Signs Your Nonprofit Resources Are Misaligned
I have been staring at my pantry for the last 6 months or more, swearing each time I walk in into it. How did this get so disorganized? I have to make time to reorganize!
Yes, after 30+ years I now have a real pantry rather than a closet!
Then I just kept putting it off. Who likes this kind of tedious chore? Not this girl.
It’s not that I couldn’t find anything, I could. It just took a lot longer to find what I was looking for. It may be why I have 3 large bottles of oregano.
So, I finally did it.
At first, I tried to just organize my cookbooks. I quickly realized it was going to be more efficient to just empty the whole space. Cue very sad music. I wish I had a before to show you but alas, this is the best I can do. It looked like something blew up in my kitchen and dining room. In my defense, because my family and friends know I love to cook, I get a lot of kitchen gadgets and appliances as gifts.
No judgment, nonprofit leader. I see you.
You probably have a lot of closets or corners of your world you are avoiding. I know this is true because I have been helping nonprofit and community organizations for more than 25 years.
Managing financial resources is often a pain point. Maybe your organization is too small for a full-time grant writer. Rather than hiring a contractor you try and do it all yourself. I have seen so many nonprofit CEO’s try to wear all the hats, and this one is a heavy one.
It’s been fundraising season in my town and trust me, most nonprofits lose money on their yearly gala. Do yourself a favor, get creative in engaging your donors rather than a big event that costs too much staff time, money, and energy. Think about a smaller, more intimate event, like a breakfast or a cornhole tournament. I am not kidding about the last one. I know of several rural community nonprofits that made big $$$ on a cornhole event. They had people donate the equipment, had prizes and food donated, and charged a small fee to enter. Brilliant! As a former board member and current donor of several nonprofits, can I say, there is nothing like a handwritten note from the CEO or board member thanking your donor. Whatever you do, follow your mother’s advice – write that old-fashioned thank you! You will create a fan for life!
Non-Financial resources also are mismanaged. Take volunteers. People who volunteer to work with you want to do something and more than that, they signed up to work with you for a reason! Put them to work or they will go elsewhere. This happened to me just recently. I volunteered for a local nonprofit organization and I have heard nothing from them. No call, no orientation. Crickets. I want more than just a portal where I sign up to show up at a location. I want to be part of their mission. Don’t you agree?
Just like volunteers, your staff needs to be engaged. When they are not in the right seats, that is you aren’t using their best skills, there is a mismatch between their work and their talent. They will quickly become frustrated and leave. If your nonprofit is like most, you and they are probably working wayyyyy too many hours. Having your people in the right roles will maximize your capacity and move you more quickly towards your vision.
Lastly, if you can’t show you are making a difference, your nonprofit likely won’t be around for long. Just like my pantry, you need to get your data house in order! Don’t ignore the pantry of information that will tell your data story. Trust me, you won’t need to buy that expensive software for a long time. Once you do, you will then have to hire someone else to customize it. Good ol’ Excel will work just fine for now. Do yourself a favor and check with me or another evaluator you know before you sign that sales agreement.
There is so much more I would like to say about mismatched resources, but let me just end by saying that I know you have a heart for service.
Still up at night overwhelmed by nonprofit chaos? It’s time to clean the house. Explore my nonprofit resources and get the clarity you need to move forward.
Ann