Sustaining Business Newsletter

Not-For-Profit Success
By Tony Smee

Publication Date: February , 2011

Is your charitable organization as successful as you'd like it to be?  Is it flush with support and consistently exceeding all of its stakeholders' goals, or is it floundering financially and struggling with a sense of purpose?  If your answer is not the answer you'd like it to be, maybe it's time to take a long hard look at it from a business perspective. 

IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT REALLY A BUSINESS? 

Your not-for-profit organization is indeed a business.   Often, volunteers and staff members are ill-equipped to deal with the administrative duties associated with a business.  They come to the organization with great passion for the organization's goals and are great at doing the "work" of the organization, but may not come with the tools to sustain and grow it.  Is your office efficient?  Are your expenses and income well documented and budgeted?   Do you know in an instant what your balances look like?  The most successful charitable organizations are those that are as organized as efficiently as their counterparts in the for-profit sector.

DONATIONS VS. DONOR DEVELOPMENT

Most charitable organizations continue to exist because of donors who support it.  Many of those same organizations are caught in an exhausting cycle of soliciting donations, but never pause to work on charitable development.  Donations and development are two different things.  A bit of effort and investment on a successful donor development program can go a long way toward taking the edge off of the annual donation cycle.  The mission, vision and values of your organization should be the driving force behind it, not the money itself.   The money will come to a not-for-profit organization that is successful in its mission and intelligent in leveraging its resources.

LEVERAGING YOUR ORGANIZATION'S RESOURCES

Some charitable organizations over-extend the good will of their most loyal supporters, which can lead to a significant decline in the organization.  Is your volunteer force being utilized efficiently?  Are they doing the right things?  Often, those most entrenched in an organization are too close to it to see when they are veering off course.   Are you communicating with all of your stakeholders in an efficient and meaningful way?  Do they know what you need?  Do you know what skills are potentially available to you through your membership that can help your organization grow and flourish?  The time to take stock in your organization's resources is now.   Learn what you have, how to use it and how to expand the resources you need more of.