Nonprofit organizations are among the strongest bridges that connect global problems with solutions. The world needs effective organizations to carry out programs that are beneficial to society.  

While devotion to a cause will lift the wings of a solution, an organization must guide and oversee its growth if it is to ever take flight. In other words, the effectiveness of the charitable work ultimately falls to how the nonprofit is governed.

The question then turns to this: how can nonprofits structure their governance based on their organizational and lifecycle needs? Research has shown that organizational competence, or lack thereof, is linked to board of director performance (Brown & Iverson, 2004, p. 378) (Brown, 2005, p. 330) (Bradshaw, 2009, p. 62). Challenging as it may seem, the payoff that comes from structuring governance according to organizational and lifecycle needs is well worth the time and effort.

The strength of the nonprofit sector lies within the ability to channel passion into effective action and the ability to use governance as a tool to ensure long-lasting change. 

In their study of organizational strategy, Miles and Snow (1978) identify several different types of organizations (defenders; prospectors; analyzers; and reactors), and each one has a unique strategy for achieving its organizational mission. The structure of governance will depend on the way in which each nonprofit meets…

There is a glaring lack of diversity within the nonprofit sector and philanthropic community that harms not only minority communities but nonprofit institutions themselves. Research shows people from diverse groups create novel solutions, introduce different thinking patterns and increase performance, creativity and innovation within an organization (Chandler, 2016).  

Defining how an organization thinks about diversity is a critical starting point because it can be used to describe differences of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic standing, and physical or developmental disability within a group of people. Racial diversity within the nonprofit sector is becoming increasingly important as evidenced by the prediction that by the year 2042, minorities will overtake the majority population in the United States (D5, 2015). This reality is contrasted against the statistics of the philanthropic community and the nonprofit sector in general which remains mostly white: as 79 percent of the foundation workforce and 91percent of the CEOs and Presidents identify as white (see figure below) (D5, 2015). The traditional power dynamics created between philanthropy, nonprofit organizations and the community beneficiaries of the nonprofit work is imbalanced. Such that, philanthropy holds the greatest reward power and nonprofits assert more control over the communities they serve (Spilka, Figueredo & Kioukis, 2014). The question  then is how to…

In order to have long term fiscal sustainability, nonprofits must be considering future generations as potential donors and supporters.  Baby Boomers and Generation X have fiscally supported nonprofits for decades, now Millennials are the next generation that must be courted.  They have a different approach and outlook on life than previous generations, as such traditional marketing and fundraising techniques will be less effective.  It is crucial for nonprofit organizations to understand what motivates this generation and to add millennial strategy to their marketing plans.  Nonprofits must stay on top of social media trends and create engaging experiences for millennials in order to capture their loyalty.  According to a PEW Research Poll, millennials now make up the majority of the US labor force.  (PEW, 2015) As time goes on, this generation will accumulate more wealth and become increasingly more critical for nonprofits to pursue as a revenue source.  In a 2012 report, the National Chamber Foundation cited that Millennials have approximately “$200 billion of direct purchasing power and $500 billion of indirect spending.”  The study then goes on to claim that “With Millennials’ peak buying power still decades away, marketers would do well to establish relationships with this consumer force.” (National Chamber Foundation, 2012)

As with all previous generations, Millennials have characteristics that make their generation unique.  …

Many nonprofit organizations rely on individual giving as a primary source of income to carry out their missions. People have been giving to charity through time, money, or in kind gifts for centuries and beyond. The act of charitable giving is here to stay, but the nature of giving is constantly evolving with generations. 

Although every donor is different, research has been conducted to determine commonalities among generational giving. Younger generations typically respond best to text messages, email and social media while older generations respond best to voice calls and direct mail (Lai, 2015). In addition, “60% of Millennials and 50% of Gen Xers want to see directly the impact of their donations, while just 37 percent of Baby Boomers say seeing a direct impact matters to them” (Hartnett & Matan, 2014). Sustainable growth in the nonprofit sector relies on effective donor engagement, stewardship and retention. And yet, alarmingly, only 34 percent of nonprofit organizations say they tailor solicitations and communications with donors to their age (Hall, 2015). Nonprofit leaders must understand donor motivations to effectively target and retain donors before it is too late.

Currently, Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) and Matures (born 1945 or earlier) represent the majority of giving in the United States. These generations also average larger annual gifts than the younger generations; Generation X (born 1964-1980) and Millennials…

In the 2015 Nonprofit Finance Fund Report, 23 percent of nonprofits reported operating in deficit and 29 percent reported break-even finances (Nonprofit Finance Fund, 2015). These reports expose a need for short and long-term strategic planning in order to establish financial security (Leroux, 2005). To avoid operating in deficit, the gold standard, historically, has been to use “revenue diversification”. However, effectively diversifying revenue is more effective than playing a “numbers game”. Nonprofits can no longer use revenue diversification as fail-proof-safety; the more sources of revenue an organization maintains does not imply greater stability. 

The only solution to an uncertain funding environment is to “get ahead” of the seemingly stagnate competition curve by creating an uncontested market (Harrison & Thornton, 2014). From this, the writer predicts the growth of entrepreneurship and philanthropy in the future of nonprofits. 

The American spirit has long been rooted in entrepreneurial success (Acs et al, 2008). When one strategy, method, or product starts to plateau, there is room for a new strategy, method, or product, as a means of increasing revenue. Allowing opportunities to be optimized is an entrepreneurial act. The implementation of entrepreneurship has shown to be successful in terms of revenue and enhancing an organization’s mission. 

Philanthropy is the term given to the donation of time…