Doing Things Differently
During the pandemic, many nonprofits realized that they didn’t have a process or structure that would allow them to thrive or, indeed in many cases, to just keep their doors open. Sure, there was PPP, but that didn’t resolve the issue of creating truly sustainable organizations.
Some funders did step up to the plate. I am and have been involved with a number of funded projects that offers technical assistance for a variety of capacity building projects, but these programs usually offer 10-20 hours of consulting/coaching time. Just enough time, frankly, to identify not only the issue but—more critically—the assets that the organization can build on. But not enough to actually make the necessary changes.
And this where, during board retreats and other board trainings, I typically get up on my soapbox and remind board members that asking nonprofits to “run lean” and “do more with less” is setting them and their clients or cause up for failure.
In their own for-profit businesses—as executives, staff, owners—they know that it actually takes money to make money. So why the blinders when it comes to the nonprofits they clearly care about? Few would try to run their business with outdated computers, only free versions of software, and most insidiously, with not enough staff who are paid piddling amounts compared to what they are worth.
Large nonprofits—like for profit businesses—mostly understand that. When I worked at universities and community colleges, I made a very good living. At the universities that brought in a lot of money through fundraising, fundraising staff was robust. And, if this point really needs to be made again, where fundraising staff was scant, so was the amount that was brought in.
Beyond the misunderstanding about overhead (and yes, I had hoped this was a myth that had been put to put long ago), is a second, equally treacherous myth that the minute you decide to do fundraising, the money should come pouring in. Immediately. I cannot even count how many times I’ve been told as I recommend a fundraising strategy, “We did that. It didn’t work.”
OK. I do a lot of things that don’t work—at first. Or don’t work because it needs a tweak, a different approach, I’m trying to interest the wrong audience. My neighbor, an engineer at a large aerospace company, talks about how when something doesn’t perform the way they hoped, they go into “failure mode.”
“We investigate what didn’t work,” he says, “and make adjustments.”
My husband, also an engineer, though he will tell he actually teaches engineers and doesn’t engineer himself, reminds his students that must first understand the problem. If they don’t, they will solve the wrong thing.
He’s right. Too often nonprofits will tell you that the problem for example, is that they don’t have enough money, or not enough people know who they are. But these are NOT the problem. These are the result of the problem. The real problem may be lack of resources; it may also be a lack of planning. Frequently the problem is simply a lack of persistence.
Unlike my neighbor, I prefer to go into success rather than failure. He likes to look at what went wrong—and there are times when this is necessary. I favor looking at what worked and seeing how we can built on and replicate that.
Who said yes to that appeal that didn’t perform as well as you hoped? What resulted in a larger gift than anticipated? What actions brought donors back for second, third, ongoing giving? Those new donors that came last year—how did they get to you? Or, perhaps, how did you get to them?
I will tell you that my 30 plus years in development and 15 before that in sales and marketing has taught me that persistence pays. We tried that—once—is not a measure of anything. Try it, and then try it again. And again.
Stop doing more with less. Insist on the tools you need to craft a careful and thoughtful plan and implement an important and impactful program. It is time for us to stop shortchanging ourselves, our clients, our communities.