Center for Nonprofit Leadership
Helping nonprofit leaders do better at doing good

Meet Faculty Member Jon O'Brien

The Center for Nonprofit Leadership is thrilled to offer a lenghty roster of high-caliber workshop leaders. We invite you to learn more about our staff with monthly profiles. This month we connect with faculty member Jonathan O'Brien, Director of Thinkology at Sandy Point INK and author of "Right Before You Write".


How long have you been a member of the Center for Nonprofit Leadership faculty?

11 years.

What do you enjoy most about serving as faculty?

Empowering good-heart nonprofit types with big hearts, but not necessarily the resources or experience, to compete, and be seriously considered for, funding to address needs in our community in the most creative, efficient and economical way possible.

What workshops are you teaching? 

One that's back by popular demand - Second Annual: Final Draft to Funding

What can attendees expect? 

Because it's designed for more experience nonprofit leaders and grant writers, they can expect to:  work hard at re-thinking and re-tooling their past approaches, to be challenged and become fiercely competitive, and to have a brutally honest appraisal of their work constructively critiqued by those who award grants for a living.  And they can expect to walk out with a better, more fundable, LOI or small application than they had when they walked in.

Why should people register to attend?

Because the grant-giving landscape is drastically changing.  Applicants are expected to provide far more details planning and sophisticated requests — but at the same time they are required to be more concise.  

Rarely do we program designers and grant writers receive honest/accurate feedback about why we didn't get funded, how we compare to other applicants,  and what could be improved.  This is one of only a few opportunities to do this face-to-face with foundation/funding agency representatives.

How would you describe your teaching/facilitation style? 

Oh boy...well, if I have a style I guess it would be highly interactive, fast-paced, hopefully atypical of any other workshop offered, brutally honest, intense, results-driven and, oh yeah, I believe teaching is a lot like doing stand-up so I try to make it as fun and funny as possible. The day I stop having fun teaching is the day I stop teaching.

What do your students say about you?

Do you mean in the subpoenas or what they write on the bathroom walls?  Oh, you mean about my workshops.  

Well, my primary goal is for them to say, "I can do this."  I hope I make what is sometimes a daunting, complex process accessible and doable.  And I hope they say that I am available to help them however much they need after the workshop.  That's because intellectually grasping these new approaches is one thing, but applying them is totally different and I want to help them through that process as well.  

Sometimes, they also have the audacity to comment, sometimes negatively, about my fashion choices...but can I help it if they have no taste?!

Anything additional you would like to add?

Just an appeal for people to participate.  You should never be too busy for a chance to make more money for your cause, right? This is truly one-of-a-kind workshop based on the expressed needs of participants.  The only way we can continue to offer these special sessions and continue to have a leadership support center is if attendance is good.

Oh, and you do know don't you that most of us faculty are volunteers?  We don't get paid.  Our only interest is to improve the skills of those who are improving the lives of others - and do some good.

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nonprofit@callutheran.edu
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