Key Factors Important to the Success of Nonprofit Organizations

Post by Cordelia Kwokori

Nonprofit organizations depend on so many resources for their success, without these resources they cannot function. Resources include the mission, human resources, and a good board of directors. Nonprofit organizations cannot survive without volunteers. What would the organizations do without volunteers? Nevertheless, the biggest resource is finances. Without money, the nonprofit organization cannot take off. This blog post will address key factor and others that are important to the success of nonprofit organizations.

The Mission

An organization's mission drives everything. It is the basis of strategy and determines what the organization will and will not do. For nonprofits, the mission plays an important role in inspiring staff and donors (Hauser, 2003). An organization's culture is more than just the atmosphere of the office. When clearly articulated, it guides the staff's behavior and communicates the way things are done in the organization (Hauser, 2003). Human resource are also one of the key factors important to the success of many organizations, particularly in the nonprofit sector. Training a staff member to realize their full potential requires more than idealism. Effective managers are also needed.

People serve on nonprofits board because they believe in the charity's or foundation's mission and hope to make a difference. A member of the board that is connected in the society can increase donor base funding and connections for its organizations with one eye on mission success and the other on reducing risk (Hechinger, 2005). An efficient board behaves differently from merely responsible boards. They give their all to their organization and their time is spent more judiciously. Their skills and social networks are better utilized and their donations are more evenly distributed. They open doors and make connections. Adhearing to their legal and ethical respnsibilities, they take time to ensure financial integrity; strong managmeent, good decisions, and continuous commitment to the mission, providing invaluable and critical leadership to the organization.

Publicity

According to Jacobs & Glass (2002), nonprofit organization's income, paid staff, membership size, and library resouces are significantly related to getting media publicity. The threats of reduced governent funding, and demands for greater accountability has lead to successful nonprofit organizations investing in media publicity as an important resource. To appear more competent and legitimate, these organizations are hiring public relations specialist to justify their activities to the public. It is a way to communicate that their money is used wisely. It is also a valuable resource for nonprofit organizations seeking to justify their activities to their communities, donors and politicians--groups that are increasingly important to getting government funding. When nonprofit organizations have their activities reported to the news, they are able to reassure existing and prospective members that their donations are being put to good use (jacobs & Glass, 2002).

Internet Technology

The world is changing rapidly for America's nonprofit sector. The operating environment has grown more and more challenging for charitable organizations. IT use will increase mission-related use, focusing on strategic communications, marketing, and relationship building; the acquisition of funding sources and financial sustainability; and the use of partnerships, collaborations, and donor assistance (Hackler & Saxton, 2007). IT has the power to change the nature of nonprofit empoloyees working conditions, including workload, working environment, job performance, increased market base through the Internet and employee job statisfaction, and it also will increase diverse funding bases in nonprofit organizations (Hackler & Saxton, 2007).

Volunteers

Volunteers are also key factor contributing to the success of nonprofit organizations-- they are indispensible. They save most organizations money that otherwise would have been used to pay for the services they provide to the organizations. An organizaiton with a diverse base will increase its volunteer population and donations, have relationships with different cultural groups in their community, and will in the long term, increase their market base. Not having financial resources makes it impossible for an organization to experience the other resources talked about in this blog. Financial resources are the most important factor to the success of a nonprofit organiation. Financial resouces drive the ability to hire and retain human resources and professional nonprofit management is a critical need for nonprofits.