5 Things Every Non-Profit Must Have

The simplicity of philanthropy (take-in to give-back) actually undermines non-profit strategy because it discounts some of the core fundamentals needed to actually be effective, both in generating dollars and engagement, and efficiently channeling resources. Non-profits need the following 5 things to serve their underlying missions:

1) An Evolving Mission Statement (Problem and Solution)

It seems so simple, but so many non-profits lack a clear mission statement that defines the problems they're trying to solve, and how their organizations are trying solve them. A lot of non-profits do the first part very well - they define the problem. Many do a very poor job of connecting a tangible solution (or set of solutions) that they are using to solve the problem. The mission statement is likely one of the first things that a non-profit ever develops and they let it stay static. In reality, mission statements need to evolve as the understanding of the problem becomes more clear. I don't believe in annual updates to the mission statement, but I do believe a regular assessment of the mission statement is critical.

2) A Deep Desire to Experiment

In the corporate world, a deep desire to experiment results in innovation. But innovation doesn't just happen - it's based on a fundamental understanding within the executive team and the board that it needs to experiment (pilot, prototype, whatever) to stay ahead of the competition. Sometimes that means cannibalizing yourself (e.g., iPhone ate the iPod). For non-profits, this means not sitting around and waiting for the same checks to come in year-in and year-out. It means using vehicles (people, etc.) to go out and try new things. Experimentation is about failure, and failure is about learning. The more experimentation that non-profits engage in, the more they will learn about ways to create more effective engagement.

3) A Really Good Website

Statistics continue to show that non-profit websites are the main interface with the public when it comes to messaging and story-telling. Social media is a new channel for promotion, but websites are still the anchor to selling your cause. A really good website, in my opinion, has 3 components: 1) A simple User Experience (UX) - it shouldn't take somebody 5 clicks to figure out who you are, what you do, why you're doing it, why people should care, and how others can help. 2) Updated Content - there are too many non-profits out there that have websites that have stale content. In today's world of real-time everything, if the last time you updated content was 3 months ago, you're stale...and it is painfully obvious; and, 3) Rich Content - I define rich content as stories of how the work you're doing benefits people. Don't show me a half-narrative of just the problem - show me how what you're doing is helping the problem and if possible, put numbers to it. Show me your solution is working. If your website looks like it was from the 90's, what does that say about your organization?

4) A Relevant Brand Strategy

Non-profits are no different than for-profits when it comes to branding. Branding is not just one thing - it's more than just your logo. Branding is an amalgamation of both tangible and intangible things that come together to reinforce to the world who you are and what you stand for. And just like everything else, consistent evaluation of 'brand' is something that all non-profits need to be doing to understand areas that might need to be re-calibrated.

5) Multi-Channel Giving

I define 'multi-channel giving' as multiple pillars (or avenues) in which one can give to further your cause and help address the problem. I've seen too many non-profits out there that have very narrow mechanisms for giving - a donate button and maybe 2-3 fundraising events. That's not good enough today. Every non-profit needs to create mechanisms that all people (the young, the old, the rich, the poor) can give that provides true engagement with your cause and no, that doesn't mean helping with administrative tasks. It means having the opportunity to see the problem first-hand and have a channel to contribute. The best non-profits empower their donors and that's the only way to scale - create avenues that leverage the enthusiasm of others to get out there and channel their time to take action for your cause.
 

The Bottom Line

These things seem so simple - almost like a checklist. It's not a checklist and treating it as one only further deepens the problem in the philanthropic world - too much going in with too little coming out. The best non-profits create a multiplier effect where everything that comes in goes out at a bigger level....and that's the true power of philanthropy. In the for-profit world, they call it 'enhancing shareholder value'.

The Non-profit Innovator's Dilemma

In 1997, Clayton Christensen published the "Innovator's Dilemma" that sought to explain the very reasons why successful companies eventually fall victim to their own successes. Christensen argues that successful companies often get very 'comfortable' by relying on the very products / services that created their success that they do not feel any urgency to think about what their customers today will want tomorrow.

Non-profits are faced with the same dilemma described by Christensen and in many ways, are more likely to fall victim to it. Non-profits typically have a disproportionate reliance on passive income streams (donors who just write checks year-after-year), which creates less of a desire to reach new donors through new channels that can create far more engagement and sustainability to the organization's enduring mission.

So how can non-profits avoid the 'Innovator's Dilemma'?

• Build a diverse board

Non-profit boards are often very homogeneous and un-engaged. A few members often drive a disproportionate amount of contribution. There is often very little accountability to attend critical meetings and provide strategic oversight to ensure the organization is developing the necessary channels to engage with both donors and recipients. Boards need to have diversity in every sense of the word - age, gender, professional trade, and economic standing (to name a few).

Boards often look for 'whales' who can generate huge fundraising leads through their personal connections and there is a lot of value to that. However, there is not only a place, but also a huge need to have board members who can bring insights on how to reach donors that have never been part of your funding base. This is not about 'millennials', it's about psycho-demographic targeting that seeks to reach donors based on contextual values such as lifestyle, personality and values - all things that are agnostic to traditional segmentation attributes.

• Experiment...fail...and experiment more

Non-profits need to be experimenting far more today than in previous generations. Why? Simply put, there is too much of the same in the world of non-profits. It's not good enough to connect with donors on pure mission alone. You need to create a two-part narrative - problem and solution. It's easy to define the problem, but creating solutions that truly resonate with people is the linkage needed to build sustainable support. I am a huge advocate of 'multi-channel giving' - enabling people to engage with your cause through multiple avenues besides simple financial donation. But, in order to create these channels, you need to experiment and fail.

Organizations that don't tolerate experimentation and failure will never unlock growth. Ideas come from everywhere and simply dismissing them because they don't fit perfectly into a strategy is like throwing out a whole carton of eggs because one is cracked. This is far easier than it sounds, but a diverse board who brings a deep breadth of different attributes will help facilitate into an experimentation-driven organization that is willing to invest in ideas, even at the expense of failure.

• Have the courage to change

It takes a lot for non-profit organizations to change course. Non-profits that have a long history often feel that changing course on mission or modality of solution will be undermining the founders of an organization. When the ailing Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, was transitioning out of the CEO role to Tim Cook, he gave him one piece of advice..."don't ever ask yourself what I would do?" It was probably the single most empowering thing for an incoming CEO of the most valuable company in the world to hear.

But, there are many lessons from that simple advice. Perhaps the most important is that times change and the way you empower others is by giving them the freedom to make the choices that are best for the organization as the world around it evolves. Far too many non-profits are paralyzed by their founders - it is not about fundamentally changing the underlying purpose of the organization; it is about creating better engagement and ultimately, sustainability, so that future generations can carry the torch of the cause.

Innovation is not some mythical leapfrog residual of thinking - it is iterative and it involves a lot of trying and failing.

“When you bring the right diversity of people together who are committed to the underlying cause, you will find evolutionary change in the form of an organizational culture shift based on new ideas and the initiative to actually try them. That will gradually dislodge the theory that ‘what worked yesterday will work into perpetuity’. The best answer to any dilemma is to analyze carefully, but act definitively.”