Think about the role of non-profit stakeholders in general – How do they exert influence?

The biggest influence comes in the form of money. A stakeholder who is responsible for providing the lion’s share of funding can also wield a strong hand of influence on how that money is spent. That can come from both long and short term restrictions. The employees of a non profit serve as the force that gets things done. Determining the best way to execute a program to reach the intended objective will come a lot from the employees who are on the ground and dealing with challenges on a daily basis. Upper management and trustees also have a say in both funding and management. In many cases they bridge the gap by ensure donors continue to pledge money to an organization and by determining the course of how the company operates.

What are the potential pros and cons of the fact that there are so many forces shaping non profits?

The benefit of so many forces working in the non profit area is that it bring together a wealth of experiences, perspectives, funding and management styles. Corporate management techniques have a place in a non profit driven organization. For example, a non profit soup kitchen struggled every day to meet the needs of the homeless in that area. There were long lines, food was wasted and shortages on sundry items were common. In order to combat this, a think tank was brought in and suggested that the soup kitchen utilize the “Toyota Way” a production technique used by Toyota for car manufacturing. The end result was a far more efficiently run kitchen with 5 mins wait periods where it used to take 2 hours to obtain food and seating. The downside can be a stalemate resulting from too many conflicting ideas on finances and management. When multiple stakeholders are unable to come to an agreement either someone must concede or leave the table. Without a shared vision and commitment, too many forces can mean the mission being lost or corrupted.