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

"As a philanthropist constantly grappling with how I can achieve more impact, I found Jonker and Meehan's insights to be provocative and engaging. They go beyond the typical rhetoric regarding 'what the nonprofit sector can learn from business' and give these organizations their due-with great advice. Nonprofits are dealing with often intractable societal problems of enormous complexity and uncertain revenue streams. These authors appreciate the weight on leaders' shoulders, while offering a detailed roadmap to maximize their impact. A must-read." -- Jeff Raikes, Co-Founder, Raikes Foundation, former CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Chairman * Stanford Board of Trustees * "Every engine needs a tune up from time to time. Even the strongest organizations will find value in Engine of Impact. With inspiring stories and cogent frameworks, Meehan and Jonker show us that social change is an art and a science that demands rigor and spirit. With guidance like this, we can find a path to a better world." -- Jacob Harold, President and CEO * GuideStar * "Engine of Impact is an indispensable tool for today's nonprofit leader. Drawing on their considerable expertise and insight, Meehan and Jonker provide a framework for dedicated executives who are committed to building organizations that are worthy of their missions." -- Matt Bannick, Managing Partner * Omidyar Network * "[This book] has the potential to revolutionize leadership for all nonprofit stakeholders, and thus increase impact for the clients and communities these nonprofit organizations serve." -- Anne C. Briggs * Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations * "Hard-hitting and willing to express decisive, experience-based views, this book is sophisticated, evidence- and ideas-based. A 'how and when to do it' guidebook, it is also a pleasure to read." -- Joel Fleishman * Professor of Law and Public Policy Sciences, Duke University, co-author, Give Smart * "If you're a nonprofit leader who cares deeply and passionately for the people and causes you serve, you will love Engine of Impact. Bill Meehan and Kim Jonker are quintessential big thinkers, but their insights do not come from 'on high.' This is practical wisdom at a human scale, reinforced with great examples. You will come away from this book with real optimism that we are, indeed, entering a new era of impact." -- Mario Morino * Chairman, Morino Institute, Co-founder, Venture Philanthropy Partners, and author, Leap of Reason * "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 * "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 * "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 * "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 * "Building and leading great non-profits is a socially vital-but managerially daunting-endeavor. Enter Bill Meehan and Kim Jonker who, in simple and lively prose, draw upon deep research and lived experience to deliver the essential field guide on how to do it right. All of us-donors, volunteers, board members, executives, citizens-are in their debt." -- Dominic Barton, Global Managing Partner * McKinsey & Company * "Engine of Impact is an essential handbook for every aspiring social sector leader and philanthropist. Creating social impact is an art and a science, requiring investments of heart and mind. Meehan and Jonker's outstanding analysis combines the intense rigor of business strategy with the critical soft skills of courage and creativity to equip us with the toolkit necessary for transformative social change." -- Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen * Founder, laaf.org, author, Giving 2.0, Founder and Chairman, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and Founder and Chairman, Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund * "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 * "No one knows the not-for-profit sector and its most effective leaders better than Meehan and Jonker. Their book is a master class on what it takes to drive meaningful impact. In tackling the fundamental questions-strategy and focus, discipline and accountability-the authors get to the heart of what every mission-focused leader needs to understand. Engine of Impact is a book to read and re-read-the definitive guide for all who aspire to lead high performing and high achieving organizations." -- Sally Osberg * President and CEO, Skoll Foundation, and co-author of Getting Beyond Better * "Bill Meehan and Kim Jonker have written a playbook for those who are not satisfied with doing some good, but want to do as much good as they can with their time and talents. This is a vital topic, and I'm excited to see how the next generation of nonprofit leaders applies the ideas and insights in this book." -- Cari Tuna, President, Good Ventures, and Managing Director * Open Philanthropy Project *

Inspired by a popular series of articles in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fundamentals, Not Fads teaches the social sector how to buck passing trends by using wise and time-tested strategies that foster investment and impact.