The Critical Missing Link in Your Succession Plan: Communications
July 10, 2025
By: Peter Panepento
Smart organizations create leadership succession plans.
Brilliant organizations also have a leadership succession communications plan.
Unfortunately, too many social good organizations have neither.
According to the Kansas City Fed, 68% of nonprofits lack a leadership succession plan.
That means more than two-thirds of organizations are making a dangerous gamble, especially when you consider studies tracking the average tenure of a nonprofit leader at six years.
Why is this so risky?
Without a succession plan, you’re leaving everyone involved — your staff, your donors, your grantees, your partners — in a state of uncertainty.
Uncertainty, in turn, can damage trust. It can prompt otherwise engaged, high-performing staffers to check out or jump ship. And it can cause previously loyal donors and partners to take their money elsewhere.
If your organization does have a succession plan, you can take comfort in knowing you’re in a better place than most. Yet even the most detailed succession plan can be undermined by the lack of a succession communications protocol.
This plan should be ready to activate at a moment’s notice — and it can help you maximize your ability to:
act quickly and decisively.
control the narrative.
project confidence about your organization’s future.
assure you communicate effectively with all relevant audiences.
provide clear details about what to expect as one leader exits and another arrives.
honor the contributions of the outgoing leader.
express confidence in the process of selecting a new leader.
set the new leader — and your organization — up for long-term success.
What should a successful succession communications plan include?
In our experience supporting foundations and nonprofits through successful transitions, we prioritize the following:
1. A carefully prepared communications timeline
Transition announcements can fail if your highest priority audiences feel like they are the last to know.
Identify who needs to get a personal touch ahead of the public announcement — while also minimizing your risk of having someone leak the news before you’re ready to go live.
Often, it makes sense for the departing leader to make personal calls to high-level donors and close confidants — and you should almost always plan to announce the news to staff before it goes public.
By creating your plan in advance, you can work through these details thoughtfully and have an easy guide to follow when the time comes.
2. Roles and responsibilities (with backup plans)
Map out who will be making each announcement in the case of a planned exit — as well as who will step in if the leader is being forced to leave.
You can have plans for who will handle and approve sending email messages, social media posts, and media outreach.
3. Talking points
While you can’t predict all the details in advance, you can draft talking points that support the goals outlined above.
You can then quickly review and update your messages with relevant details to ensure you’re ready to make your announcement promptly, if needed.
If the talking points have been reviewed by your current executive and board in advance, you’ll also avoid getting bogged down by reviews during the actual transition.
4. A reflection letter
If your departing leader is leaving on good terms, it’s important to give them an opportunity to take a victory lap, of sorts.
If they’re game, you can help them exit gracefully (and with gratitude) by sending segmented reflection letters to staff, donors, and key partners. They can also express confidence in the search process or their successor.
Like other materials, this can be prepared largely in advance and customized quickly in the moment.
There are additional elements you may consider, depending on your organization and its culture.
But having even a basic plan can give you a great head start.
Successful transitions are about projecting confidence and minimizing reputational risk.
You can accomplish both through effective — and well planned — communications.
