Organizational Management

In the worlds of nonprofit programs, management, fundraising and development, there are few topics more widely discussed and more generally misunderstood than the role of the board. In development, e.g., some nonprofits expect (demand?) that board members make a financial contribution to the organization. Others beg and plead with the board to do something, anything, to help raise money.

Across the country, thousands of nonprofits have been hard at work for many years, delivering life-saving social and human services to millions of people. Your organization is one such. In addition to doing the work, your nonprofit has learned some things about the causes of the problems you’re trying to address. You’ve begun to reflect on the words of Desmond Tutu: “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.”

The scenario may go like this: A funding source issues an announcement soliciting grant proposals. The focus of the funding source may be only marginally related to the organization's mission. Despite this, the lure of money becomes irresistible.

Writing proposals and winning grants are important elements in the ecosystem of philanthropy. It’s easy to see the world through that lens – find the money, ask for the money, get and spend the money, rinse and repeat – but it might be helpful to think about the process in a different, more holistic way.

It’s time for the board to come up with names of people with whom the nonprofit should make contact—for a request, for inside information about a community program, for any good purpose that benefits the growth and thriving of the organization. “Well, let’s go around the table and share some of the people you know so we can reach out,” suggests the development director.

Traditionally, it wasn't the norm to think in business terms about your nonprofit but it’s a useful exercise because it sharpens your thinking about what you do and how you do it. One element of this kind of thinking is to consider competition—what other agencies or groups or community organizations are working on the same issues, addressing the same problems? This can be an uncomfortable question but what you learn can be valuable in program planning and in submitting proposals.

MYTH: If I give a building, vehicle, computer, book I wrote, or whatever to the nonprofit and later close the nonprofit, I can just change the copyright, deed, or title back into my name again, or take the property back.

MYTH: I can use the money for my nonprofit for anything I want.

MYTH: I need a huge board of directors (or I don’t need a board at all, just me).