7 Suggestions To Improve The Performance Of Your Nonprofit Organization

When you read about management and innovation strategies, most of the business press and news focus on for-profit companies. Yet, non-profits constitute a huge segment of our economy. According to the Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics, just the public charity sector alone accounts for over $1 trillion in total revenue. There are close to one million public nonprofits and private foundations registered with the IRS. Notwithstanding these noteworthy statistics, many nonprofits labor to effectively manage. This article shares seven insights from the trenches of nonprofit management. Leverage technology strategicallynnNew developments in Internet and telephone technology are making it increasingly easy for nonprofits to save on travel costs and increase coordination. Desktop sharing apps are becoming easier to use and allow nonprofit managers to instantly create virtual meetings across geographically dispersed teams. Additionally free conference calling solutions such as Rondee.com are allowing nonprofits to slice their telephone expenses and create better team innerworkings and improve coordination with external nonprofits. Stay focusednnThe most effectively managed nonprofits are ones that stay clearly focused on their mission and do not get enmeshed in peripheral goals. Most nonprofits operate under serious resource constraints. Addressing three goals with 100% effort will generally yield superior results compared to tackling six goals at half effort. Use data based decision-making practicesnnOne of the most significant trends recently affecting nonprofits has been the increasing reliance on evidence driven decision-making. Nonprofit practitioners can apply the same practices to determine what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and therefore reliance on conjecture and theory is being systematically replaced by empirical evidence to justify decisions. Grow your networknnThe most successful nonprofit entrepreneurs create networks of supporters who share their values and mission. While the word networking frequently gets a bad rap, the fact is these networks can provide more than merely financial support. Crucially, they also provide the psychological support which is so critical to sustaining enthusiasm amongst leaders as well as volunteers. Learn how to lobbynnMany nonprofits believe that lobbying is the province of for-profit companies. While that may be true in some situations, many successful nonprofits have developed a tremendous advantage through mastering the art of lobbying. Whether to arrange needed reforms in public policy or the support of public figures, lobbying can be an effective method for nonprofits to accelerate traction. Keep your fundraising focusednnMost of the nonprofits that have grown dramatically in the past few decades have done so by concentrating their development on a single type of funding source. The strategy usually employed requires developing efforts and messaging tailored to the needs of their primary funding source. Not only is this approach typically more effective than the shotgun method, it enables deeper relationships to be formed between the funding channel and the nonprofit. Multiply through matchingnnMultiply your development dollars through matching gifts. Most folks know that some employers will match gifts to certain nonprofits. Less well understood is the multiplier effect of getting promises from donors to match the donations of smaller contributors. The good news is that these strategies are not expensive. Whether its deploying free teleconference solutions or learning how to lobby, nonprofits can scale up their performance through these 7 suggestions.