Nonprofit Sector

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 06 jun 2015

The relationship between the management and the nonprofit board requires an optimum balance for better performance. Management has more information, thus giving them more power, in the functioning of the organization. However to stay relevant and effective, volunteer board members need to be proactive in seeking the information not only from the management but also from the other sources. There can be adverse consequences for the organization if the board members fail in this regard. Professor Eugene Fram of Rochester Institute of Technology, suggest steps to prevent management from overriding the board - Develop an understood difference between the policy/strategy development and managing organizational operations; Governance focus; Better collaboration and communications. Read on...

Huffington Post: Can Nonprofit Management Usurp Board Responsibilities?
Author: Eugene Fram

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 may 2015

According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) website, 'UNDP assists partners to achieve sustainable, people-centered development through an integrated approach that links policy with planning and programming, for promoting results based management, instating quality safeguards, monitoring and evaluating impact and equally learning from failures and successes.' Innovation is an integral part of the development program and requires investments to fulfil the goals. UNDP has defined nine innovation principles - (1) Design with the User (2) Understand the Existing Ecosystem (3) Design for Scale (4) Build for Sustainability (5) Be Data Driven (6) Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation (7) Reuse and Improve (8) Do no harm (9) Be Collaborative. In the context of development, innovation means to embrace complexity and accept diversity of solutions, and it implies that breakthroughs can only be created in partnership. As Millennium Development Goals are set to run their course, the agreement is now being sought on new development priorities. The Innovation Facility's 'Year in Review' report identifies six areas where UNDP will seek to innovate in 2015 and beyond - (1) What exactly, is the problem?: Social challenges are becoming increasingly complex. Focus is on understanding the problem based on available data. Big data analysis and embracing ethnographic methods to better understand diverse perspectives of the people affected by development challenges. (2) The best ideas come from surprising people and places: Looking for models and ideas beyond UNDP. Community solutions and open innovation challenges can encourage startups, NGOs and other partners to propose concrete solutions to problems or an opportunity. (3) Test, measure, improve: Test multiple ideas and approaches and select the one that gives better results. (4) Who wants your idea?: Before making investment, seek a clear business plan to identify probable partners (government, private sector or NGO) to bring the idea to scale. (5) Can we create shared value?: For post-2015 agenda large investment by governments alongwith substantial support from private sector are required. Through building local partnerships, opportunities for shared value to be explored. (6) Forget failure - learn!: Learn by testing ideas and failures to improve performance. Innovation involves calculated risks. To get success learn and improve. Read on...

Devex Impact: 6 ways to innovate for development in 2015 and beyond
Author: Benjamin Kumpf

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 15 may 2015

Chairman of a nonprofit board has a leadership position and the board's success depends on the capabilities and skills that he/she demonstrates while providing guidance and direction in critical areas. Jay Love, co-founder and CEO of Bloomerang, provides a selective list of 8 attributes of the chairman that have the largest impact on the success of the nonprofit board - (1) Personal Commitment to the Nonprofit (2) Exude Enthusiasm (3) Ability to See the Big Picture (4) Is Not 'Over' Committed (5) Relationship Magician (6) Results Oriented (7) Huge Rolodex: Knows Most People and the Right People (8) Existing Mutual Respect with the CEO/Executive Director. Read on...

Business 2 Community: 8 Attributes Of An Outstanding Nonprofit Board Chairman
Author: Jay Love

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 30 apr 2015

According to the new research by Eduserv, 'Creating The Right Environment for Digital Transformation', most charities are aware of the importance of IT and digital transformation to improve the way they deliver services and engage with their volunteers. But there seems to be lack of clarity about how they will implement and accomplish this. Report observed three challenges that charity leaders are facing while driving digital transformation - (1) Strategy and Knowledge Gap: Many of those at the top of charities have yet to grasp that digital transformation is not about using technology or digital platforms to replicate existing activities but about fundamental transformation of the way charities go about doing their business. (2) Structure: Delivering on the needs of the digital-first charity requires different ways of organising and managing teams. Most charities are still relying on old structures and working relationships. IT and digital are failing to add value because they are seen as service providers and support functions rather than business partners. (3) Infrastructure: Charities are not only failing to put in place the right IT platforms but they are failing to invest in people with the right skills to support their digital future in their IT teams. To overcome these challenges, charities can do the following - (1) Embed digital capability at the top of organisation's leadership, so that digital is embedded at the heart of a charity's strategic thinking. (2) Build a digital-first culture throughout the charity. It is not realistic to expect digital and IT teams to drive change from the margins as support functions. Invest in IT and digital skills and tools. Read on...

Information Age: Digital transformation - the pressing three priorities for charities
Authors: Chloe Green, John Simcock

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 apr 2015

To get a for-profit social enterprise started and make it self-sustaining requires different types of fundraising at different stages of the venture's growth. Lisa Curtis, founder of Kuli Kuli Foods, suggests the following stepwise process to effectively finance the enterprise - (1) Put the idea for an enterprise on paper and participate in business plan competitions to win prizes and also to learn, connect and promote it to increase the chances of future funding. (2) Join an accelerator program as it helps to build the necessary funding network or sometimes it provides funds directly. (3) After business plan competition and refining the idea through an accelerator program, get on with crowdfunding campaign. But before the launch of crowdfunding it is important to know exactly how much money is required and what the final product will look like. (4) Once the product is ready for the market, it becomes important to sustain the business without running out of money. At this stage acquiring a loan will be an important financial strategy. (5) Once the business starts to grow and idea has got 'proof-of-concept' from the market, the next step is to seek angel investors. One way is to do an accredited-only crowdfunding campaign. Moreover join an investor network, prepare a solid executive summary and keep on pitching to prospective investors. (6) Keep the focus on the main purpose of the social enterprise i.e. to make a positive impact on the world. This will provide the strength to carry on during the challenging times. Read on...

Triple Pundit: 6 Steps to Finance Your New Social Enterprise
Author: Lisa Curtis

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 apr 2015

According to the American Enterprise Institute, social enterprises 'differ from typical government programs in that they are a business, usually operated outside of government, with a concern for the bottom line. They are typically started by people who want to make a difference in society by helping others.' The new study by Mathematica Policy Research states that social enterprises might be one part of the answer to combating poverty in the United States. The research evaluated social enterprises in California and found these public/private businesses increased employment, decreased dependence on government and increased the likelihood individuals had stable housing. Read on...

MacIver Institute: Social Enterprises - A Solution to Employing the Hard-to-Employ?
Author: Nick Novak

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 25 apr 2015

The survey of 924 nonprofit board directors conducted by team of researchers (David F. Larcker, William F. Meehan III, Nicholas Donatiello, Brian Tayan) from Stanford Graduate School of Business supports a long-held hypothesis that many nonprofit boards are ineffective. The study revealed that a significant minority are unsure of their organization's mission and strategy, dissatisfied with their ability to evaluate their organization's performance, and uncertain whether their fellow board members have the experience to do their jobs well. According to Prof. Larcker, the lead researcher, 'Our research finds that too often board members lack the skill set, depth of knowledge, and engagement required to help their organizations succeed.' Researchers offer following recommendations to improve nonprofit board governance - (1) Ensure the mission is focused, and its skills and resources are well-aligned. (2) Ensure the mission is understood by the board, management, and key stakeholders. (3) Establish explicit goals and strategies tied to achieving that mission. (4) Develop rigorous performance metrics that reflect those goals. (5) Hold the executive director accountable for meeting the performance metrics, and evaluate his or her performance with an objective process. (6) Compose your board with individuals with skills, resources, diversity, and dedication to address the needs of the nonprofit. (7) Define explicitly the roles and responsibility of board members. (8) Establish well-defined board, committee, and ad hoc processes that reflect the nonprofit's needs and ensure optimal handling of key decisions. (9) Regularly review and assess each board member and the board's overall performance. Read on...

Business Wire: Stanford Research Offers Nine Tips to Improve Nonprofit Governance
Author: Heather Hansen

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 31 mar 2015

Non-profit organizations need to focus on their mission and objectives, and design and implement effective governance practices and align them with the interests of their main stakeholders. They should keep in mind the laws of the land and regulatory processes while pursuing their charitable goals. Non-profit organizations in the state of Pennsylania in US have the following main stakeholders - (1) Attorney General: Has responsibility for ensuring that nonprofit charitable corporations and their boards of directors operate in accordance with their nonprofit mandates. (2) Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Has the authority to grant tax-exempt status to charitable nonprofit corporations, has an interest in ensuring that charitable corporations are governed appropriately. (3) General Public: That contributes to and supports a nonprofit corporation's goals and objectives has economic and mission-related interests in the organization's affairs to ensure that their donations, contributions and support are used to further the organization's charitable purposes. Board of directors of non-profit organizations plays an important role in corporate governance and oversees its effective working. The directors have to carry out their duties in a responsible and conscientious manner. Two principal fiduciary duties of the director are - Duty of Care (Calls upon a director to actively participate in the decisions of the board and to appropriately review data relevant to such decisions); Duty of Loyalty (Requires that each director of a nonprofit corporation make decisions based on the best interests of the corporation and not based on any personal interests). To design an appropriate corporate structure, two tools can be of importance to guide and direct the board in the right direction - (1) Carefully Drafted Bylaws: They identify, shape and inform the corporation's governance structure. They provide a clear roadmap of the corporation's internal management structure while retaining flexibility to respond to operational and governance changes that may occur over time. (2) Judicious Adoption and Use of Corporate Policies and Procedures: Conflict of interest policy; Whistleblower policy; Document reduction and destruction policy. Read on...

The Legal Intelligencer: Effective Corporate Governance in the Nonprofit Sector
Author: Noel A. Fleming

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 31 mar 2015

In US charitable giving was about US$ 335 billion in 2013. Recently released '2014 Charitable Giving Report' by Blackbaud covers a sample size of US$ 16 billion in US-based giving. The report shows 2.1% increase in philanthropic giving in 2014 (Total Growth in US economy was 2.4%). The main highlight of the study was the rise in digital-based giving, which increased a total of 8.9% from the previous year. This points towards the digital future of fundraising. Moreover there is clear indication of use of digital strategies by smaller non-profits due to its lower costs as compared to traditional methods of fundraising like postal mail, phone calls etc. Todd Cohen, founder of Philanthropy North Carolina, provides insights on the importance of peer-to-peer fundraising in the digital age. Read on...

NonProfit Quarterly: Fundraising Insights for Smaller and Mid-sized Nonprofits - From a Blackbaud Report
Author: Steve Boland

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 08 mar 2015

One of the most challenging tasks for nonprofits is to attract donors and obtain funds for their operations from external sources. Lack of funds can bring great causes and social movements to a halt. To raise money needs specific talent and skills. According to Dan McGinley, director of the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy at National University in San Diego, 'A more effective technique to seek money is to approach a philanthropist the same way a salesman approaches a client... We're adopting the already proven practices of professional selling. The process includes building relationships and getting to know a person's interests, then showing that person how a particular product or nonprofit can meet those interests.' T. Denny Sanford, a successful businessman and philanthropist, advices to keep the process of asking for money simple and says, 'I want everyone to tell their story as if it is to their grandmothers and no more than a 10-story elevator ride. Short and sweet and easy to understand. Because (with) some of the technology people get too technical and talk way over everybody's head.' Read on...

U-T San Diego: Teaching nonprofits how to raise money
Author: Gary Warth

Latest             ⊲ Newer Posts             Nonprofit Sector             Older Posts ⊳             Last