Pretend you're a new venture start-up!
When I first jumped into the world of non-profit's, I quickly realized that the one I'm part of (and I'm guessing most others) are still working from the framework of a "charity" model. Not that it's a bad thing being a charity. It's just that too often charities are still operating on the premise of the old "tin cup" mentality... looking for handouts. Too many of them are not taking advantage of the myriad benefits from the "corporate world". Then there are others that are implementing the business concepts of the corporate world, but have forgotten that they are still a charity, too.
I think the best thing any charity can do is to pretend they're a new venture start-up! Asking questions like, "What is our ultimate vision for success? How can we bootstrap this venture? Who are the most passionate, creative, intelligent people we can recruit for our team now? How do we start, and what do we do next? How can we best market this cause and organization? How do we make evangelists out of our donors?"
It's this type of thinking that will take you out of the Board Room and into the lab... where the real work gets done! But it's not only early-stage thinking that will help a non-profit be better at the "business of the business". It's getting rid of some of the "that's-the-way-we've-always-done-it" practices and habits, and bringing in new thinking and actions.
Merging the concepts of the non-profit world and the corporate world is not easy, but when done right, it can result in a bridge to greater success.
Someone captured what I think is the right blend of both business models when they coined the phrase "not-always-for-profit". Although any given non-profit may not have revenue streams that are for the purpose of generating a profit, all charities can profit from implementing certain business practices as if they were a for-profit.
That's what this blog will attempt to do.... assist non-profit's in making greater gains by changing the way they think and operate. The gains will hopefully be felt in areas such as donations, public support, brand awareness, marketing, and of course, that dreaded "S" word.... SALES; a word that many people working at non-profits abhor, but truthfully, they cannot deny!
We'll do this by offering thoughts, ideas, tools, and a public forum to argue. This won't just be me on a soap-box. I will invite other experts, such as two of my favorite authors Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin; and I invite YOU to be a dynamic part of this, as well.
So, here we go! Please send me your comments anytime.
I think the best thing any charity can do is to pretend they're a new venture start-up! Asking questions like, "What is our ultimate vision for success? How can we bootstrap this venture? Who are the most passionate, creative, intelligent people we can recruit for our team now? How do we start, and what do we do next? How can we best market this cause and organization? How do we make evangelists out of our donors?"
It's this type of thinking that will take you out of the Board Room and into the lab... where the real work gets done! But it's not only early-stage thinking that will help a non-profit be better at the "business of the business". It's getting rid of some of the "that's-the-way-we've-always-done-it" practices and habits, and bringing in new thinking and actions.
Merging the concepts of the non-profit world and the corporate world is not easy, but when done right, it can result in a bridge to greater success.
Someone captured what I think is the right blend of both business models when they coined the phrase "not-always-for-profit". Although any given non-profit may not have revenue streams that are for the purpose of generating a profit, all charities can profit from implementing certain business practices as if they were a for-profit.
That's what this blog will attempt to do.... assist non-profit's in making greater gains by changing the way they think and operate. The gains will hopefully be felt in areas such as donations, public support, brand awareness, marketing, and of course, that dreaded "S" word.... SALES; a word that many people working at non-profits abhor, but truthfully, they cannot deny!
We'll do this by offering thoughts, ideas, tools, and a public forum to argue. This won't just be me on a soap-box. I will invite other experts, such as two of my favorite authors Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin; and I invite YOU to be a dynamic part of this, as well.
So, here we go! Please send me your comments anytime.
posted by todd garrison at 3:56 PM
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