The Way of Making a Sustainable Nonprofit Organization: Mojar School's 12-Year Journey

Ensuring a "Skills, Impact, and Value-Based" Monitoring System: A 12-Year Journey of Mojar School

As the Founder of Mojar School, my vision from day one was to create a sustainable, values-driven nonprofit that would serve underprivileged children in Bangladesh for generations. This vision wasn't just about the short-term. It was about laying the groundwork for the next 30 years, ensuring the organization was adaptable, growth-driven, and empowered by the right talent. Here’s a detailed pathway of how we moved from scratch to a robust skills- and impact-based system, ensuring that only those committed to growth and values stayed in leadership roles, protecting the organization from those with a fixed mindset or less relevant skills.

1. Assessing the Organizational Requirements

When I first envisioned Mojar School, the question wasn't just about what we wanted to achieve today, but where we aimed to be in 30 years. This required deep introspection and strategic planning on several fronts:

• Current and Future Needs: We assessed what we had—resources, programs, and the organizational structure—and identified what we needed to scale. A sustainable chain of command was established, focusing on scalable programs and projects that could align with long-term visionary goals. The idea was to ensure that growth wasn't limited by the people but fueled by them.
• Long-Term Vision: We created a roadmap spanning decades, ensuring that everything, from program design to human resource allocation, supported our mission to be a sustainable solution for underprivileged children.

2. Shifting the Hiring Culture

Our hiring culture was one of the most crucial elements in this journey. Rather than focusing solely on institutional certificates and degrees, we made a deliberate choice to prioritize skills, mindset, and values. Candidates who demonstrated:

• A Growth Mindset: Individuals who were continuously learning, unafraid of challenges, and committed to self-improvement.
• Skills Beyond Qualifications: We hired people who could deliver results, whether or not they had the ‘perfect’ educational background. Practical, adaptable, and willing to evolve—these qualities became our hiring benchmarks.

This shift protected the organization from fixed-mindset individuals who might possess impressive credentials but lacked adaptability and innovative thinking. Instead, we sought out those with the intrinsic motivation to grow along with the organization.

3. Implementing SOPs, KPIs, OKRs, and Strong Reporting Systems

We developed and continuously refined our Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). These were not just static documents but dynamic tools that ensured clarity in expectations and accountability across the organization.

• Hard and Soft Reporting Systems: We built a culture of transparent reporting, both quantitatively and qualitatively. This allowed us to measure not just tangible outputs but also softer elements like leadership, team collaboration, and personal growth.
• Concept Notes and Strong Plans: Every project, every program came with a concept note, a clear roadmap for execution, and measurable impacts. This made it easier to monitor, assess, and adjust initiatives in real-time, ensuring continuous improvement.

4. Work Distribution, Increment, Promotion, and Disciplinary Systems

Once our hiring, reporting, and planning systems were in place, we turned our attention to work distribution and recognition. This phase was deeply aligned with our “skills, impact, and value” mantra:

• Work Distribution: Clear role distribution ensured that everyone knew their responsibilities. Tasks were delegated based on capability, growth potential, and team dynamics, fostering an environment of mutual accountability.
• Promotion and Increments: Promotions and salary increments were directly tied to demonstrated skills, impact, and alignment with organizational values. Seniority or tenure played a secondary role. This ensured that people who were making the biggest impact were rewarded appropriately, incentivizing others to grow and evolve.
• Firing and Disciplinary Actions: Similarly, the lack of skill or a fixed mindset meant we were unafraid to let people go. We understood that retaining the wrong individuals could slow down the organization's progress. Disciplinary action, when required, was always based on the failure to meet the expected skills, values, or impact, with a secondary focus on discipline.

5. Open Monthly Progress Reporting for Leaders

We created an open, transparent progress reporting system. Every month, leaders from all programs and departments presented their work openly:

• Results-Based Discussions: Leaders were evaluated on what they achieved, how they achieved it, and their alignment with our long-term vision.
• Continuous Feedback Loop: This open reporting format allowed for real-time feedback and adjustments, helping everyone stay aligned with our collective goals. More importantly, it provided an opportunity for people to showcase their skills, contribution, and growth. We were able to spot emerging talent early, and provide opportunities for further development.

6. Protecting "Growth and Skills" People from Less Skilled and Fixed-Mindset Individuals

One of the key challenges we faced was ensuring that those who embodied the organization's values were protected from individuals with a fixed mindset. This is where our focus on transparent evaluations, reporting systems, and skills-based assessments became our strength:

• Real-Time Skill Assessments: Every individual’s performance was tied directly to their skills and impact. If someone wasn’t growing or contributing meaningfully, it became evident through our evaluation process.
• Open Communication Channels: By fostering open communication and feedback systems, we empowered people to speak up about inefficiencies or mismatches in their teams. This allowed us to course-correct before small issues turned into bigger problems.
• Impact-Driven Culture: We built a culture where impact was celebrated, and stagnation was addressed quickly. This naturally attracted those who wanted to contribute and grow, while pushing away those who were content with the status quo.

Conclusion: Building a Sustainable, Impact-Focused Organization

In the last 12 years, Mojar School has grown from a vision into a national and international award-winning nonprofit organization. This success didn’t come from luck but from deliberate, systematic efforts to build a team and culture where skills, values, and impact were the primary metrics for success. By doing this, we’ve been able to create an organization that is not just effective today, but one that is built to last for decades to come, powered by a team that believes in continuous learning, growth, and the shared vision of a better Bangladesh.