In November 2022, Maurice Mitchell published a seminal piece in Nonprofit Quarterly that named a truth many of us had felt but hadn't yet said out loud: Our organizations are struggling not because of "bad people," but because we haven’t built the structures that let good people do their best work.
We are living through a crisis of organizational design. We’re burning out our leaders, losing institutional knowledge, and fighting small internal wars while the bigger work waits.
The Resilient Organization Toolkit is the response.
Created by serial intra- and entrepreneur Jenifer Daniels, this toolkit is a labor of love two decades in the making. It is a practical framework built from two decades years of hands-on work inside nonprofits, startups, and social movements—and a direct answer to the challenges Mitchell identified.
This isn’t a compliance checklist. It’s a compass.
Rooted in human-centered design and fueled by a passion for social impact, this approach moves us beyond the "tyranny of structurelessness" and puts us on a path to durability.
By focusing on the 8Ps of Resiliency, we move toward what Mitchell describes as the real goal: joy and durable power. > Not just surviving the work—sustaining it. By design, not by accident.
<aside> 📍 HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKIT This scalable toolkit assists in operationalizing your organizational values. The guide is split into two sections - the work and how the work shows up.
These sections are arranged based on their significance to the strategic planning process.
The referenced tools are designed to support your ambitions and help you recognize patterns. There's no obligation to utilize every tool or template mentioned.
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The toolkit's initial five Ps encompass priorities (key goals), people (involved individuals or teams), products (tangible or intangible work outcomes), process (steps taken to achieve objectives), and progress (measurement of advancement towards goals).
Why do we exist? What change are we making? How do we determine our impact?
Tools used:
Who is on the team? What skills do they possess? How does the organization support them in the development of future skills?
Tools used:
What do we do/make? How much does it cost to do/make it? How do we pay for it?
Tools used:
What are the ways in which we organize, systematize, and operationalize our work?
Tools used:
How do we measure the impact of our work?
Tools used:
The core of the work revolves around the final three Ps: principles (guiding our thinking), praxis (applying principles in real-world scenarios), and promise (our commitment to our stakeholders). The ultimate goal is to create resilient ecosystems that empower organizations to overcome challenges and grow beyond their current status.
This toolkit is your roadmap to building a thriving social justice organization. Remember, resilience is a journey, not a destination. Embrace the iterative process, celebrate small wins, and foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptation. With the 8Ps as your guide, you can empower your team, navigate challenges, and create positive change.