Breaking the Silence: Making Leadership Transitions Safe for Nonprofits

In this episode of the Fund The People Podcast, you’ll get an inside view of one foundation’s journey to investing in healthy nonprofit executive transitions - and helping other funders to do the same. 

Host Rusty Stahl sits down with Liz Sak, Executive Director of Cricket Island Foundation, and Hana Sun, a consultant who manages the Foundation’s Leadership Transition Fund. They discuss Cricket Island Foundation's approach to supporting nonprofit leadership transitions, particularly for small, grassroots organizations focused on youth organizing. The foundation provides three-year grants of $45,000 per year to help organizations navigate the before, during, and after phases of executive transitions.

Often funders unintentionally create barriers to healthy grantee leadership transitions, with many nonprofit leaders hesitant to openly discuss their plans to leave due to fears of lost or postponed funding. Cricket Island Foundation addressed this by publicly signaling their supportive stance toward transitions, creating a firewall between the foundation and grantees through an external consultant, establishing peer-learning cohorts for transitioning leaders, and developing resources for both nonprofits and funders through the Leading Forward initiative.

The discussion emphasizes that successful transitions require long-term planning, adequate resources, and a supportive funding ecosystem. We also talk about the importance of normalizing conversations about transitions and creating safe spaces for leaders to explore their future plans.

Resources:

Cricket Island

Leading Forward 

Leadership Learning Community

Building Movement Project 

“Could Term Limits for Nonprofit Leaders Ease the Burnout Crisis?” by Chitra Aiyar,Chronicle of Philanthropy, Jan. 7, 2025

“Supporting Nonprofit Leadership Transitions: A Foundation's Journey” July 2024

ciftransitions@gmail.com

Liz Sak

Liz Sak became the second Executive Director of the Cricket Island Foundation in 2008, overseeing all aspects of the Foundation’s management including finance, program development, grantmaking, and field-building.

Prior to joining the foundation, Liz spent more than two decades running non-profit organizations. This work included securing millions of dollars of public investment in youth development work in the South Bronx which culminated in her securing funding for the Phipps Beacon School, a multi-service initiative serving young people and families; Liz served as the inaugural director of that program. She has since led organizations at the intersection of youth-organizing, the arts, and youth-development, developing public-private partnerships in support of that work. Since her move to philanthropy in 2008, Liz has focused on the development of strategies that are grounded in principles of social justice philanthropy, organizational strengthening, and partnership. She recently co-authored an article on evaluation for The Foundation Review and her writing has appeared in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Foundation Center, and numerous blogs.

Liz holds a BA in political science from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Hana Sun

Hana has 15 years of experience in facilitation, curriculum design, community building, and organizational leadership. She has held previous roles at New Economy Coalition, Third Wave Fund, Global Action Project, Mozilla Foundation, Cricket Island Foundation, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Hawaii Public Schools, and more. She has a master’s degree from Columbia University School of Social Work and a bachelor’s degree in Literature and Dance Studies from Smith College.

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