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strategies can be a challenge. For this reason, different financial goals must be
set for different revenue streams and each must be managed in a different way.
3. Development of An Explicit Nonprofit Business Model. Strategic business
decisions can’t be made without an existing business model. For this reason,
every nonprofit needs to develop a viable business strategy that brings together
all of the organization’s activities under the umbrella of the organization’s
mission. In the nonprofit world, programmatic impact strategies will be a
significant part of the business model. But each activity should be associated not
only with an impact strategy but also a revenue strategy. Thus, the sustainable
nonprofit has a “dual bottom-line” – impact and financial return.
4. Continuous Decision-Making. Today’s nonprofits face unprecedented
challenges. Evaluation, assessment and continuous decision-making are
necessary for survival and success when change is constant.
You should also keep in mind that succession planning is also a critical aspect of
sustainability because it ensures that staff, leadership and board members don’t take
critical knowledge and relationships with them when they leave.
________
What Nonprofit Functions Are [Typically]
Most In Need of Strengthening?
Nonprofits are typically organized into major functional areas, such as: central
administration, governance,
and programming. To be
sustainable over the long term, each
functional area must operate efficiently
and effectively and
take its place as
part of the whole.
The problem arises when cutbacks, programmatic
shifts, changing funder and
donor needs and the like,
take the stage. In such cases,
resource-strapped nonprofits
are stretched too thin. As a result, less essential
functions may become neglected and begin to
weaken. This, in turn, affects the
organization’s ability to fulfill its
mission.
According to a recent
study by the Weingart Foundation,
today’s nonprofits identify the following functions as most in need of attention:
Board Leadership and Development
The need for a strong nonprofit board cannot be overstated. Board members connect
the community with an organization’s mission, vision and values. As stewards, they
educate the community about the organization’s work and they support the organization
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