Over the next several months, we’ll discuss how small to medium-sized nonprofits with limited funding can stand out in a competitive landscape. This week, we’re focusing on Resource Drain. Every day a new challenge seems to pop up, and with decreasing budgets, precious little time, and a staff feeling stretched thin, there’s no room for error.
Recently, we talked about Standing Out in the ever increasing competitive landscape of not-for-profit work.
“Established, large organizations have the advantage of not only better financing, but the all important metric of eyeballs on their work. However, by focusing on key areas, creating quality content which is engaging while highlighting areas of differentiation, smaller nonprofits can increase their chances of standing out.”
Whether it’s competing for grants, staffing growing programs, or navigating this new landscape of uncertainty, it’s easy to begin to feel overwhelmed across the entire organization. However, as a nonprofit, you have a number of advantages over for-profit organizations because your work involves passion that moves beyond the balance of your operating accounts.
Prioritize: Focus on What Matters
It goes without saying, that having a priority list of the top issues for your organization is step number one. Wading through chaos without a priority list will simply send you and your staff spinning. You have your mission, your goals, and your time. Make sure that you are aligning each to maximize the items that need the most attention.
Before pursuing new opportunities, ensure that they align directly with your strategic objectives. It’s easy to always be chasing the most recent shiny object, that new email that pings your inbox, or grant opportunity that feels like funding that could save everything. However, the chasing of opportunities and quick fixes can detract from not only your core mission, but the longevity of your overall impact.
Budget Management: Keep an Eye on Costs
Resources include your bottom line. Don’t let your finances compound any problems. Review budgets regularly and look for areas where resources may be disproportionately consumed without delivering a good return on your mission. Beyond staff time, this should be at the top of your list for review. Think like an investor when funds are thin. Ensure that your spending results in the outcomes you’ve set up as your goals, and if targets are missed, evaluate and make necessary changes.
There are a number of great tools you can use for this, but it’s important to note that it’s very easy to get bogged down in these programs. Sometimes the, “back of the napkin,” approach can speed along your process, and other times you need more sophistication. If time is short, take the path of least resistance and don’t be ashamed if your planning is scratched on legal paper. Some of the best plans start this way before they are dumped into complex accounting systems.
Outsourcing: Focus on Core Tasks
Not always an option if funds are tight, but if time is tight it can be a lifesaver. Functions like accounting, marketing, or grant writing can often be handled more efficiently by external experts, allowing your internal team to focus on your mission and delivering impactful programming. Just because a task has ALWAYS been handled in-house, doesn’t mean that you can’t make a change for greater impact. There are a number of specialists in administrative work for non-profits that can provide services at a fraction of the cost (both time & money) of maintaining full time staff.
At The Barrow Gang, we’re passionate about helping nonprofits reach their full potential. Whether it’s strategic planning, board growth, or fundraising, we have the tools to support your mission. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to share what you’re working on and discover how we can help make your vision a reality.
Volunteer Utilization: Make the Most of Your Strongest Supporters
Your most invaluable asset when resources are thin, are your volunteers. Impassioned supporters of your mission looking to help can be an enormous relief. Look for tasks that do not require specialized skills like event staffing, social media management, or basic administrative work. This will free up your specialized staff to complete more complex tasks.
A WORD OF WARNING: As much as volunteers can assist, management of them is equally important. Ensure that utilizing this relief valve does not, in turn, create even more work for your already over worked staff. In addition, controls on access to information can be equally important when using non-contracted people to help, and this is easily overlooked when time is short and results are needed immediately.
Collaboration: Share Resources
The magic sauce in the nonprofit world is shared collaboration. When you remove the profit incentive and insert mission, there’s always an opportunity to find shared interests with mutual benefit between two organizations. Pooling resources, you can reduce costs and improve your efficiency. Shared accounting services, pooled human resources, or just shared spaces are all simple methods that you can use to save time and money allowing the mission to stay front and center.
Prevent Burnout: Support Your Team
This is a real problem in the nonprofit sector to the point it has become the norm as opposed to the exception. If you find yourself in a leadership position, there is a fine line between demanding results and pushing individuals beyond their capabilities and causing them to burnout.
It’s a cliche, but if everything is a top priority, then nothing is a priority. In times of stress, I’ve seen a good number of organizations loss key staff in moments of crisis. Clear and thoughtful leadership is needed. There’s nothing wrong with calling an all staff meeting and circling the wagons as long as there is a clear and concise path forward that the entire team understands. Expectations should be clear and agreed upon, and success will shortly follow.
In this new paradigm we find ourselves in, there will be a number of moments which could easily feel like a crisis. Take the time now, should you find yourself lucky enough to not be scrambling for new funding sources, or worried about cancelled programs due to new federal laws to plan. Understanding which levers you have to pull when resources begin to run dry will ensure that you are always prepared for any outcome. Learn who your collaborators could be, monitor your budgets, and ensure that your staff understand what’s expected of them, and eventually that pool that feels like it’s drying up will begin to refill.
Leave a Reply