Research and recommendations for effective, day-to-day nonprofit practice from ASU faculty, staff, students, and the nonprofit and philanthropic community.
Keep your talent and strengthen your mission!
With nonprofit organizations having a high turnover rate, leadership tends to wonder what the root causes are, as well as how they can keep their staff from leaving. Being new to a leadership role, I have witnessed first-hand valuable employees quit from an organization and feeling powerless in keeping them from doing so. What do they need? What can we provide, as an organization, to help them understand they are part of a team and their work is valued? These are the questions we should ask ourselves as nonprofit leaders.
What are the causes?
Being overloaded with work, not making enough money, not feeling appreciated, and feeling stagnant are only some reasons nonprofit employees choose to leave the manager and the mission. A lot of individuals who choose to work within the nonprofit sector do so knowing that it is not lucrative; however, they want to be part of something bigger than themselves. With the mission in mind, should they also have to experience burnout, the feeling of being frozen in one position, or feeling undervalued? No. As a worker for good causes, nonprofit employees should know that the responsibilities they hold means something, and they should receive the tangible benefits that come along with this work as well.
How can we help?
Nonprofit organizations come in all different shapes and sizes…
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"Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much." Those are the words of Helen Keller as she touches on the power of unity and teamwork to achieve impact.
Let’s think of the impact that unrestricted funding can make. How can an organization attract that unrestricted funding?
Most organizations want unrestricted funding, but funders rarely award it. How can an organization make its grant proposal look more attractive to funders when requesting unrestricted funds?
Some grants are sought to support specific projects requiring a particular writing style and content. However, for unrestricted grants, the messaging is slightly different to achieve success. One must focus on clearly communicating the organization's overall impact, mission, and financial stewardship.
Key elements to include in unrestricted grant proposals
- Alignment: Ensuring that your organization's mission, vision, values, and culture align with the proposed funder's is one of the most important aspects of attracting unrestricted funding.
- Credibility: “You have the power to choose what tens of millions of potential donors see about your organization." Having an up-to-date organizational profile on Guidestar's Candid is one way to achieve credibility in the philanthropic world. Many funders use Candid to…
The impacts of revenue diversification and whether multiple revenue streams should be pursued by nonprofit organizations has been a question facing the nonprofit sector for decades. Diversifying revenue streams is not without complications, however the benefits of decreased volatility, increased community connections and mission performance, and organizational autonomy supports the claim that nonprofits should pursue a diversified revenue portfolio.
First, showing that an organization decreases its volatility and increases its financial stability. Increased stability ensures an organizations longevity through unsure financial times.
Second, organizations with diversified revenues are often more connected to the community they serve, more efficiently meeting local needs and allowing for better mission performance. Finally, organizations with diverse revenue sources have more autonomy, allowing them to pursue programs or events that better align with their mission.
How can nonprofits diversify funding for greater community impact? To work towards diversification in revenue, it is recommended that organizations should break down their current funding structure, strategize possible revenue diversification, and implement their finalized plan.
Breaking down current funding sources
Because implementing a diverse revenue portfolio can be difficult, employee understanding…
Read moreThis work has been a personal journey as much as a professional one. I’ve been exploring a question that feels relevant not only for nonprofit leaders, but also applicable for all other sectors, and to the collective communities we aim to serve:
How can we recruit and retain a workforce that doesn’t just survive, but thrives?
Often times there is a lot of emphasis and resources that are focused on measuring impact in the nonprofits. While understanding the impact the cause promotes and elevates is important, it is only half of the equation. The second part of the equation that is often missing, or limited resources are allocated towards, is organizational infrastructure sustainability. And here’s the hard truth: When we struggle to recruit, or neglect to retain people, our communities feel it. It causes a ripple effect that spans far and wide. Having a workforce deficit can cause programs to stall, services disrupted, and public reputation and trust can be impacted.
What’s behind the turnover?
Sure, compensation matters. But it’s not the whole story.
The research goes deeper than just compensation. It is the invisible measures that are less easy to quantify, related to workplace culture, organizational investment in the individuals doing the work, and clarity to the mission-driven work. Remember, people stay where they feel seen, heard and valued. It boils down to one word: belonging.
Five…
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Every nonprofit organization is reliant upon funding from the community, but funding is never consistent or reliable. Nonprofit leaders play an essential role in innovatively managing the organization’s resources to ensure that the organization can fulfill their mission long-term. Here are five strategies to increase the financial stability of your organization.
Practice mission-focused leadership
Nonprofit leaders should use the organization’s mission as their guide when making decisions as they are responsible for implementing practices that further the organization’s impact on the community. If a decision is made that does not align with the mission, mission drift can creep in which negatively impacts the organization’s ability to fulfill their mission. In my experience, compromising decisions that do not align with the mission are often made when leaders choose to accommodate a funder’s request that they would not have otherwise considered just to receive their funding. A nonprofit leader has a duty to decline or redirect funder requests that do not align with their values in order for the organization to be the most successful. In these situations it is better for the overall wellness of the organization to kindly decline, then offer to connect them to another organization where their gift would be more impactful.
Foster a positive organizational culture
Employees in the workplace want to feel…
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