Ready to Make a Difference???

Sometimes social entrepreneurship can seem scary. You might think you're the only person who cares about this particular thing or who has an answer to a problem that needs to be solved.

But are you really READY to make a difference?

In this week's read, we explore what readiness means and how you can determine if you are really ready for what it takes to make the impact you want to make. This post was inspired by a few of my clients who have moved from the ideation to the implementation phase of their work and maybe didn't appreciate the concept of readiness as they could have.

I hope this helps you take a serious peek at how ready you are to carry out your purpose-driven mission.

Ready to Do What It Takes?

Readiness goes beyond simply meeting the eligibility criteria for a grant; it encompasses the capacity of your organization to effectively carry out the work required to make an impact.

Being ready involves assessing the knowledge, skills, and experience your organization brings to the table, as well as leveraging prior strategies and successes.

So you may be asking yourself a key question:

What Does It Take To Be Ready?

There are two levels of readiness, organizational readiness and personal-professional readiness. As an impact-driven organization, readiness involves:

• Having the necessary infrastructure, resources, and systems in place to get to the outcomes you want to reach.
• Establishing a clear vision that is supported by your organization's strategies and activities.
• Developing and retaining the talent and human capital to create lasting impact.

How Can I Uplevel My Impact as a Professional?

As an impact professional who wants to make a difference, you may need to ask yourself "Am I really ready to do what it takes to maximize the impact I can make?"

Individual readiness includes additional personal considerations(especially if you're in a leadership position within your organization).

• The right mindset to create or participate in growing effective strategies.
• The ability to let go of things that are not helping to reach the desired outcomes or that do not support the vision.
• Connectivity with your team or partners to get support when needed.
• A focus on your own well-being so you can show up and serve others.

Sometimes we can be ready as an organization but we may find that the people inside our organization cannot engage in the self-work necessary to make an impact. There are also organizations that don't invest in the culture and workforce enough to create an environment that is full of thriving people AND thriving work.

Many organizations struggle with staff attrition and consistently getting to outcomes because organizational and personal-professional readiness are not even on the radar. Instead, the work is done without consideration about how to consistently get the desired transformation.

If you're working in an impact-driven organization you can help bring in these types of principles through formal review processes, new project planning cycles, and the annual budget development cycle. These are key processes that align with both personal and organizational readiness.

??How Can My Organization Be Implementation Ready?

Beyond being ready to apply for grants, your organization must be ready to do the work. Being ready to implement includes being ready for common pitfalls or issues that arise during the implementation phase.

If you aren't prepared for these things to happen... definitely get ready! Common issues in implementation include:

• Difficulty hiring
• Contracting delays
• Partnership problems
• Staff retention issues
• Under expenditure
• Over expenditure

If you're not ready for these challenges, it could be very complicated to overcome them. I've supported lots of grantees and clients through conversations about how to navigate these difficult situations and move forward despite difficulties.

The key is to keep the right mindset that invites you and your team to explore the solutions around you. Once you identify solutions, choose the one that will be most supportive of your movement forward.

As an organization, you can get ready for challenges by staying flexible and looking for solutions that help you get the same (or better) outcome but with an altered approach.

As a change-maker or leader, you can help your organization navigate change and challenges by innovating, presenting alternative options for implementation, and remaining solution-focused. You don't have to single-handedly solve the problem, but you can remain in mind space and practice that contributes rather than hinders the development of a suitable solution.

What More Can My Organization Do To Be Ready?

When I work with clients I usually ask them one question to kick off the readiness conversation:

"If I gave you a million-dollar grant right now, would you know exactly what to do with it down to the activity and every dollar you intend to spend?"

This usually starts the conversation with a yes, no, or a long explanation of what the client wants to do and how much money they need to get there.

Readiness isn't always about being ready to spend a million dollars. It's about scaling the organization's ability to reach the number of clients and provide the number of services necessary for change. That typically requires a lot of money. Maybe way more than a million dollars.

To help clients assess their readiness, I check on three aspects of the organization's work first:

• Financial
• Organizational Required Business Documents
• Human Resources Practices

Many funders will include requirements in their grant applications that address these areas. When you're getting ready to do the work, it's helpful to break readiness down into categories that you can map back to job roles and organizational functions. That way, if you find something that needs to be fixed you can address it with the appropriate person or process.

If you're looking for a way to assess your organization's readiness, check out my new FREE Impact Ready Checklist --> You can grab it here.

What More Can I Do To Be Ready? ??

As I said before, making a difference is both an individual and an organizational pursuit for many changemakers. You can check out Rick Ornelas as he explains how following his passion changed his life and perspective on his professional pursuits.

The cool thing about being an impact-driving professional is that when you show up to work every day you have the potential to change the world and change lives.

Sometimes it might get messy and take you way outside your comfort zone. But you can always take the steps necessary to be prepared for the road ahead.

Remember, by simply showing up, following your passion, and doing good work with solid core values... amazing things happen.

Sustainability is a long road and it starts with being prepared to do the work.

Social Impact Level Up Podcast Recent Episodes

If you're still wondering if you're alone in this social entrepreneurship game- check out these recent episodes where collective members share some vulnerable moments.

From the time when Stephanie Malon-Rufi shared her vulnerable moments putting herself out there as an entrepreneur to Kyle Sullivan's journey to becoming a successful coach.

Each of these episodes digs deep into the personal and professional mindset social entrepreneurs need to succeed and just start making an impact.

Get Out There & Make an Impact with Stephanie Malon-Rufi ?

Stephanie highlighted the growing importance of aligning business values with social impact in response to changing consumer expectations, especially among younger generations. She shared valuable advice for small business owners looking to integrate social impact into their business model, emphasizing the significance of taking the time to envision how their business can contribute positively to society. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

Unleashing Success: Maximizing Your Time to ?? Build Stronger Relationships - Kyle Sullivan

?Kyle's journey from hardship to ministry to becoming a renowned life coach has given him unique insights into achieving personal growth. In this episode, he shares his wisdom on a subject that affects us all: setting boundaries to amplify the quality of our relationships. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

Make sure you check out some other episodes ?? and follow us on your favorite podcast platform!

Attention Social Business Owners: Get Your CSR in Order ASAP!

Register today for a FREE workshop where I'll show you 4 easy things you can do right now to spark your impact business success!

More aligned clients, more helping who you want to help, save time with a strategy that works!

Join me on October 3rd for this virtual event hosted by the Maryland Women's Business Center --> Register today, space is limited.

Can't wait to Connect!??

Hey there! I know life gets busy for us do-gooders. That's why it's important to stay connected. This month I'm bringing back Social Impact Networking.

?? Stay tuned for the next audio event.

?? Make sure you follow my profile and ring my bell so you don't miss the deets!

???? Follow The Social Impact Level Up Podcast (on Apple & Spotify)

???? Connect with me on all the platforms @WendieVeloz or WendieVeloz.com

????Subscribe to the Social Impact Level Up LinkedIn Newsletter & share!

Things I love...

?Connecting impact-driven entrepreneurs with like-hearted people

?Providing keynotes, training, consulting, and coaching for social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders.

Cheers and have an amazing week ahead!