Making people and ideas findable
Are there too many Non Profit Organizations?
This opinion piece was excerpted from Fast Company -
...Mr. Eisenberg is absolutely right when he says "Much of current philanthropic giving, by foundations and individuals, neither meets the needs of our charitable organizations nor addresses some of our most urgent public needs." But his analysis of the challenges facing the nonprofit and charitable community and his suggestions for how to fix the system didn't go far enough.
if we are going to have a vibrant, sustainable, and (most importantly) impactful philanthropic community, the very nature, focus, and function of nonprofits and charities needs to change. The space has lost its way. To get back on track we need a total reset.
1) There are too many nonprofit organizations. There are more than a million registered nonprofit organizations in the United States, and tens of thousands of new nonprofits are created every year.
2) Service the Cause, Not Solving It. In my experience, most nonprofits and charities focus their energy on growing and sustaining their organizations and not so much on improving the way they do business or deliver their services
3) Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better. The Internet has empowered audiences in new and powerful ways. Technology gives each of us direct control over our information and the choices about how we spend our time and focus our energy. And we can use these tools to help organizations and address causes in ways that go well beyond donating. As a result, we simply don't believe--and probably for good reasons--that the institutions that once offered the guidance, support, and direction for how to address the issues facing our society know best. We can do it on our own, we don't need them.
Dumping more money into a bad system won't fix anything. Making some operational changes won't alter the DNA of the nonprofit and charitable space. We need to address the core identity of the nonprofit and charitable community issues first. Only then, with a total reset of how these groups operate, will we figure everything else out. Read the rest on Fast Company
Are there too many Non Profit Organizations? Share your thoughts here
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Kevin McCracken on -
http://www2.guidestar.org/
Guidestar publishes Forms 990 (NFP equivalent of a tax return) for all NFPs, in a searchable database. It's a valuable resource for evaluating NFPs.
-
Permalink Reply by Marita Topmiller on -
Hi PK, Africa is a big place. Perhaps the group was raising the money to service people in a particular
area. Maybe it was an area they had traveled, made friends and wanted to help. One charity might be
digging wells in Niger, another in Chad, another in Sudan - and is there not room for more than one
charitable group in Chad?
Your advice to "do some research" before giving is right on.
-
Permalink Reply by PK Koduri on -
Agree Africa is a big place. And people do want to help after they travel somewhere, but they shouldn't have to do it by creating another NPO unless they have a better way to do it. What this go it alone attitude has done is spreading funds too thin and as a result there is very little bargaining power left for any of the NPOs to be effective in their mission. There has to be consolidation if there is to be any hope in Africa.
-
Permalink Reply by Marita Topmiller on
-
@ PK, enlarge on "bargaining power". I was thinking that any village, that needed clean water
and just got a well, is far better off than it had been. Is there a larger agenda that we should
keep in mind when giving charitable dollars to African, or any, charities?
-
Permalink Reply by PK Koduri on
-
What I meant was efficiency of funds use. If I was digging 100 wells I would get a better deal than say I were to dig 10 - just economics of scale. I am not debating the intentions of the people behind the NPOs just that they should just find ways to collaborate instead of going their own separate way.
-
Permalink Reply by Marita Topmiller on
-
Understood.
-
Permalink Reply by Linda J Ranger on -
Definitely give to a cause you support, especially local ones. It does seem like we are asked to give to so many organizations and we all need to make sure they are good stewards of our donations.
There are many non-profits but I feel like there are few that operate as well as the Assistance League of Indianapolis www.Alindy.org
I became a volunteer member of the Assistance League of Indianapolis 5 years ago because a friend of mine had just joined and persuaded me to volunteer also. Talk about a true philanthropic organization! It is almost unbelievable how much work goes into providing clothing and services to so many deserving people in our community. Very little of the money donated is used for overhead expenses and legal and consulting fees. We are close to giving back to our community 90% of the donations we receive. There are about 200 women who volunteer their time and expertise to keep our organization improving through the years.
We are best known for "Operation Schoolbell" which provided a complete school wardrobe to about 2800 children this year. This included a winter coat, hat & gloves, 2 slacks, skorts or jumpers(combination one of each for the girls), 2 polo shirts, sweatshirt, belt, weeks worth of underwear and socks, hygiene kits of shampoo , soap, toothpaste and toothbrush, school supplies and two books of their choice all packed in a large duffel bag for them to take it home in. All of these items are purchased brand new which takes lots of $$$$. For some of these children it is their first brand new clothes they ever owned. We make sure that the pants/skirts fit before packing them in their bags during their shopping trip at our stocked shop at the SCIPS building which each member is asked to volunteer 7 days to fit children in the fall. We also provide shoes at a different time in cooperation with Shoe Carnival at various times during the school year.
One of the other activities is that we purchase, assemble and deliver to local hospitals "assault survivor kits". This includes a sweat suit and underwear for the victims of assault and rape. The police collect the victims clothes as evidence leaving the victim with only a hospital gown to wear home...that is where the clothing we provide gives these women some dignity when they leave the hospital.
We also provide bears for children of trauma and give parties for a couple of senior centers twice a month.
If anyone or an organization feels motivated to help with their time or money to continue our good works it would be greatly appreciated. We are here to give back to our community. We are always looking for corporate sponsors and grant possibilities to help us meet our goals.
-
Permalink Reply by Julie Grice on -
On a local level, I have observed a few discussions and exercises with NPO's regarding overlapping services and streamlining. Bottom line is always that egos rule and turfs will be protected, and that goes for both staff and board members.
I don't think consolidation will ever happen unless top community donors align and threaten to withdraw funding. ("Paging Lilly Foundation, Lilly Endowment, et al") Over the past couple of years, I have noticed virtually all NPO execs talking about consolidation but with no real intent to act, as if merely acknowledging the situation will get them off the hook. Apparently they're right.
-
Permalink Reply by Ben McCann on -
Actually,
I just help facilitate the merger of 2 NPO's who were of the same mind and they merged the 2 boards and have now 1 executive director and a mesh of resources to the extent that they were able to launch a 3rd location to provide services because of the efficiency of consolidation.
but for the most part you are right.
-
Permalink Reply by Kevin McCracken on
-
No doubt the big foundations could drive a wave of consolidation.
The NFP I work for has merged more than once in the past 18 months. In each case, the primary driver was either a retiring CEO or the formation of a new position for one of the CEOs involved. Once the top brass finds a home, the rest of the merger process emerges without any major obstacles.
I believe every board should evaluate the advantages/disadvantages of merging, every time the Exec. Dir. or CEO position becomes vacant.
-
Permalink Reply by Tod Esquivel on -
We all want the truth on this.
I think there are too many.
When we donate, do we really know where money is going? Salaries, expenses like a building lease, utilities, permits from the city on events, the people and cause? . Should the giver have access to this or not?
People are the #1 influence that changes the Homeless of Indy or Aids in Africa; not millions of dollars dropped into a fund! People can make this interaction happen faster/easier then money since relationship building is #1 in that specific community!
Most importantly; we need Prayer and God on change!
-
Permalink Reply by matthew w. wilson on -
Um, what?
You had me until the Prayer and God on change part....
Groups
-
Green Business Network
123 members
-
REFERRALS, REFERRALS, ...
341 members
-
Womens Identi-Tea Netw...
11 members
-
EventFull INdiana
82 members
-
Sassy Professional Women
143 members
Discussion Forum
Domain Bartering 2 Replies
Started by Bradley Stone. Last reply by Bradley Stone Oct 1.
Buying & Selling Domain Names 7 Replies
Started by Noah Coffey. Last reply by Tom Rice Sep 25.
Recommend a Registrar 4 Replies
Started by Mark Fleig. Last reply by Stephen James Mar. 26, 2008.
About
Help
A few things to consider before joining Smaller Indiana:
1. Please use your real name (first and last) when you sign up, or we cannot open your account
2. Please do not use logos or commercial images for your profile photo
3. Events should be posted in the events calendar
4. You can post pretty much anything you want on your own personal page (self promotion, etc), and you can change the style of your personal profile page to reflect your corporate identification if you so choose.
5. Please keep all comments civil and polite. It's OK to feel strongly about a subject, and it's OK to be critical of ideas, but please refrain from personal attacks of any kind.
If you witness or experience any issues, please contact admin@smallerindiana.com and we will look into the matter.
6. Smaller Indiana is supported by its members, and by corporate sponsors. If you're interested in learning more about sponsorship, please call Pat Coyle at 317 332 7878.
1. Please use your real name (first and last) when you sign up, or we cannot open your account
2. Please do not use logos or commercial images for your profile photo
3. Events should be posted in the events calendar
4. You can post pretty much anything you want on your own personal page (self promotion, etc), and you can change the style of your personal profile page to reflect your corporate identification if you so choose.
5. Please keep all comments civil and polite. It's OK to feel strongly about a subject, and it's OK to be critical of ideas, but please refrain from personal attacks of any kind.
If you witness or experience any issues, please contact admin@smallerindiana.com and we will look into the matter.
6. Smaller Indiana is supported by its members, and by corporate sponsors. If you're interested in learning more about sponsorship, please call Pat Coyle at 317 332 7878.
© 2009 Created by Pat Coyle
