Welcome to Voices from the Field. This is the first of a series of Hammer & Associates guest blog posts featuring leaders and experts from the nonprofit sector, who will share ideas for funders and nonprofits alike. Look for future blog posts on resiliency, leadership, governance, grant writing, and more. If you wish to contribute to this guest blog, please contact me.
Will your nonprofit still be in business or will you cease to exist? When this is over, there is no question that the Coronavirus pandemic will have had an immense impact on the operations of thousands of nonprofits across the US. The nonprofit future is unknown. Will funders continue to fund? Will donors remain loyal? Few nonprofits will remain as they were a year ago. Some will shrink in size and scope. Many will not survive.
I have served the nonprofit sector for more than fifty years, as an executive director, board member, and, since 1995, as a consultant and trainer. I’ve advised nonprofits large and small, all over the US, with a wide spectrum of missions.
Here is what I know…and what I hope for the future.
Fact: There is tremendous duplication in the sector, which places a burden on funders, donors, volunteers and qualified staff to make choices about which organization to support. Some of this duplication is a result of a lack of simple information about what already exists. Sadly, some is a result of other deadly viruses: Turf and Ego – the entrenched belief that no other organization is able to solve a problem better than you. This prevents collaboration and cooperation – often effective cures for the Turf and Ego viruses.
Fact: As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the needs of humans, animals and our environment will increase while many of the traditional nonprofit sector ‘helpers’ will be struggling to exist themselves, or will have ceased to operate.
Take a breather for a moment! This is all very depressing and frightening, but I do not believe this is the end of the story. Far from it!
Hope: Now is the time to plan for a new and revitalized future for the nonprofit sector, starting with those organizations in our own communities, where we can build bridges and forge collaborations that can set the example for nonprofit leaders at the national level.
What Will It Take? Nonprofit boards and agency leaders must prepare for a different future. They must start with mission – has it changed? Is the organization positioned for change? Is it equipped to manage change? Is it driven by history and habit, or is it flexible and open to collaboration?
Starting at the local level, nonprofits must un-circle their wagons – reach out to others whose missions are similar. They must be willing to examine who is best positioned to provide services, relinquishing Turf and Ego to others who are better positioned, sharing resources, and facing the reality that, to serve community needs, some agencies need to merge to preserve resources and solve community problems more efficiently.
Funders must support these efforts and reposition their traditional funding methods. They must fund and reward agencies that invest in collaboration. They must support and reward efforts to reduce duplication and they must encourage and celebrate collaboration.
Courage. Courage. Selflessness. Rededication to mission and purpose over Turf and Ego. Collaboration and cooperation. Partnerships. We can use this global pandemic as an opportunity to create a new and vital nonprofit sector that addresses local, national and global human, animal and environmental issues in a process that reduces duplication, minimizes Turf and Ego and celebrates collaboration and cooperation.
Hope: I hope we choose wisely. Take the lead!
Jean is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant on nonprofit management, Board development and fundraising, and the author of 5 nonprofit books and manuals. Learn about Jean Block and download free resources: www.jblockinc.com.