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Self-Organization for Nonprofits Deep Dive—Session I of III

May 6, 2021

Image credit: Zulma Sofia Patarroyo, pataleta.net

As the first quarter of the 21st century is nearing its end, we see the needs of individuals, communities and societies rapidly changing. The climate crisis, global pandemic, and increasingly complex technological, environmental and social developments are driving the need for change with ever increasing speed. Non-profits continue to take on more and more responsibilities that otherwise wouldn’t be dealt with. Yet, these brave and often under-resourced organizations are anchored in outdated legal and organizational systems that are not aligned with the needs or values of a regenerative future.

To truly be in resonance with what is needed for people and planet today and to increase their impact accordingly, it is time for nonprofits to shift into 21st century enterprise models. While the legal context in which a nonprofit is embedded will remain slow to adapt, there are proven concepts and practices that allow us to shift the way nonprofits organize in service of better fulfilling their purpose in ways that centre love and a life-giving future.

bout This Program
This program introduces self-organization, both in theory and in its practical application for non-profits. It addresses the fact that both people and organizations need to make the transformational shift together, though each with very different focuses and practices. The goal within self-organization is to reach symbiosis, where the people and the organization thrive within a mutually beneficial relationship.

This program covers the frameworks that can guide a non-profit through this transformational change. It is grounded in the practical experience of the Whidbey Institute’s journey into self-organization.

The Sessions

Session 1: Thursday, May 6, 9am – 11am Pacific Time – Understanding Self-Organization
Session 2: Thursday, May 13, 9am – 11am Pacific Time – Self-Organization and Personal Development
Session 3: Thursday, May 20, 9am – 11am Pacific Time – Building a Self-Organized Non-Profit


About Session 1: Understanding Self-Organization – Thursday, May 6, 9am – 11am Pacific Time
We begin by introducing a model of how to understand the principles of Self-Organization, how it applies to people and organizations and why it is a deep, powerful shift to adapt to the ever-increasing speed and complexity of our world.

We will clarify often conflicting terminology and how the many different aspects of self-organization are connected. Through this, we build the understanding why shifting into self-organization is such a deep transformational and meaningful journey.

Learn more about the 3-part deep dive session and register here.

 

Christiane Seuhs-Schoeller
Always driven by pioneering the new, Christiane has been an entrepreneur for 30 years and an international Business Consultant for more than two decades. Her specialized focus on self-organization began over a decade ago with learning and practicing Holacracy. Learning from the experience of what it means to make such a fundamental shift, both for organizations and for people, Christiane co-founded two self-organized enterprises, encode.org and Evolution at Work, integrating the real-life learnings and developing more holistic solutions for fully self-organized enterprises. Driven by her personal purpose (“The unification of love and power”) and inspired by the years of exploring this new world of work and being, she is currently writing her book: “The Story of Love, Power and Purpose”.

Find more about Christiane’s work here: https://christianesplace.com/

Heather Johnson, Co-Executive Director
Heather Johnson has been a member of the Whidbey Institute team since 2010. With a background in business administration and nonprofit management, and specialization in financial modeling and management, her focus is integral organizational development: growing an organization’s systems, structures, practices, mindsets, and culture in alignment with a deep and worthy purpose. She’s a graduate of Pacific Integral’s Generating Transformative Change program, and has held leadership roles with Sustainable Connections in Bellingham where she was a founding staff member, served as Interim Director of both Sustainable Seattle and Excellence Northwest, and as Director of Finance and Accounting Blue Marble Biomaterials.

Marnie Jackson, Co-Executive Director
Marnie Jackson has been a member of the Whidbey Institute team since 2013. Prior to that time, she worked in nonprofit communications with the Humane Society of Skagit Valley and the Timber Framers Guild and as a writer for several magazines and newspapers. She’s also a former teacher with the Mount Baker Academy and has a bachelor’s degree in English from Suffolk University. She is a certified Language of Spaces coach and an enthusiastic member of our Symbiotic Enterprise, helping nurture and shape the evolution of self-organization at the Whidbey Institute. In addition to working with the Whidbey Institute, she volunteers with the Northwest Animal Rights Network, the Social Justice Solidarity Net (that) Works, and other social and environmental justice organizations.

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