I’ve spent my career working in small nonprofits—the kind powered by passion, volunteers, and a belief that the work matters. I’ve also spent enough time in leadership to know that good intentions alone don’t keep the lights on.

I’ve helped run organizations that were thriving—and others that were quietly breaking. I’ve seen what happens when planning is skipped, when cash flow is misunderstood, when boards avoid hard conversations, and when leaders are asked to do everything with almost nothing.

I’ve also made my own mistakes. Big ones.

Some of them cost time, money, momentum, and trust.

Go Do Some Good exists because I don’t think we talk honestly enough about what it actually takes to run a nonprofit—especially a small, community-based one. Too much advice is aspirational, theoretical, or built for organizations with full staffs and deep reserves. That’s not the reality for many nonprofits.

Here, I write about:

• failure and what it teaches us

• money, budgeting, and sustainability

• strategy, planning, and capacity

• boards, governance, and leadership dynamics

• the uncomfortable decisions we avoid—and why that hurts us

This isn’t about shaming nonprofits for struggling. It’s about giving leaders permission to be realistic, ask better questions, and build organizations that can survive long enough to fulfill their mission.

I believe nonprofits are businesses—with a social purpose—and that acknowledging that doesn’t make the work less meaningful. It makes it possible.

My focus is on small nonprofits because that’s where I’ve spent my career, and that’s where the stakes are often the highest. When small organizations fail, communities feel it immediately.

If you’re here because you care deeply about your mission—but you’re also worried about sustainability, burnout, or whether your organization can survive the next few years—you’re not alone.

This space is for thinking clearly, planning carefully, and doing good work that lasts.

Now go do some good!

~ Kristin