A Non-profit Organizational Self-Reflection Starter Exercise

In a 2018 article "5 Ways Nonprofits Struggle (And How To Overcome Them) by Ben Paynter, he shares the following

"Only 20% of nonprofit funding in the United States is unrestricted

"From a testing and innovation standpoint, that means most nonprofits gain grants that dictate they put money directly toward existing programs. That can limit overhead, which when kept arbitrarily low creates what non-profit consultancy Bridgespan calls a “starvation cycle.” Groups that can’t invest in basic management and support costs generally have trouble sustaining their impact. In traditional business parlance, it also leaves organizations “very little wiggle room to invest in [research and development],” says Janus in an email to Fast Company, which lowers the chances of dramatically improving their socially-good products or services."

I believe that it is a worthwhile exercise for the Board and its Chief Staff Officer to periodically ask the following questions

What does our organization really need to succeed?

Where are we underinvesting?

What are the risks we’re taking by underinvesting in these areas?

What is the true value (financially and otherwise) to our organization ?

Is there a better way to achieve our mission with a different business model?

Organizational self-reflection is never a wasted exercise.