MANAGING A NON-PROFIIT ORGANIZATION

Rating:
Summary: A Great Primer For Non-Profit Management
Review: I have been using this book as a text for an undergraduate college course that I teach on Management for Non-Profits. It is a great primer offering a a beroad survey of the issues I have found to be the ones that most threaten a small non-profit organization's ability to carry out its mission and survive.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Primer For Non-Profit Management
Review: I have been using this book as a text for an undergraduate college course that I teach on Management for Non-Profits. It is a great primer offering a a beroad survey of the issues I have found to be the ones that most threaten a small non-profit organization's ability to carry out its mission and survive.

Rating:
Summary: A great deal of wisdom to help your organisation
Review: In the 1970s Abbott Academy was considered one of the top institutions in the country, with a reputation that a student had a passport to success in college and later life. In the 1980s the school's fortunes changed with fewer applications, fewer students enrolling, college admissions less predictable and budget deficits leading to invasion of endowment. Correct diagnosis of the problem would have included;
- identifying the school's constituencies and monitoring their changing characteristics and needs
- changing the program to meet the needs of its constituents
- determining the schools strengths and weaknesses in relation to the competition and its perceived value in the community
- developing a sensible pricing strategy
- responding to the changing environment
- developing a proper image and promoting the institution correctly

In the nonprofit sector marketing is the engineering of satisfaction among a variety of groups including users, funders, trustees, regulators and others who can influence the success of the organization such as the media and general public. A successful marketing strategy allows organizations to accomplish their missions, meet their program goals and achieve long-term financial stability by focusing on the needs of their multiple constituents and satisfying their needs. Different strategies must be developed for different groups but Abbott had not even identified all its key constituencies, addressing itself only to students while neglecting parents, alumni, support groups including potential donors, college representatives, potential students, minority representatives, faculty, and trustees; when fortunes began to wane there was no loyal group to turn to for help. Abbott was unable to meet one of the great challenges that faces many nonprofits - the challenge of identifying each of its constituent groups clearly and accurately and developing separate, appropriate and effective strategies to satisfy each one.

Image is the sum total of beliefs, ideas and impressions that people have of an organization and the programs, services and products that it offers. In the non-profit world a strong, positive image is critical to gaining broad community support and it can change rapidly. It is particularly difficult when an organization's positive image is eroding slowly and imperceptibly, particularly if trustees and staff believe it is flourishing and no one in the institution understands what is happening. Image can be flourishing in one area and deteriorating in another. Because they serve multiple constituencies, nonprofits must develop the proper image for each one. This often involves projecting different aspects of the organization and its program to different audiences.

Had Abbott asked its constituents it would have discovered that its product was no longer competitive in the secondary-school market place. It failed to promote itself, failed to realize that its price was no longer related to its perceived value, and failed to note that its future clientele was locating in different parts of the city.

A nonprofit must have all the facts on how well it stacks up against the competition, how it is perceived in the community, how its programs, activities and products are regarded and how it might command a bigger share of loyalty from its customers, clients, funders or other constituents.

If this story sounds familiar this book will be very helpful to you. It will help you understand your organization by asking searching questions such as "Has your mission statement been reviewed within the last five years?" and "Who are your constituents? Are they well represented? Are they well served?" and "Has there been a formal test for organized abandonment within the last decade or do you propose to become progressively more irrelevant to the community you set out to serve?" and "What criteria have been developed to evaluate the continued relevance and appropriateness of your organization's mission and activities?" and "How much would people suffer if you went out of business?" and "Have the trustees given some thought as to how they will recruit and train a new chief executive when the time comes?" and "Is there a process that ensures that appropriately qualified people become officers in your organization?" and " Has your board engaged in a comprehensive long-range planning process within the last five years? Does your board approve specific goals and long-range objectives each year?" and "Is the chief executive skilled in personnel work and is there a system that ensures that each job will be filled by the best possible candidate?" and "Are the tasks appropriately distributed among salaried staff, volunteers, independent contractors and outside providers?" and "Have you found effective ways to identify, recruit, orient, motivate and recognize the work of volunteers?" and "What activities does your organization do less well? Should they be dropped? If not, how can they be made more successful?"

In addition, this book helps you to understand the ten commandments of fundraising, the six levels of planning, and managing information.

If you are the least bit uneasy about how well your nonprofit is making out, you will find a great deal of wisdom to help you identify the root of the problem and the cure.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for anyone involved in a nonprofit organization.
Review: This book offers a concise lesson in organizing or re-organizing any nonprofit organization. There are many real-life examples of problems and solutions that have been developed over the years and have stood the test of time. This will eliminate many hours of soul searching for the solution to organization problems and allow you to continue the good works for which your nonprofit was founded instead of drowning in the details. This will also save many hours and dollars of consulting fees to just get your organization off to a good start or to re-vamp a failing one. Before you hire a consultant, read this book.