PAF9151 Summer 2017 Online Community

“How Great Companies Think Differently”

My resource article for this week is about program structure and execution. The Harvard Business Review talks about how organizations have moved from a stringent structural framework that operated and focused mainly on financial gains and success to a more societal and human centered style of operation. A nonprofits plan, program and operations should not focus too much on donors and neglect other stakeholders; a good example is what happened with Oprah in South Africa. It should structure its activities and programs to involve all stakeholders and give everyone the opportunity to make meaningful contribution towards the attainment of its mission.

The mission is a picture of your nonprofit in the future, it is what the nonprofit sets out to achieve. For any organization to grow there is the need for commitment and strategic planning. The mission is the nonprofits true north its destination, finish line or the end goal. A Nonprofit can only measure its success by the extent to which it achieves its mission. The mission is the nonprofits inspiration and the framework upon which its strategic planning is based, it describes its purpose. The mission statement guides the actions of the nonprofit, spells out its overall goal, provides a path to the goal, and guide decision-making. It provides the framework or context within which the company’s strategies are formulated. It is what attracts stakeholders to the organization, people who identify with the mission come on board to help the nonprofit to get to its goal. People with distinctive competencies that fit the mission are attracted to the nonprofit and this enhances its core competency and gives it a superior competitive advantage. The mission statement motivates and inspires employee commitment, employees feel that their work is significant and that it contributes to people’s lives. With limited resource available to nonprofits the mission statement helps then to focus resources on achieving the goals set by the mission and forces them to operate efficiently towards achieving its goal.

Good communication is one that is aligned with a nonprofits mission and overall strategy in order to enhance its strategic positioning. Strategic communication forges and maintains connections and allows the nonprofit to work efficiently toward its mission and goals. A Well-designed communication strategy is essential for sharing a nonprofit’s strategic plan and providing other important organizational information that informs stakeholders of the organization’s goals, objectives, program priorities, products and services. A nonprofit cant executes its action plan if it can’t communicate about it. This means when communicating strategically with stakeholders, the message must consistently communicate what the nonprofit wish to share internally and externally in a way that shapes the conversation, in order to receive desired results. A good example is how plan parenthood strategically shaped their communication to rally a large pro-choice audience to their defense. Internally it determines the flow of information among managers and workers. An effective communication system is an important driver of employee engagement, which leads to improved financial performance, significantly higher productivity and stakeholder satisfaction. It also reduces turnover, lowers absenteeism and aids recruitment. It helps to develop an honest audience and provides a stable platform to place and repeat your message as often as possible.

As we discussed in class on Wednesdays, the missions of organizations can vary in description and length. However, they seek to explain the intended role and importance of the organization. A mission is intended to serve as the framework for the current and upcoming Executive Directors.

Missions become that necessary framework to ensure the guidance needed to continue its public good. As a non-profit grows, various funders may offer the organization to move in a different direction in exchange for funding. For example: if a running organization was looking to raise capital, and was offered a million dollar to focus on cycling.

Such instances require the non-profit reflect back to its mission and how a shift in direction would impact that mission. It does not always do so. In the case of shifting from a biking to cycling organization, it is likely to do so.

Mission is a part of the greater brand that non-profits offer — it is the image of themselves they are trying to push to the world. It is everything from the messages placed on social media, or the workplace dynamic, mission and brand inspire the way the organization conducts itself.

This work is vital. If non-profits do not consider their brand, and what they are doing to push it, then they are wasting a crucial part of their resources. Brand has the ability to entice funders, or engage new volunteers. We se that with organizations like Planned Parenthood, which uses its brand and social media to expand its base of supporters.

By doing this, an organization can expand its reach — possibly even growing out beyond its current partnerships. It could transform from an organization that seeks partners and funding, to one that receives those requests.

For this week blog , I have chosen the following  article :

https://pj.news.chass.ncsu.edu/2016/11/21/automation-the-best-way-to-optimize-your-nonprofit-communications-strategy-for-2017/

Nonprofit organizations develop their member base societies by switching single donors into loyal members and appealing new donors to their organization. It is true that nonprofits also concentrate on decreasing costs and directing more actual, targeted campaigns that express the core of their cause. Finally, its got to be easy to collect one-time and recurring donations and use that facts for future marketing. Marketing automation for nonprofits provides exact power of branding initiatives, content marketing campaigns, fundraising blasts, and more. It permits for significant inter- and intra-campaign control, assuring carefully adapted and constant brand positioning across various sectors of the donor population. Small and medium nonprofit like “lightweight” marketing automation platform larger nonprofit like expensive platforms which provide unlimited analytics and campaign options. To sum up, whether big or little, all nonprofits will soon accept marketing automation as a significant, consistent, and fast-acting profit on investment.

We’ve spent some time early on in the semester talking about what makes a non-profit, and the qualities necessary for it. I’ve long argued that an organization acting in the public benefit should be a strict requirement for one, and found a piece this week that illustrates this point.

It speaks to examples in which people had declared non-profit status and began defrauding the government and others with said status. It grows concerning to see this emerge as a potential trend, as it exposes non-profits to potential scrutiny.

With their great public benefit, it would incredibly unfortunate to see the sector suffer over those who seek to abuse it. As such, I believe that providing a public good for the organization should be a key part of the forms to receive non-profit status.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2017/07/07/shape-shifting-justifies-profit-nonprofit-transition/