Let's Go Studio

06/16/2026

This month's video celebrates America through the lens of the young people served by Boys & Girls Clubs. But it's also a reminder of something bigger. As staff you see the life-changing moments happen every day. Every day, Clubs create moments worth sharing...

A young person finds confidence.
A mentor changes a trajectory.
A donor creates opportunity.
A staff member makes a difference.

The stories are already there. The challenge is finding the time and capacity to tell them consistently and making sure parents, donors, alumni, board members, and community partners get to see them too.

At Let's Go Studio, we help Clubs create a steady rhythm of mission-focused storytelling that supports fundraising, stewardship, and community engagement. One story at a time.

Because big change happens every day inside our Clubs. Let's make sure people see it.

Are you interested in getting videos like this every month? Let's talk.

Set up a call here: https://letsgostudio343129.hbportal.co/public/685d7bf0fde2770007ffed34/1-Inquiry_form

06/12/2026

One of the things I've noticed over the years is that nonprofits often outgrow the board structure that helped build them. The board that helped launch a $250,000 organization may not be the board that's best equipped to govern a $5 million organization. And that's okay.

The challenge is that organizations evolve. Roles evolve. Expectations evolve.
But board members don't always get the memo. What started as a working board eventually needs to become a governing board. What started as hands-on involvement eventually needs to become strategic leadership.
I've seen boards struggle because they were still trying to solve yesterday's problems while the organization was already facing tomorrow's opportunities. And worse that struggle can easily introduce friction into the working relationships between staff and boards.
That's not a people problem.
It's a growth problem.
One of the most valuable things an organization can do during periods of growth is pause and ask:
👉 What does our organization need from its board today?

At Let's Go Studio, this is exactly the kind of work we help organizations navigate through strategic planning, board development, governance assessments, and executive coaching.

Because growth shouldn't create friction between boards and staff.
It should create alignment.

Has your board evolved alongside your organization, or is it still operating like it's five years ago?

05/15/2026

We just wrapped up a strategic planning engagement with a client... and boy, are our arms tired. Ok, our jokes are pretty bad, but the way we approach strategic planning and operational models that scale... there's no joke about that!

Learn more at www.letsgostudio.org!

05/15/2026

We just wrapped up a strategic planning engagement with a client... and boy, are our arms tired. Ok, our jokes are pretty bad, but the way we approach strategic planning and operational models that scale... there's no joke about that!

04/22/2026

Check out our new and Improved Client Deck!

Dive into our extensive resources on the topic that interests you. It's like a masterclass to be explored at your own pace.

04/22/2026

Most boards have a number. At some point, everyone agrees “Yeah, we’ll each give or raise X.” And then… nothing really happens. Or worse, it turns into quiet frustration powered by communal avoidance.
“Why aren’t people stepping up?”
“Why am I the only one doing this?”

Here’s the thing I’ve learned working with boards:
It’s not a willingness problem.
It’s a comfort problem.
We ask people to fundraise without ever showing them what that actually looks like in real life.
Who do I even reach out to?
What do I say without making it weird?
What’s the right ask for this person?
What if they shut me down?

If you don’t answer those questions, people stall.

So we built something simple.
A one page guide we use with boards that basically says "start here."

It gives people a way into the work without overthinking it or feeling like they’re about to mess it up.
And the shift is immediate.
People start having conversations.
They follow up.
They try.
Not perfectly. Just… actually.
That’s the unlock.

If your board “gets it” but isn’t doing it, this is usually what’s missing.
Happy to share how we’re using it with teams if it’s helpful.

04/17/2026

There’s something really special about being in a room where people care deeply about the same thing… and are willing to do the work to make it better.

This week I had the opportunity to facilitate a strategic planning retreat with the Lodi Boys & Girls Club board and leadership team. What stood out wasn’t just the ideas or the conversation, it was the honesty. The willingness to ask hard questions, challenge assumptions, and lean into what the future could look like.

We spent the day unpacking where the organization is today, where it wants to go, and what it will take to get there. Not in a top-down way, but through real dialogue. The kind where every voice shapes the outcome. That’s the work.

Grateful for the trust to help guide the conversation and excited to see where this next chapter goes for Lodi.

This is exactly the kind of work we love doing at Let’s Go Studio.

04/15/2026

So thrilled to have recently partnered with Solano County Animal Care to create a simple piece of content with one goal: help Cooper find a home.
That video got picked up, shared, and seen by the right person at the right time and we just learned this morning that Cooper was adopted!
That’s it. That’s the outcome. No complicated funnel. No long campaign runway. Just the right story, told the right way, reaching the right audience.
This is exactly why I started Let’s Go Studio.

Because organizations are sitting on powerful stories every day, stories that can drive real outcomes when they’re shaped, packaged, and put into the world with intention. Sometimes it looks like a full campaign. Sometimes it’s a strategic plan. And sometimes… it’s one video that changes the outcome for a single life.

Huge appreciation to the team at Solano County Animal Care for trusting the process and being open to trying something simple and authentic.
More of this.

03/18/2026

So, here’s a fun side project that spun out of our work with the Vacaville Boys & Girls Club’s capital campaign. When I first met with the ED, she had this vision of a “Giving Tree” to recognize donors, but the vision was floating a bit, like those leaves she wanted. Originally, it was going to be inside the clubhouse, maybe a sculpture. Cool idea, but not super clear to donors how their names would live on.

So, when we noticed this recessed section outside, an 8 foot wide by 16 foot tall verticle channel, I asked, “What if we put the tree there?” And, what if we lit it up, so it would shine at night? That’s how the concept art came to life; a donor wall that lights up like a rainbow tree for the whole community to see. It’s all about making donor recognition a literal beacon of gratitude! Stay tuned, this might light up more projects like this!

02/17/2026

There is a lot of transition happening in the nonprofit sector right now.
Leadership turnover. (Funding shifts. Board anxiety. Partnership realignment.)
Strategic pivots happening faster than most teams can metabolize them and in seasons of transition, red flags get easier to ignore.
We rationalize.
We move fast.
We tell ourselves we will circle back later.

But misalignment does not get better with time. It gets more expensive. None of these explode overnight. They erode. If this year is about resilience, then part of resilience is clarity. And part of clarity is naming what is not working before it becomes structural damage.
Keep building.
Keep believing.
Just keep your eyes open.
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