Nonprofit Succession Planning for Mission Continuity

Establishing a leadership succession plan at your nonprofit

The best time to begin succession planning is now—well before you’re navigating an actual departure. Start by identifying the positions that are essential to your mission and day-to-day operations. Roles like CEO, executive director, CFO, program directors, development leaders and board directors often fall into this category.

One of the most powerful tools you can create for your organization, transition or not, is an operational checklist. This is an opportunity to securely record institutional knowledge that might otherwise be scattered across various files or carried only in employees’ minds. Think of it as your organization’s “source of truth.” Your checklist should include:

• Job descriptions: Invite current leaders to write down what their role entails, based on actual work experience.
• Key external contacts: Bankers, legal counsel, accountants, funding partners, community collaborators—anyone essential to operations or relationships.
• Internal stakeholder rosters: List staff, volunteers and board members, including their committee assignments.
• Access to critical systems: Include a secure link to password storage and instructions for financial systems, donor databases and mission-critical software.
• Calendar of key dates: Look ahead at least 12 months and note important grant deadlines, contract deadlines, event timelines, board meeting dates and board term limits.
• Standard operating procedures (SOPs): Document official SOPs for all core responsibilities related to leaders’ positions. Employees in closely related functions can assist while receiving valuable cross-training.

Once drafted, share the checklist with key staff across departments to spot gaps and ensure accuracy.

Next, map out a communication rollout plan. In the event of a departure, clarity and timing matter, as does being thoughtfully informed. Identify the stakeholders who should hear the news directly—staff, VIPs, service recipients, partners and essential vendors like your bank. Organize them into priority tiers and determine how each group will be notified. When everyone on your team can speak to the transition with consistency and confidence, you reinforce trust inside and outside the organization.

You’ll also want a clear strategy for how you’ll hire the next leader. If you’re considering promoting from within, think now about who a strong successor might be and what training they would need. If you’re hiring externally, cast a wide net—your website, social media, nonprofit-specific job boards and your existing network. Encourage staff and board members to share the role widely. During interviews, involve other leaders and board directors so you can assess how candidates will fit with your culture and team.

Finally, plan for how the organization will “keep the wheels turning” smoothly during the transition. Interim leadership, fractional executives or increased support from service providers, such as your bank, can help ensure operations continue running steadily. Introduce your new leader to these partners early. For banks, in particular, this is an ideal time to understand the incoming leader’s comfort with treasury tools and technology.

Once a leader announces their departure, it’s a good moment to contact your bank for a treasury management review and check in on your other financial services. Even in seasons of change, strong plans and strong partners help your mission carry on.

Challenges of nonprofit leadership succession

Even with careful planning, leadership transition brings its fair share of challenges. One challenge many nonprofits face is an unexpected departure. When a leader leaves abruptly, your communication plan becomes essential. You’ll need to update key parties quickly and gracefully. It’s also important to balance urgency with diligence in the hiring process so operations continue with as little disruption as possible. This is where identifying internal successors ahead of time can be a major asset.

Planned transitions bring their own complexities and deciding when to “pass the torch” can be difficult. The right timing matters—avoid high-stress periods like fiscal year end or major fundraising events.

Your board members can offer support, but they often have commitments across multiple organizations, so consider engaging a consultant when you need help with hiring, defining responsibilities or training new leaders. Just be sure you have the right infrastructure in place to implement their recommendations.

After the transition, there is often uncertainty about how involved the former leader should be. A respectful balance is key. Try to create enough space to let the new leader establish rapport and relationships while still engaging the former leader in meaningful ways, such as an emeritus role. Open communication between both leaders and the organization prevents loss of institutional knowledge and creates a smooth hand-off.

Advice from real nonprofit leaders

In October 2025, nonprofit executives from the Waukesha County Business Alliance’s Nonprofit Executive Council shared their own stories of leadership transition. While their paths differed, their takeaways echoed each other in meaningful ways.

The key difference in their leadership succession stories: Two leaders stepped away after planned retirements and another stepped in unexpectedly following an abrupt departure. The latter faced a steeper climb due to limited institutional knowledge—underscoring how critical documentation and preparedness can be.

There were some notable commonalities of the panelists’ experiences. All three organizations engaged third-party consultants at some point in the transition process, and each leader emphasized that consultants are a tool, not a cure-all. Another shared challenge was determining the right level of involvement for a departing leader—finding that sweet spot between continued support and respectful distance.

On a personal note, the panelists stressed the value of building your identity beyond your role and prioritizing your financial readiness for retirement.

This might mean meeting with your organization’s retirement plan advisor or a wealth management professional. If your nonprofit doesn’t yet have a retirement plan, consider establishing a 401(k) or 403(b) plan before you go as a meaningful legacy to leave your team.

Our resources for nonprofit leaders

At Associated Bank, we believe strong nonprofits create stronger communities—for all of us. That’s why we’re committed to being an engaged, forward-thinking partner to the missions that shape the places where we live, work and play.

We offer a full suite of treasury management tools designed with nonprofits in mind, including:

• Working capital optimization
• Liquidity management
• Digital payment solutions
• Fraud prevention tools
• Automated and integrated payables
• Credit card and expense management programs
• ERP integration

And our support doesn’t end there. Our Nonprofit Banking team connects organizations with lending options, investment services, employee benefit plans, wealth advisors and more. Many nonprofits also look to us for thought leadership and introductions that strengthen networks, teams and missions.

We’d be honored to talk with you about how we’re supporting organizations like yours—and how we can support your next chapter.

To connect with a couple of our Nonprofit Banking teammates, contact Lauren Hess at Lauren.Hess@AssociatedBank.com or Evan Gillmore at Evan.Gillmore@AssociatedBank.com.