Is it Time to Reinvent Your Organization?

In 1984 Los Angeles hosted the Olympics.  In order to accommodate the huge influx of people and keep the freeways moving—something those of us who live in LA used to dream about—companies voluntarily put staff on staggered start and stop time.  It worked.  The freeways flowed and people loved it.  When the Olympics were over, I naively thought staggered start/stop times would continue.  But, of course, they didn’t.  Freeways again became constantly clogged.  And we again dreamed about not being caught up in traffic.

Today, as things start opening up after months of sheltering at home, I can’t help but wonder if some of the good that has come out of our sheltering at home will stick, or will there be a rush to “get back to normal?”

 But normal isn’t all that good for a vast majority of nonprofits.  Even before the shutdown, many nonprofits were just barely hanging in.  In fact, if they had been for profit businesses, a lot of them would have been forced to close their doors.  Instead, these organizations cut salaries, programs, didn’t pay vendors (I know this one well….) and generally barely survived by the skin of their teeth.  Others were a bit more fortunate; government funding (typically by contracts) or fees for service kept them afloat.  

 Other organizations are financially sound, but programs that used to be relevant may not be anymore.  Or clients have changed and so have their needs.  In short, this may be a very good time to consider if—and if so, how—nonprofits need to reinvent themselves so they can better serve the brave new world that is today, and what will come tomorrow.

 Let’s look at 6 things that you should be considering:

 1.      Your mission and yes, your vision. This is your purpose; why you exist.  I’m not (necessarily) suggesting a change in your mission or vision statement—those are marketing tools.  I am recommending that you really think about what you do; why you do it; who benefits; why it matters.  Importantly, consider what has changed in the past two months and how does that impact your purpose—or not.  Questions to ask would include:

• Is our stated purpose still relevant to our clients or our cause? Is it clear whose lives we are improving in some way, large or small?

• Is our purpose unique? What hole would be left in the community if we disappeared?

• Are we the rightful owner of our purpose? Do we have or can we build the capabilities to excel at it? Can we fulfill it most effectively and efficiently?   If not, look at #6 

• Are we heading in the right direction?  Do we even have a direction?   And please, can we retire the vision statement that says words to the effect of “to be the go-to place” or “the number one”.  I mean, really?  Or as my kids would say, Get Real. 

2.     How will you accomplish your mission?  This means getting rid of your poverty mentality.  No, you cannot do more with less.  We’ve proven that, over and over again.  You must look honestly at what it is going to take to do the work your mission requires.  That means focusing on staff.  Without enough staff, you cannot make a significant impact.  Paying them reasonable salaries and not allowing those salaries to always be held hostage to every financial crisis that occurs.  And providing resources for staff development.  They need ongoing training—maybe cross training—to do an excellent job.  

 But, wait! I can hear a number of you saying.  “We have no money!  We laid off or furloughed half our staff.  We are not in any position to think about bulking up.”  

 Yes, you are, I would argue.  Now is the perfect time. As you think about your mission, think also about what it is going to take to meet it.  Maybe not today but create a plan as to how you will realistically be able to serve the clients you need to service.  Frankly, I am tired of hearing how a nonprofit cannot accomplish something because they are too small—dream big and figure out how to get there.

 3.     Along with this, consider how you are conducting your daily business.  Social distancing meant that many nonprofits had to become digitally competent very quickly.  Organizations I work with, where I had to get an app so I could read their documents because they were using old, unsupported Word, suddenly learned how to put their programs online and interact with staff and volunteers virtually.  How else can this brave new world better serve your organization and your clients?

  Which of your staff can work from home—at least some of the time.  They may need desk space when they come into the office, but they won’t need their own desk, or their own office.  This could open things up for programs—aha! that classroom you needed?  Perhaps you already have it?  The expansion you were considering.  Maybe you don’t need it.  The rent that is skyrocketing.  This may be one way to increase your capacity.  Another may be that not every job needs to be full time and not every person wants a 40 hour plus work week.  

 4.     Stop whining that your board doesn’t fundraise, isn’t engaged, doesn’t give money.  Time for all of you to engage your board in reality checks.  And if you are on the board, embrace this wholeheartedly. Too many nonprofit boards seem to be not very effective at anything.   They are not providing necessary oversight; nor are they grappling with important strategic issues.  Some have stepped up to the plate during this crisis; many others have stepped even further away.  I have some clients where board members clearly stated that there was no reason to meet during this time—and that they would consider a meeting at the end of the calendar year!

 This is not necessarily their fault.  What are you doing to ensure they have the tools to be effective nonprofit leaders?  Have you provided them with the knowledge to  truly understand your programmatic and operational strengths and difficulties? In a recent article, BoardSource CEO Anne Wallenstad wrote that board members must be able to

“…engage deeply in conversations about programmatic and organizational adaptation, partnership exploration, and creative resource development options”

 Now is also the time to start thinking about your board of tomorrow.  What skills, traits, which tentacles into what communities are needed?  What is your process for recruiting and onboarding new members?  How do you bless and release a member who just isn’t up to snuff?  

5.     Inevitably, here we are at fundraising.  For starters, let’s all take a broader view.  When I started doing this work in the 1980s at USC, fundraising was not a word we used a lot.  The word was development.  And I liked that a lot.

Fundraising, to me, felt like going to prospects and saying, “Hi, give me money.”  The focus on the gift (money) and not on building something together.  I had come out of commission sales—both in the financial sector (insurance) and graphic arts (printing) and one thing I had learned was that I could focus on closing a sale, and that was a great short-term solution; or I could develop a customer, and that would support me and my company for the long term.  More, a customer would not only give me more work, they would likely refer other potential customers.

The important thing, not just for right now but especially right now, is think development.  Other words for development include growth, expansion, progress, increase.  And while at this moment, everything feels as if it is contracting, we need to be thinking about how we can push those walls out; how we can lay the foundation for an upsurge in the relationships we build and the money we raise.  

Think also about other sources of income.  This could include fees for service, sales of products.  Perhaps you are already doing this—but are you charging enough?  

If you have space—perhaps because you now are having staff work from home—consider renting some of your space out.  Use your ingenuity to think beyond your current revenue streams. 

6.     Whenever the economic situation gets grim—and it is very grim right now—much gets written about closure, mergers, and alliances.  Closing your doors or joining your organization with another takes a lot of work and a lot of thought.  It also would require an entire article to begin to scratch the surface.  But alliances—they can be simple and transformative.

When I was ED of a small nonprofit many eons ago, a local company provided 100% of my organization’s printing needs.  Several of my clients get furniture, equipment, and perhaps most importantly technical assistance from their corporate allies. Companies can provide rent-free office space, and co-marketing opportunities.  Corporate volunteer days can help you to paint a building, clean up a yard, or train your staff in areas they never even imagined.

Alliances with other nonprofits can include things like joint ventures or programs, shared office space or in some cases, shared employees.  

We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface.  There are so many opportunities for you to reinvent yourselves—and make your organization and our sector stronger.