Nonprofit Organization

The diversity of nonprofit organizations, services provided and the problems faced shows that nonprofits require leadership with an in-depth understanding of the multifaceted nonprofit landscape. Understanding the culture of nonprofit work is also crucial and much easier to understand once you have been through a nonprofit management program. My career interests lead me towards an avocation of a deeper knowledge of strategic management/planning, legal structure and standards, increase my skills in quantitative analysis of policy, financial governance and developing fundraising strategies. These areas allow for macro management within the nonprofit

Collaboration among organization members and community stakeholders is very important, we must begin to study and understand nonprofits not merely as organizations housed within four walls but as catalysts that work within, and change, entire systems. The most effective of these groups employ a strategy of leverage, using government, business, the public, and other nonprofits as forces for good, helping them deliver even greater social change than they could possibly achieve alone (Crutchfield, 2012). There is also an understanding that community partnerships and assistance from caring individuals will be of a great benefit to the organization and the young men they serve. The different chapters in the organization are funded through member dues, grants and contributions from corporations, foundations, individuals and combined federal

Most nonprofit agencies follow the same management structure. The structure normally consists of a vertical hierarchal structure with the chief executive manager at the helm, and divisional leaders rounding out the strategic leadership team. Since 9/11, then government shutdowns, multiple wars, natural disasters, and the government sequester, the challenge to most nonprofits is to compete for every available charitable dollar. Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of nonprofits must not only be skillful in maximizing the outcomes with fewer dollars, but also politically savvy in vying for monies for federal, state, local, foundation, and private funding sources.

1. Connors, T. D. (2001). The Nonprofit Handbook. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [US].

Nonprofit organizations broadly described operate to achieve missions that serve the common good. Graduate study in the field of nonprofit management focuses on the development of leadership skills for nonprofit managers and provides education in areas such as general operations, human resources, strategies, and fund development (Nachmias, 2008). Students of nonprofit management also develop proficiency in other matters such as nonprofit legal issues, organizational development, donor relations, financial management and fund-raising, volunteer, and human resource management, and pro-gram evaluation, to name a few competencies (Nachmias, 2008).Many nonprofit management programs have a theoretical component, and most programs rely on experiential learning as a vital element of a graduate student’s education. Future studies of community impact should include analysis components from the fields of nonprofit management education, service learning, capacity building, and nonprofit evaluation, and take into consideration specific factors that may affect study outcomes.

The Non-profit has been in existence for 43 years. It was organized in response to a rift between the original organization and some of its members. Over the years, the organization has not been able to adapt and develop sufficient training and development within the new organization to foster growth and maturity in members or develop capable leaders from within the organization. The morale and level of viable activity has experienced times of growth and decline due to the change in leadership and lack of clear vision and mission.

For this reason, nonprofits were chosen as the mode of production and management of new affordable units because they had a wholesome image with the American public (Bratt, 1998). This image, coupled with a track record for having the health, welfare, and safety of the public in mind made nonprofits very attractive to legislators and popular with the public.

All nonprofit organizations (NPO) are required, by law, to have a board of directors who act as the governing body of the nonprofit. Board governance is the overall responsibility for the performance of the organization. Boards exist to ensure that a NPO runs properly, has integrity, protects its stakeholders, and assures competent management with evaluations that provide accountability for their actions and performance. The basic structure of a nonprofit is divided into governance and administration. A nonprofit board chair serves as the executive leader of the organization’s board, while the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the top staff administrator

Being that my nonprofit organization is a dog and cat rescue in Visalia, California, it is important that I develop a plan for organizing and staffing for my organization along with developing the board. As mentioned previously, we are located in the Central Valley in the city of Visalia, California. Now that we have assessed our needs and objectives for the organization, we must now focus on developing a plan for organizing, staffing our organization, and working on the development of our board in order to help the organization be more successful in the future. A big responsibility of being on a board is raising awareness and funds for the organization (Blakemore, 2013).

In a nonprofit organization, managers are concerned with “generating some social impact” (Daft, 2013). Stakeholders for nonprofit organizations include the community, taxpayers, the government, private donors, employees, and volunteers. Each one of these stakeholders poses a challenge for managers. For instance, in a nonprofit organization, there is a “continual struggle to pursue vital social missions in the face of

As a non-profit organization, our company has been profoundly doing well in helping raise money for families. Being with an organization which is committed to providing assistance to families in impoverished towns is very generous. Although, there is a concern I would like to address regarding using certain data we are using in our annual reports.The company uses pie charts to display data and prefers one type of pie chart over the other. I feel that we should use the pie chart which demonstrates the percentages.

A non-profit organization cannot be effectively managed if it is not effectively planned. One of the challenges facing non-profit organizations has been long range, strategic planning. Long range, strategic planning in the non-profit sector is essential to the success of an organization. Long range, strategic planning encompasses broad policy and direction setting, internal and external assessments, attention to key stakeholders, the identification of key issues, development of strategies to deal with each issue, decision making, action and the continuous monitoring of results. (Herman, The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, 154) While it is important to deal with the short term planning and activities of non-profits, managers or directors must consider the future of their organizations. Successful planning should be comprehensive, integrating all areas of responsibility of an organization.

Strategic Planning is the best approach I think it will benefit the nonprofit organization like Goodwill Industries because the organization can benefit from their strongest capabilities, exploit greatest

Financially healthy nonprofits use income-based, rather than budget-based spending which allows them to have income projections that are realistic and helps to determine realistic costs (Zietlow, Seidner, 2014). The most successful nonprofit should have an operating reserve to finance shortfalls and hopefully allows them to have a positive cash flow at the end of the year (Zietlow, Seidner, 2014). However, most nonprofit organizations fight to manage cash flow due to how income and the expenses often may occur at different times, so that there may not be enough cash to pay for the expenses as they become due and payable (Zietlow, Seidner, 2014).

This study will address two non-profit organizations by analyzing structures and basics to determine their effectiveness. This research looks into the different principles and factors each organization uses to determine their successes. Also, it will provide examples of techniques that a non-profit organization has been implementing and uses to reach and maintain effective outcomes. Since the 1990’s, non-profit organizations have come under continuous pressure to be proficient and have effective outcomes. For this reason, non-profit executive directors need to employ stronger leadership practices to manage employees and to increase funds (Barbeito & Bowman, 1998).