e-Newsletter: CNE Board Member Quarterly
Helping Your Nonprofit Thrive in 2010
How can nonprofit boards help their organizations meet the challenges of 2010 and not only sustain, but thrive?
2009 has been a rough year for most nonprofits, and while the national economy seems to be recovering, nonprofit leaders know that recovery for this sector will be slower. So 2010 will likely be a difficult year too. On top of the economy there are the generational shifts occurring that are changing the face of clients, boards and staff. And while some Baby Boomers have postponed retirement, many others are retiring but want to stay involved through part-time work, consulting, or more volunteer service. So what are the key issues to a sustainable nonprofit in 2010?
1) COMMUNICATION STYLE
It’s not just Gen Y’s that Tweet, have Facebook pages, and go to YouTube to learn something new. People of all ages and walks of life use technology to stay in touch, learn, share information, and organize for a cause. Nonprofits without a clearly thought out and frequently updated electronic presence will be left out of the loop of activism, donations and collaborations. Your current and potential customers need to be able to easily find your organization on the web, learn about your services, have options for connecting to you (phone, e-mail, Twitter, etc.), view information that supports your accountability, comment on your services/activities/events, and join you through volunteering or donating.
Your organization’s style of communication needs to be rethought as well. Many nonprofit board and staff grew up hearing that only the Board Chair, or only the Executive Director can speak for the organization. But when your agency’s business is just a Tweet away from the world, does this still make any sense? A communication plan is important, but empowering more people to speak appropriately is one more way of sharing the stories about your organization’s work and worth.
2) THE FACE OF VOLUNTEERING in 2010
While volunteers still lead with their hearts, this work needs to fit a greater diversity of lifestyle, economic situation and cultural experience.
One of the greatest struggles for nonprofits is finding and keeping good board members. Have you conducted a board assessment recently so you know whether the board is in sync, understands it’s roles and responsibilities related to the challenges faced now and in the near future, supports the way the board works?
Viewing service opportunities through the lens of your volunteers may help your nonprofit expand the choices and increase the volume of commitment. Can someone volunteer remotely? Do you offer opportunities to combine networking with their volunteer service? Are short-term projects available when a longer commitment isn’t possible? And critically, is your organization willing to invest the staff support to grow your program through volunteers, or was the volunteer director the first to go?
3) HOW YOU GET MONEY
Few nonprofits have not experienced funding cuts – public programs, foundation grants, private donations. And due to funding policies that use averaged balances over many months, the available pot for 2010 will be lower for most foundations. So many nonprofits are considering development of social enterprises or even for-profit ventures to diversify and supplement their revenue sources. Collaborations of many different kinds with the private and public sectors can also lead to opportunities to strengthen and expand a nonprofit’s role and ability to meet mission, which may help reduce or contain infrastructure costs. The most successful fundraising is still through individuals, so knowing and regularly communicating with your current donors and developing relationships with new ones is more critical than ever.
4) INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
The current financial challenges only emphasize the need for nonprofits to invest in their infrastructure – board and staff leadership development, continuing education/professional development for staff, technology and other critical capital maintenance and upgrades. These are just some of the often under-valued and/or under-resourced but crucial components of a nonprofit’s ability to be flexible, sustainable and responsive in today’s difficult times.
As a nonprofit organization, CNE faces these challenges as well, and our mission is to help other nonprofits identify their issues and determine solutions so they can best meet their missions. We invite you to take advantage of the expertise and multitude of resources available to you through CNE as you prepare your organization to thrive in 2010.
Resources / Sources
This information is summarized from these resources:
1. Gowdy, Hildebrand, La Piana, Mendes Campos. Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector. The James Irvine Foundation. 2009
2. "The Nonprofit Quarterly Study on Nonprofit and Philanthropic Infrastructure." The Nonprofit Quarterly. 2009. PDF file.