By Steven Gordon, Lemonade Day National President

‘Teamwork, determination and discipline are the keys for nonprofits that want to not only work for the common good but achieve greatness as well. NonProfitPRO.com, a website dedicated to helping nonprofits thrive, outlines three steps that will help charities reach that goal while satisfying the expectations of both its donors and its volunteers:

First, a nonprofit must assemble the right team to advance. Many charities have one person in charge who lives and breathes its mission, but it takes more than one person to move the organization forward. Nonprofit leaders must carefully choose their team’s key members and then assign them specific tasks to ensure that work progresses diligently and thoughtfully.

Next, while acknowledging any mission’s realities, the nonprofit must ensure that nothing deters it from making significant strides toward success. Great nonprofits know what they do best, what they are most passionate about and how best to apply its resources, while still considering new strategies and innovations.

Finally, by gathering together disciplined people and applying disciplined thought to the nonprofit’s efforts, charities can engage in disciplined action that brings results. By allowing people to work in harmony toward a shared goal while still fostering creativity and maintaining accountability, a nonprofit can harness its energy and apply it to new ideas that help build long-term success. In the end, it’s all about finding the best way to fulfill the mission while growing the agency’s partnership base and adjusting as needed to the changing demands and needs of the nonprofit’s target recipients.”

Excerpt from article by Bisk Education on behalf of University of Notre Dame

https://www.notredameonline.com/resources/nonprofit-leadership/how-a-nonprofit-organization-can-grow-from-good-to-great/#. W0UZC9JKiM8

I am extremely proud and thankful that Lemonade Day has been steadily growing over the last several years, due in large part to the persistence and passion of our national staff, our board of directors, and our city directors and city champions throughout the United States and Canada. At the end of Calendar Year 2018, Lemonade Day will have been hosted in 72 licensed territories. We are seeking to expand over the next 12 months by adding 12 more Lemonade Day license holders and program hosts by early March 2019.

For the fourth consecutive year, Lemonade Day representatives are attending the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Annual Convention in Des Moines, Iowa. This year’s convention will be held from July 17-20, and Lemonade Day has registered to participate as an exhibitor. Debbie Nazarian, Lemonade Day National Director of Cities, and I will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with many of the 1,000 influencers who will attend from the United States, Canada, Ireland and other countries.  We will be in the company of executives representing many of the world’s most influential chambers of commerce, regional partnerships, economic development organizations and businesses that are participating to exchange insights and ideas and to build relationships for the long-term.

Fundamentally, Debbie and I will be on a recruiting trip. We intend to connect with and inspire these influencers to explore the feasibility of signing up their chamber or introducing us to key decisionmakers in their cities, counties and regions who may be interested in becoming official Lemonade Day license holders.  Recruiting and engaging more cities and communities throughout the U. S., Canada and other countries enables us to share Lemonade Day’s positive and impactful youth entrepreneurship lessons and experiences with millions more young kids, all at no cost to the child who registers to participate.  

We know that Lemonade Day makes a difference. Our program matters. Here’s just one of many testimonials on behalf of Lemonade Day from a Chamber of Commerce leader:

“As a chamber of commerce, it is our duty to connect our business members to the youth in our area. These children are our future employees and business owners. In an area known for its tourism, most of our members are their own boss. The children grow up watching mom and dad run their family business. Lemonade Day is a great way to share that entrepreneurial spirit between the child and business owner as well as teach financial literacy they grow up around but may not understand.”

– Nick Wilmott, Chairman of the Board and Past Education Vice Chair, Coastal Alabama Business Chamber

To learn more about how cities, chambers of commerce, sponsors, volunteers, kids and their adult mentors, can get involved in Lemonade Day, please click on this link.  Thank you for your support now and always.

ABOUT LEMONADE DAY

Founded in Houston in 2007 by Michael and Lisa Holthouse, Lemonade Day is a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching every child across North America the business and financial skills that are the key ingredients of entrepreneurship.  By learning these skills early in life, children will be better prepared to be successful, financially healthy adults.  Through our fun, hands-on program, kids K-5 are empowered to start their very own business—a lemonade stand—and experience the feeling of earning real money, using 100% of their profit to spend, save and share based on their own goals.

Lemonade Day is hosted in 72 territories in North America and is growing. Over the past 10 years, we have served more than 1 million kids in our youth entrepreneur programs. Within the next five years, Lemonade Day leaders estimate that 250,000 mentors and millions more kids will be hosting lemonade stands in North America and on other continents throughout the world.