Since 2020, the Orange County Nonprofit Professionals Network has been on a journey of redefining and restructuring the way we want to serve our nonprofit community. We’ve accomplished so much and have worked so hard to build… but how do we make sure this sustains beyond us? It all comes down to values, and the culture we create.
But how do you ensure that values aren’t just words on a paper? We started off with the generic one word terms like, “Creativity”, “Trust”, “Innovation”… all those words you typically see painted on a wall when you walk into a building. But what do they mean? So we threw all these words onto a white board, and with the help of a word cloud and our amazing facilitator and Advisory Board Member, Christine Silvestre, we started to see value terms come to life. Who said values need to be one word?
We took it one step further and decided to add a statement. We want everyone to know how we define our values, and what is driving our programming and leadership philosophy. This wasn’t easy! But, it was definitely eye opening to hear everyone’s perspective on what these words and terms meant to them personally. In the end, it was less about the statement, and more about what we learned from one another by having simple dialogue. It was a team building exercise I will never forget.
So what are they?!
Building Relationships: We believe in the power of collaboration to build meaningful relationships. At our core, we are a networking organization with a mission to connect people. So you can be sure we remain committed to bringing you programming that will connect you to people that will help inspire and elevate your career.
Experiential Learning: We enthusiastically pursue continual learning and professional growth. We want to take learning to a whole new level. It’s not about lectures and workshops, it’s all about taking what you’ve learned and applying it! We want to provide space for testing things out without the fear of failing.
Empowering Creativity: We embrace innovative and creative ideas that empower us to create positive change. We want this to be the place where imagination runs free! No idea is too big or crazy, and no person is here to stop you. At every level we want professionals to feel safe asking questions and breaking the traditional mold.
Ownership & Trust: We trust our team and future generations to fulfill our mission. If we are to remain sustainable, we must be accountable for the work we do now, and at the same time create a process for the next generation to uphold those values; and then let go.
Enthusiasm: We are fueled by enthusiasm for the mission we accomplish together. This should be fun! If it’s not fun, we need to rethink what we are doing. We want this to be a place where people say, “I GET to do this for our sector,” versus, “I have to….” We want you to be excited about our work.
At OCNPN we pride ourselves on being a place of creativity, diversity and breaking down barriers for nonprofit professionals searching for their next mission in life. We want our chapter to be known for building the next generation of leaders, and building the next generation of nonprofits that serve with limitless possibilities. We believe these values will help us in accomplishing our mission.
