THE LIFE STAGE MODEL is a powerful tool for understanding -- objectively -- your organization's current status and preparing it to move ahead to the future. In this useful guide, organization development consultant Judith Sharken Simon helps you understand where your organization is in its life. You'll learn about the very real challenges and problems facing your nonprofit at any given stage. Directors, board members, managers, and consultants can use this guide to:

• Put problems in context. You'll learn which problems are typical for your stage of development, and which ones point to potential dangers.
• Effectively manage transitions from one stage to the next. You'll know where you're headed, so you can bring the organization into its next stage of growth.
• Watch for the warning signs of decline and dissolution.
  

This unique guide includes The Nonprofit Life Stage Assessment. The Assessment allows you to plot and understand your organization's "home stage" and gauge your progress in seven arenas of organization development--governance, staff leadership, finance, administrative systems, staffing, products and services, and marketing.

Use The Five Life Stages of Nonprofit Organizations to help you avoid unnecessary struggles and to act on opportunities to boost your organization's development.