Many nonprofits fail to achieve the lofty goals they seek to achieve. But did you know the root of many nonprofit failures are two myths which permeate and suffocate the sector? What are these myths, and how can nonprofits clear the air, scale, and succeed?
I have ,” who can talk about two myths that suffocate the nonprofit sector:
“The myth of uniqueness and the overhead myth are absolute wrecking balls when it comes to killing off any hope of nonprofit success,” says Donald Summers, Social Impact Advisor, Founder / CEO of Altruist Partners LLC, and Author of “Scaling Altruism: A Proven Pathway for Accelerating Nonprofit Growth and Impact.
1. The Myth of Uniqueness: The illusion held by many nonprofit leaders that nonprofits are mysterious and unique, and that normal organizational rules and practices don’t apply.
When struggling to perform and queried by board members and donors, many nonprofit leaders adopt a defensive posture: “Normal organizational practices don’t apply to nonprofits.” In reality, these leaders are living in fear and / or ignorance about the realities of thinking differently and growing.
Clearing the Air: Normal organizational practices such as business planning, clear outcome measures, KPIs, and fundraising strategies outside of carnivals and raffles are not only applicable to the nonprofit sector, but are powerful tools for creating ultra-successful social impact enterprises.
2. The Overhead Myth: The cultural assumption that all nonprofit costs other than direct program services are wasteful and should be minimized.
Whether an NFL team or a nonprofit, strong compensation is necessary to both hire and keep top talent. Hesitating to give top fundraisers that extra $25,000, or neglecting to compensate your successful fundraising team with incentives and reward packages will likely result in much larger penalties down the road.
Clearing the Air: You haven’t built a charity to nibble around the edges of a problem. You’ve built a social impact enterprise to solve the whole problem, and that starts with aggressive compensation so you can get the right people on the bus. Get more information through his book or here.
Donald Summers, Ed.M., is the Founder and CEO of Altruist Partners LLC, a pioneering social impact advisory firm. He is also the founder and executive director of the Altruist Accelerator, the firm’s nonprofit arm. Summers’ new book, “Scaling Altruism: A Proven Pathway for Accelerating Nonprofit Growth and Impact,” became the #1 on Amazon in Nonprofit Organizations & Charities upon its release. He holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership & Policy from Harvard.
