Peter Darcy - No-Nonsense Non-Profit

Endorsements

Over a 40-year career in business, I read and was formed by some of the Masters: Drucker, Peters, Porter, Collins, Lencioni, et al. Never, however, have I read a book that better-integrated leadership principles, business imperatives, cultural observation, Christian spirituality, and missionary initiative. When you finish, you will not only be wiser about what it takes to run a successful enterprise; you'll find yourself challenged to become a better version of your b est self.

Brian J. Gail

Former CEO and best-selling author of the Fatherless series

Peter Darcy provides the insight and information needed by every priest and religious this is the information not taught in seminary. How to run a non-profit organization by remaining focused on its mission and treating people with the respect they deserve. As Darcy emphasizes, leadership is not management, and this book will teach its readers the vital di fference.

Deal Hudson

Founder of Crisis magazine, The Christian Review , and author of

How to Keep from Losing Your Mind

This book is full of insight for those of us serving the mission of the church. Anyone in pastoral ministry will benefit from the no-nonsense look at basic issues of operations and leadership found in these pages. I loved reading it and plan to keep it handy as a companion for the mission.

Rev. James E. Molgano

Catholic diocesan priest and retired pastor

Working in the Catholic not-for-profit world for almost 40 years, I wish I had had this inspirational and practical treatise on leadership from the beginning. This insightful pep-talk to aspiring leaders confirms convictions and provides an essential guide to leading a successful apostolate that is built to last.

Thomas McKenna

President of Catholic Action for Faith and Family and author of The Fatima Century

Do you think leadership is a gift that few are born with? Peter Darcy doesnt. In No-Nonsense Non-Profit , he sees leadership as a skill that can be acquired by those willing to make a deep and consistent commitmenta commitment of time, effort, and especially spirit. Drawing on years of experience leading non-profits, Darcy presents us with insights, observations, and techniques that will prove invaluable to anyone who seeks to lead, whether in the non-profit world or in any walk of life.

John Collins

Author of A Friars Tale , the official biography of Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR

"Though aimed primarily at faith-based leaders of non-profits, any Catholic or Christian leader in any organization, including for-profit corporations, would benefit by reading this book. It takes very little effort or imagination to apply the principles Peter Darcy so succinctly lays out to any leadership position, from that of a small business owner to a middle manager, right on up to CEO. His use of anecdotes, personal experiences, and references to other works was a great mix that made for an enjoyable, easy read. Having spent 35 years in the private sector, No-Nonsense Non-Profit strikes me as a perfect companion to Abela and Capizzis A Catechism for Business . "

Gene Van Son

Managing editor, CatholicStand.com

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible , revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

No-Nonsense Non-Profit: Leadership Principles for Church and Charity , Copyright 2020 by Peter Darcy. All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Strength of Soul Books. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and review. For information, address Strength of Soul Books, P. O. Box , Port Salerno, Florida 34992.

Books and materials published by Strength of Soul Books may be purchased for mentoring, spiritual growth, evangelization, and promotional use. Please visit us at .

This work is a revised and updated version of Mister Buddys Guide to Non-Profit Leadership: Principles for Success in a Charitable World (Boiling Springs, PA: Tremendous Leadership, 2019).

First Edition

ISBN: 978-1-7332654-2-3

eBook ISBN: 978-1-7332654-3-0

For

Rich Clair, Larry Jenkins, Fra nk Ruddy, Fr. Lou Roberts, and Fr. Jerome Herman, all of whom mentored me without ev en trying.

Contents

About the Author

Authors Prologue

A few years ago, after leaving a very satisfying and wonderful non-profit mission, I wrote a draft of this work as an aid to the leader who replaced me. It never got out of the rough draft stage, however, and I never sent it to him because it looked like he was performing very well without need of my advice. Frankly, I was delighted the organization was in such compet ent hands.

The draft sat in my computer for a couple of years, but it seemed to be begging to come to light after so long. Recently, I decided to dust it off and re-work it to apply to a wider segment of leaders in the non-profit world. I hope that the effort of putting these ideas down on paper will be of service to someone who aspires to be a leader in any noble mission that seeks to make the world a bet ter place.

No-Nonsense Non-Profit: Leadership Principles for Church and Charity is full of advice-giving and tidbits (what worked for me), quaint personal anecdotes, a few inspirational stories, and my idea of best practices in the non-profit sector. Who doesnt need solid advice in the rough-and-tumble world of helping people? Why reinvent the wheel if someone else has already built a good one? It is, in all aspects, a non-nonsense manual on leading and running non-profits, as its title professes.

Even though this work was written from the background of non-profits that were not churches, the principles can be equally applied to the running of churches and parishes, which are non-profit, charitable organizations in the fullest sense of the word. Rather than re-write significant sections of the book to tailor them to clergy who I hope will benefit greatly from this work I chose to trust the intelligence of the reader to make a certain translation while reading. For example, passages that refer to a board of directors, legal authority, etc. can be easily thought of as ones bishop, religious superiors, finance council, oversight committee, or vestry, as the case may be! A similar mental adaptation may be necessary in areas of scale (small vs. large organizations) or scope (local vs. national or international mission). The differing circumstances of each ministry are less critical factors because this book is about principles, not a directory for managing any particular org anization.

The goal of No-Nonsense Non-Profit is to break down the business of running a charity or church to certain core principles in five areas: 1) leadership, 2) promotion, 3) mission, 4) organization, and 5) performance. There are eight principles in each of the five areas as luck would have it, the biblical number forty constituting a tour de force of short essays for the inquiring mind. (Short bursts of insight work best for busy people.) That last area, performance, is the stuff of an entire industry of motivational books these days, and you will find many good references for further reading in the Helpful Resources section at the back of the book.