A deeper look at the Forbes recommendations for Nonprofits in 2015

Now that the holiday season is officially over it’s time to concentrate on the year ahead in nonprofit fundraising by looking at some of the news, trends and developments that can make your organization more effective, efficient and say it quietly, competitive. One of the more interesting articles that I read over the break was a piece from Forbes titled ‘5 Competitive Advantages To Help Nonprofits Think Like Entrepreneurs’ and while some of the terminology in the article is open to debate the essential premise is interesting.

I can’t recommend the piece highly enough for potentially being a valuable way to start 2015, I made sure to read it a few times and digest the content from the open perspective that if any of the five points raised can help to improve the results of your organization the article has a good foundation. Chances are that more than one of the five suggestions will ring true and resonate and it’s probably more a question of how they can be best adopted or refined to fit your own objectives. The author of the piece is Dr. Emad Rahim from a collective called Ashoka who themselves run an interesting site.

In the article the writer kicks off with this statement

“…regardless of what appear to be vast differences between for-profit and nonprofit models, a properly run charity should generally follow the same operational criteria that successful entrepreneurs follow. Nonprofit leaders should adopt perspectives like those of entrepreneurs Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Jay Z or Jeff Bezos, and learn the art of risk taking and strategic innovation if they are to be successful.”

What kicks off in somewhat controversial fashion does find its mark later on. There’s also the high probability that some of the thoughts/suggestions in the article are already being implemented within your own organization but it’s never a bad time to take a look inside your own workplace and consider the essential sentiment of the thoughts and indeed whether these ways of thinking might bring a five or ten percent advantage to your charity over the coming twelve months.

What I feel is most important is that the mindset suggested doesn’t attach itself to an A to Z action plan that should be implemented as one-size fits all. Every organization is unique and has specific operational practices that must be considered from the board level on down but taking the time to reflect when we begin a new year is no small task. I’ll leave the article in your hands but just wanted to highlight the five suggestions in the order which I think hold the most substance:

1. Donors are really customers – I think this premise is so very important and like any customer they will show more loyalty to an organization that is dedicated to success and satisfaction, in the nonprofit world this has significant relationship to communication – how the fundraising is impacting the cause and whether objectives are being met.
2. A Nonpofit has competitors – At first glance a very self-apparent statement but dig a little deeper and look at the work you do, the goals you strive for and the audience you both serve and seek assistance from. A genuinely strategic approach to connecting with your donor base is a critical stepping stone in connecting an audience to a cause, social media and polling supporters are both vital considerations when formulating this strategy.
3. Good publicity can boost donations – Need I present a better example than last years ALS Ice Bucket Challenge? Innovation and excitement can each go an amazing distance toward building new relationships and support. I also don’t need to point out that the reciprocal statement is just as valid, nothing can harm an organization quite as negatively as bad publicity. Ethical and transparent practices are key for a donor base who are more resourceful and spend more time researching those that they choose to support than ever before.
4. Operating Effectiveness Is Essential – This statement won’t cause any dispute I would imagine and ties very nicely into the statement above at number three. I could write chapters about the thousands of organizations each year that have a perfectly good concept but don’t remain operational long enough to ever prove the case.
5. A Nonprofit is a company – This is number one on the Forbes list and I wouldn’t really include it on mine if I was to have written it. although the implied importance in the article is more about the vital part that a clear operational set of goals and objectives is the glue that makes a charity – or a company – survive. Perhaps a different phrase would have been more effective although I’d sooner focus on the importance of volunteers and nonprofit employees who convey the message of what your organization seeks to achieve with every hour worked or volunteered.

I’d find it most rewarding to learn what you think of the article from Forbes and just how well these suggestions translate to the nonprofit sector. I think that with a new year the chance to adopt a few new ideas is ideal and the article is a good starting point.
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Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including PCI compliant inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions  and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.