When you envision how Scrum works and you think of adopting Agile values, do you typically default to a mental picture of a team collaborating and talking to one another in real time, while in the same room? Most people do.

 

Take heart if your workplace and workflows do not match that traditional sort of setting! Scrum will absolutely work for your team, 100%! Scrum possibilities are numerous and exciting.

 

At the 2025 Agile in Nonprofits (AiN) Summit, Amanda Nevius of Recovery Partners of Vermont presented about her team’s experience with this very situation. How, how, how can a team become more cohesive, more aligned when they see each other in person just once a year? Watch her video, check out her data, and believe.

 

The team at Recovery Partners of Vermont consists of one full-time Executive Director and three part-time staff members. Amanda, in particular, was searching for ways to reduce the stress she was experiencing in planning their partners’ annual conference. She discovered that she already was thinking in some Agile ways, and decided to learn more in the Registered Scrum Master course (btw, you can join in our next AiN Registered Scrum Master certification course by learning about the next cohort and dates!).

 

Encouraging and exciting learning and Scrum integration ultimately ensued within the organization, well beyond Amanda’s conference planning.

 

Because of being asynchronous and working varied hours, the team took the Scrum principle of Adaptation to heart. They tailored their Scrum events to suit their needs, defining the Sprint time period that worked best for them and designing their own version of Weekly (not daily) Scrum, among other successful innovations/adaptations. Amanda describes their approaches in her presentation.

 

We recommend watching Amanda explain how she and her colleagues decided to structure their Weekly Scrum. They’ve even applied a recent Kaizen to modifying the structure of that team interaction. More of that Adaptation.

 

The successes and recommendations she shares are many, all very encouraging and actionable for you.

 

Would you like to learn more about Scrum and explore becoming a Registered Scrum Master? Start by watching Amanda’s presentation. And read through our resources for learning from Agile in Nonprofits, including our Registered Scrum Master credential course, or reach out to us directly.

Or inspire others by commenting and sharing your own story about Agile success!