Future for Nonprofits

In the midst of great economic challenge, there is also great opportunity to reflect on the future of the nonprofit sector.  Many nonprofits are in defense mode trying to weather the current economic tsunami while also trying to sustain a level of social services needed in their communities.  Other nonprofits are looking at the current economic crisis as an opportunity to reflect on scale and scope and identify ways to improve efficiencies--both as an organization and as a sector. 

Holly Sidford, principal consultant for the Helicon Collaborative proposes looking at the "Five A's" to evaluate the viability of institutional change proposals for any nonprofit contemplating transformation.  They include: 

Analysis and Anticipation:  Is the organization planning based on good research and solid projections--including the loss of significant revenue?

Attitude:  Is the organization projecting forward based on opportunities or are they focused on challenges putting them in retrenchment mode?

Adaptability:  "Is there a track record of flexibility, seizing new opportunities, willingness to let go of what no longer works?  In other words, can the organization evolve?"

Articulation:  How clear and concise is the plan moving forward?  Does it have broad stakeholder support?  Are there genuinely new approaches and strategies in the plan?

Audacity:  Is the approach as bold as the situation? 

Social entrepreneurs are chomping at the bit to generate innovative approaches to long-standing social issues.  Strategies such as service and volunteerism as a major infrastructure piece to support health care, education, after school and anti-poverty initiatives is one of the many proposal currently out there to assure that services in communities can be scaled-up with more human capacity.  You can also see that Sidford's 5 A's borrow from free market, private sector approaches to conducting business.  

The long-term viability of the nonprofit sector--much like the private sector--will require vision, innovation and most importantly, a solid business plan!  

Holly Sidford's 5 A's were taken from the Arts and Culture Blog produced by the Cleveland Foundation.  

Our Shifting Values

Looks like the President's call to service is resonating with America's youth.  According to the Seattle PI, applications for volunteer organizations like Teach for America have seen a significant increase from the previous year.  According to the report, Teach for America saw a 50 percent increase in applications from one year to the next.  

The downturn in the economy along with the President's commitment to volunteerism are two factors that are driving young people to choose the nonprofit sector as an alternative to a career in corporate America.  

I think we are starting to see a fundamental shift in values to more of a community-centered, as opposed to an individual-centered focus in the job market.  This shift can be attributed, in part, to the economic conditions we are facing.  However, it also signals a cultural shift at the federal policy level with the rise of a community organizer to the executive branch of government.  We can see tangible results already from our federal government that service to the community is a a value that will remain constant throughout Obama's presidency.   

    

Consultant Corner: Why Facilitation is Important in Complex Partnerships

The news continues to be grim:  Many nonprofits will not survive the current economic crisis. Others will have to scale down their offerings to the community or will have to partner with other organizations to meet the growing needs.  Even before this recent wave of economic downturn, the pervasive culture in the nonprofit sector is one of competition for limited resources which adversely impacts collaboration and partnership development.  The reality is one organization alone cannot effectively meet the needs of a community.  However, partnerships can be incredibly difficult to manage and sometimes are not very efficient.  Hence, the need for an outside facilitator.  

The most common issue encountered in complex partnerships--or any partnership for that matter--is communication.  How do you get individuals to share information and be transparent about individual goals and objectives in the context of the broader partnership?  It begins with building relationships and trust.  A skilled, objective facilitator can navigate this process by providing a space conducive to disclosure and relationship building.  The key is to have a facilitator that doesn't have a horse-in-the-race.  An objective voice that can focus on the issues and not the people involved can help move stagnation based on personality conflicts to shared understanding and collaboration.  Not to say that it is easy.  Often times there is historical conflict that permeates deep into the institutions that individuals represent.  In extreme cases, it is important to acknowledge the wounds of the past, but quickly get to a plan for restorative justice.

Second, facilitation can help to document the process of partnership development by defining goals, timelines and key outcomes that are agreed upon by the team.  Invariably, organizations and/or individuals enter partnerships with their own goals in mind.  Some people refer to this as an agenda.  It is incredibly important to invest in the planning of mutual goals and objectives and defining what group success looks like.  Clarity in the plan, specifically around how many people need to be served; hours of operation; identifying space for activities; clear roles and responsibilities and how resources will be distributed will help in the overall management of the partnership.  Also, the documentation of the partnership will allow decision makers to reflect on past thinking when issues arise (document, document, document!)  When partnership amnesia occurs, the documentation provides a history of how decisions and agreements came to be.  

Finally, an independent facilitator allows partner organizations to share leadership and decision making in a fluid way.  Typically, a lead agency assumes leadership in partnership/coalition building which automatically sets the tone for uneven distribution of decision making.  The lead agency is viewed as the authority and not a partner in this type of design.  With an outside facilitator, all agencies are active participants in goal setting and decision making processes which engenders greater trust and builds relationships on equal ground. 

Facilitation is not an exact science.  Make sure you take the time to get referrals for quality facilitation services.  Unfortunately, bad facilitation can set you back even further, so make sure to make informed decisions when choosing a facilitator.  

    

  

 

  

Impact of the Economic Crisis on Nonprofits

The Economic Bailout aka The Economic Revitalization Act passed by a vote of 74 to 25 in the Senate last night.  Now, we'll just have to wait and see if partisan politics and crushed egos get in the way of the House passing the legislation on Friday.......Tune in.

There has been a lot of focus on the impact of the economic crisis on Main Street USA over the past couple of weeks.  Stories of families struggling to pay for rising fuel costs and groceries. Small businesses unable to access credit to keep their operations flowing.  Families unable to obtain credit to purchase a car.  These examples are ubiquitous throughout the mainstream media.  The media has also given a lot of attention to corporate America and the impact the crisis is having on this sector.  But, what about the nonprofit sector?

Essentially, the role of government is to redistribute the public wealth back to the people through programs like Medicaid and services like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  However, with over 700 billion dollars of the "public wealth" going to the sheepily clad Economic Revitalization Act, common sense will tell you that there will be far less resources to support public programs that address some of the most dire needs in our communities.  It is the nonprofit, community-based organization that relies heavily on government funding to provide the much needed services.  Then there is the war in Iraq.......I better not even touch this one.

The crisis also heavily impacts private philanthropy.  Most of America's large foundations, like WK Kellogg operate and distribute wealth through endowments.  These endowments are tied to the stock market.  The interest income on these large endowments fund programs around the globe ranging from anti-poverty programs to AIDS reduction to youth development. Obviously, if the market is in a recession, the interest income from these endowments sharply declines.  This basically means that there will be fewer resources to support the after school program your child attends.  Fewer resources to support the food banks and homeless shelters and fewer resources to support the public health institutions where the poorest, most disadvantaged in our communities receive health care.   

So, when you think of who this plan REALLY impacts, it is those who are living at or below the poverty line.  

  

Daddy What do you Do?

Last night I'm sitting on the couch with my 7 year old daughter and I asked her, "Do you know what daddy does for work?" She pauses, then looks at me puzzled and says, "You go to your office right?" So, I'm thinking to myself, wow, my own kid doesn't really know what I do for a living.  I've posed this question before to my mother-in-law and she says:  "I just tell everybody that you work for some nonprofit."  Even my sister, in an attempt to explain what I do to a friend said, "You tell her what you do, since I'm not really sure what you do." Such is the life of a consultant in the public domain.  

I find myself having to tell stories about what I do, especially to those that work in the private sector.  Facilitation & Planning:  "Hmm.....its kinda like doing a business plan with nonprofits, foundations and government agencies.  You help guide them through the process of visualizing what the preferred destination looks like, provide a roadmap to get there and put in highway signs to see if they are on course to arriving at their destination.  You also put in benchmarks along the way so you can determine whether or not you are on the right track, with periodic check-ins to change course if necessary."

  

Public Policy:  "Once the plan is place, we have to determine what type of community/public support is necessary and what types of financing options are available (i.e. state, federal, municipal, local government support).  It's somewhat like going to a bank to fund your business plan, except its public money.  In some cases, there may not be money involved at all.  Rather, you might be looking at a state or federal law or a specific policy that needs to be put in place so you can open for business or ensure that your business runs smoothly.  In other cases you may just want to educate the public on the implications if action is not taken.  (i.e. global warming/carbon emissions)    

Research & Evaluation:  Now that you have your doors are open for business, you want to know how well your business is performing.  Using scientific research methods, you seek to determine how well you are meeting the targeted needs of your clients.  Is your plan working? Does it need to be modified? What types of success stories can you tell to inform others of your impact?  What are the hard numbers or percentages that articulate  levels of success?   

When I speak to other consultants in the field, we often talk about setting up a support group to talk about these and other issues in educating the public of our work.  For now, this explanation still may draw blank looks from my 7 year old, but hopefully for those of you not currently in 2nd grade this explanation will suffice.