Through conversations with your favorite grantee organizations, whether about financials, training for board and staff, systems and policies, fundraising capacity, equipment, or other issues, you’ll discover what they need to move forward. Can you make the types of grants they need most? Would you consider general operating support, which can free many organizations to focus on their services? Would you consider grants to help train board, staff, and volunteers or to build systems or technology capacity? Can you offer support beyond grants, such as advice on fundraising, communications expertise, or connections to other funders? Above all, your commitment to finding effective nonprofits and lending the support they need will pay off in greater results and greater satisfaction as a donor. Five common characteristics of effective nonprofits:1. Clear mission and purposeThe most fundamental quality of an effective nonprofit is clarity about its mission—both what it seeks to accomplish and why this purpose is important. The nonprofit should communicate its mission clearly to all its stakeholders—board, staff, donors, volunteers, partners, and the general public—so that everyone understands its goals and works toward a common purpose. All the nonprofit’s programs and operations should be aligned to advance its mission. In addition, effective organizations document the need for their services and explain the value they add. For example, human services organizations should be able to explain how their services meet real demands and fill gaps. Arts and culture groups should be able to describe how their work enriches the community and specific audiences. 2. Ability to perform key functionsEffective nonprofits can perform essential functions necessary to fulfill their missions. The authors of How Effective Nonprofits Work cite six essential functions:
A seventh function is key to effectiveness: making it part of the organization’s culture to evolve its programs and operations as it learns from stakeholders, from its assessment of impact, and from new knowledge in its field. In short, the nonprofit should be a learning organization. 3. Strong practices, procedures, and policiesEffective nonprofits also follow good practices in three functional areas: finance, governance, and organizational and program development. (Thanks to How Effective Nonprofits Work for this framework.) As a donor, look for the following factors:
If you are thinking of supporting a new or younger organization whose work you admire, recognize that it may not yet have in place all of the previously mentioned practices, procedures, and policies. 4. Good peopleAbove all, nonprofits depend on one key resource to fulfill their missions: qualified, skilled, and talented board members, staff, and volunteers. Boards should be diverse, talent rich, informed, responsible about stewardship, dedicated to the nonprofit and not their self-interest, and, above all, engaged. When nonprofits lack the resources and know-how to recruit and train effective board members, their governance, oversight, and leadership suffer accordingly. In addition, the effectiveness of a nonprofit largely depends on employing an appropriate number of staff members who are talented, adequately trained, and properly supported and compensated. Because people are key to performance, look for nonprofits that invest in their human resources. Recognize that recruiting, training, and supporting board, staff, and volunteers requires substantial investment. In addition, realize that measures of nonprofit efficiency—the ratio of program expenses to total expenses, for example—might only tell one small part of a much bigger story. 5. Ability to mobilize othersThe ability to mobilize and engage volunteers, other nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies is an essential skill for nonprofits seeking to address the root causes of problems and bring about long-term change. Building awareness and support among key audiences, and bringing more people and resources to the table are essential to change. If change is part of your goals, look for nonprofits that have the following characteristics or develop them in your favorite organizations: Which of the following is not a general characteristic of a notWhich of the following is not a general characteristic of a not-for-profit entity? They must receive all funding through donations. The Sydney Charitable Organization is a private not-for-provide entity.
Which financial statements are required for private notWhich financial statements are required for private not-for-profit organizations? Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Activities, Statement of Cash Flows, Statement of Functional Expenses.
|