Forces for Good
Are you involved with a non-profit organization? Did you know that over 1.5 million non-profits exist in the United States and over 300 in the Ojai Valley alone? Pretty phenomenal when you think about it. I just finished reading a book by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod Grant, two MBAs, who wrote a study on high impact non-profit organizations. The books is called Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. It was a good read considering the potentially dry topic.
"At a time when the social sector has grown to more than $1 trillion, understanding what leads to impact is essential. Whether you're a non-profit leader, philanthropist, business executive, board member, volunteer, or simply interested in changing the world, this book will inspire you to be a stronger force for good."
In look at twelve non-profit organizations (Heritage Foundation to Habitat for Humanity to Teach for America) that were formed between 1963-1995, the authors discovered six common practices that made the organization effective. So, here are the cliff notes of those common practices:
- Advocate and Serve. This means that an organization should do both. Be of direct service and be an advocacy organization.
- Make Markets Work. Use business as a partner, not an enemy. Harness market forces.
- Inspire Evangelists. Help your volunteers and donors become an evangelist for your organization.
- Nurture Nonprofit Networks. Work with, and support, other non-profit organizations.
- Master the Art of Adaptation. Respond to changes in the environment. Evaluate and modify.
- Share Leadership. Leaders should delegate and share power.
Though many of the organizations I'm involved with are not at the level described in the book, many ideas and practices can be taken and applied to my organizations. I hope you will take the time to explore this book further. Highly recommended. The local library has a copy of the book and can be reserved online.
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Comments (4)
When those tax rebate checks come in, my husband and I want to give a few dollars to a local non-profit. You say there are 300 - wow, I had no idea! How do we find out more about local charities?
Comment #1 Posted by: Lisa Snider | April 29, 2008 09:06 AM
Lisa - you can go to change.org or networkforgood.org and search for Ojai. I'll be launching a philanthropic site for Ojai's non-profits hopefully later this year.
Comment #2 Posted by: Tyler | April 29, 2008 09:15 AM
Sounds like a great book Kenley.
Before donating to any non-profit, even local ones, I would give due diligence researching the allocation of their money. How much is spent on administration? How much to direct aid? Who are the executives? What are their track records? etc.
I do donate some to non-profits, yet mostly, as some of you know, I am working with a for profit company that donates 40% of gross profits to humanitarian aid. This seems to be an energy efficient way to have continual cash flow for our non-profit partners without them needing to solicit direct donations constantly.
Comment #3 Posted by: Raymond | April 29, 2008 09:43 AM
I think you'd really enjoy the book Raymond, particularly since it takes a "business" approach to non-profit organizations, and I encourage you to read it. What you might find surprising is that many non-profits do not rely on soliciting direct donations. In the book examples, funding comes from government, foundations, a business component, and/or investment income.
For example, one of the non-profits in the book has a goal of eliminating poverty in the U.S. One program they have is to work with government to change lending laws and at the same time worked with banks to demonstrate that lending to low-income citizens is beneficial and at the same time they sell mortgages which generate funds for the organization. This is off the top of my head, but this is the general idea (you'll have to read the book to find my errors). :-)
I think you would agree that funding is only one piece of non-profit organizations - people and community play a pretty large role as well.
Comment #4 Posted by: Kenley Neufeld | April 29, 2008 12:17 PM