

We are entering a new era―an era of impact. The largest intergenerational transfer of wealth in history will soon be under way, bringing with it the potential for huge increases in philanthropic funding. Engine of Impact shows how nonprofits can apply the principles of strategic leadership to attract greater financial support and leverage that funding to maximum effect.

As Good to Great author Jim Collins writes in his foreword, this book offers “a detailed roadmap of disciplined thought and action for turning a good nonprofit into one that can achieve great impact at scale.”

William F. Meehan III and Kim Starkey Jonker identify seven essential components of strategic leadership that set high-achieving organizations apart from the rest of the nonprofit sector. Together, these components form an “engine of impact”―a system that organizations must build, tune, and fuel if they hope to make a real difference in the world.

Drawing on decades of teaching, advising, grantmaking, and research, Meehan and Jonker provide an actionable guide that executives, staff, board members, and donors can use to jumpstart their own performance and to achieve extraordinary results for their organization. Along with setting forth best practices using real-world examples, the authors outline common management challenges faced by nonprofits, showing how these challenges differ from those faced by for-profit businesses in important and often-overlooked ways.

By offering crucial insights on the fundamentals of nonprofit management, this book will help leaders equip their organizations to fire on all cylinders and unleash the full potential of the nonprofit sector. Visit www.engineofimpact.org for additional information.

Review

“This book will change most readers. Its style is very direct. It sees the future. It draws on both the classics and the authors’ deep knowledge of our field. It is practical, and it cares.” — Bill Drayton, CEO & Chair ―
Ashoka

“Meehan and Jonker have worked in the sector, studied their history, interviewed key players, and can compare and contrast what’s known about the social sector with what’s known about public agencies and corporate actors. The book is grounded in two careers worth of real work…If you, unlike me, appreciate the efficiency of the business book genre then by all means, read Engine of Impact. If you, like me, find the business section of the bookstore the easiest one to skip past, this is one of the rare books worth stopping for.” — Lucy Bernholz ―
Philanthropy 2173

“Bill Meehan and Kim Jonker have decades of experience in rigorously evaluating what makes organizations operate―or fail to operate―at a high level. In Engine of Impact, they leverage that deep knowledge to create a smart, compelling guide to doing good by leading well.” — Jamie Dimon, Chief Executive Officer ―
JPMorgan Chase

“The social sector has long needed a book like this one, which emphasizes a businesslike approach to doing good at scale. When the bottom line is measured by impact on human lives, the best intentions are never enough. By applying lessons in management excellence, this book will help nonprofits achieve significantly better results.” — Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson ―
BRAC

“In an era when the work of nonprofits is ever more essential, Meehan and Jonker deliver critical insights, strategic guidance, and inspirational lessons from the front lines. Readers will benefit enormously from their candor and clear-headed wisdom. We’re awash in business books, but the nonprofit sector has been wanting for its own evidence-based guide. In Engine of Impact, they have it. I strongly recommend this book for nonprofit leaders, funders, and anyone seeking to optimize humanitarian impact.” — Jacquelline Fuller, President ―
Google.org

“If you’re a nonprofit leader who cares deeply and passionately for the people and causes you serve