09 Sep The Runway Model
The Runway Model is a Fund Ahead strategy designed to build Continuity Capital. By securing stability today, organizations unlock the freedom to innovate tomorrow—turning stability and innovation into true agility....
Author: Romanita Hairston
01 Sep The Formative Edge
Why Smart Leaders Are Training Their Brain Like Athletes Train Their Bodies?
Here’s a wild stat: 95% of nonprofit leaders are concerned about burnout. Yet the organizations thriving in this chaos aren’t just managing stress—they’re literally rewiring their teams’ brains for resilience. Sounds like science fiction? It’s actually just science.The Problem With Our Beautiful, Broken Brains
Our brains were designed for survival, not spreadsheets. That ancient wiring keeps us scanning for threats—staff departures, budget shortfalls, angry stakeholders—while barely registering what’s actually working. It’s like having a security system that only notices break-ins, never the fact that 99.9% of the time, everything’s fine. The result? Leadership teams stuck in what neuroscientists politely call “threat-detection mode” but what the rest of us call “Tuesday.” But here’s where it gets interesting: recent research shows we can actually rewire these patterns. Gratitude practices, which might also be called appreciation routines or win reviews, don’t just make you feel warm and fuzzy—they strengthen the prefrontal cortex, the brain region handling decision-making, emotional regulation, and strategic thinking. You know, those minor leadership skills.
31 Mar The God of Silence
As I walked through the neighborhood today, it was a gift to contemplate and be reminded of how much one can come to know and understand of God in the silence. Holy Saturday is a day in which we consider what it means to silently wait....
23 Aug Grounded by God
One’s first image of being grounded by anyone, especially God, looks a lot like the cover photo. We imagine the words coming with a stern voice, sharp look, and even a loud shout. I can say after a year of being “grounded by God” that...
12 Aug The Rise of Hope: The Challenge of Fear
“The arc of a moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I have found myself in a number of discussions about the two narratives in our current political debate. Some have described it as the difference between a narrative...
14 Jun Do Single-Parent Families Put Children at Risk?
Let me start with a clarification: This post is neither a criticism of single parents, nor a condemnation of their status as “single.” I know single parents love their children just the same as married parents do, and that many of them make immeasurable sacrifices...
07 Jun Remembering Trayvon Martin: Race and Violence in America
The death of Trayvon Martin more than four years ago highlighted the highly-dangerous world many young people in the United States must negotiate every day. Often these cases make the headlines, and they are forgotten as new headlines emerge, or they move to the back...
31 May Salty Christians
“Salt is good, but if it no longer tastes like salt, how can it be made to taste salty again? It is no longer good for the soil or even for the manure pile. People simply throw it out. If you have ears, pay attention!”...
24 May The Power of Diapers to Connect the Dots
It was 3 a.m., and I sat straight up in bed awakened by a cry. It was my son, my only child at the time. I went into the room to get him. I knew the sound of agitation in his cry. In fact, I...
10 May Fighting Consumerism with Generosity
Several years ago, I was on a site visit of World Vision’s work in D.C. We visited one of the hardest hit wards, ward 8, to see a summer school program. The students and the teachers were quite impressive. They were doing fascinating things with...
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