Nonprofit work is very unique work.. What have you learned about how nonprofits operate this summer? What is something you didn’t know? What is something that has surprised you?
I have learnt that an essential pillar that needs to be central to the establishment and running of a nonprofit organization is sustainability. Through my experience with my partner organization along with other resources that I have explored, I have learned that the ability to develop a mission that can be carried out across a long period of time is crucial to running a nonprofit organization. Understanding this has led me to another side of the nonprofit space that I was not familiar with— the complexities of the funding process.
I have come to understand that funders of nonprofits have goals, which they seek to achieve by working with the organizations that they work with. As such, their funding is conditional on the requirement that their support goes towards missions/ objectives that they believe align with their goals. As such, the resources that are available for certain missions that a nonprofit might deem crucial might be limited, depending on their orientation to the goals of the funders. This has opened my eyes to the complexities of processes like grant writing, and the overall process of sustaining nonprofit organizations.
It is clear that the interests of funders need to be reconciled with the goals of the people running nonprofits. I believe synergies can be discovered in this process— funders can partner with organizations that they believe align with their needs, and people who found/ run nonprofits can adapt their goals to overlap with those of funders, such that common goals are achieved. This will ensure successful establishment and running of nonprofits, along with the realization of goals shared between funders and people who run nonprofits. Such considerations are continuing to be central to spending and collaboration efforts within the nonprofit space, especially considering how the wave of Environmental, Social, and [corporate] Governance (ESG) factors is continuing to influence decision making in the corporate space. Thus, I believe such factors should be key among the considerations of nonprofit organizations, as long as long-term sustainability is a priority for them. It should fall into such considerations as adaptability, which the COVID-19 experience has taught us should always be at the back of our minds.
I have come to understand that funders of nonprofits have goals, which they seek to achieve by working with the organizations that they work with. As such, their funding is conditional on the requirement that their support goes towards missions/ objectives that they believe align with their goals. As such, the resources that are available for certain missions that a nonprofit might deem crucial might be limited, depending on their orientation to the goals of the funders. This has opened my eyes to the complexities of processes like grant writing, and the overall process of sustaining nonprofit organizations.
It is clear that the interests of funders need to be reconciled with the goals of the people running nonprofits. I believe synergies can be discovered in this process— funders can partner with organizations that they believe align with their needs, and people who found/ run nonprofits can adapt their goals to overlap with those of funders, such that common goals are achieved. This will ensure successful establishment and running of nonprofits, along with the realization of goals shared between funders and people who run nonprofits. Such considerations are continuing to be central to spending and collaboration efforts within the nonprofit space, especially considering how the wave of Environmental, Social, and [corporate] Governance (ESG) factors is continuing to influence decision making in the corporate space. Thus, I believe such factors should be key among the considerations of nonprofit organizations, as long as long-term sustainability is a priority for them. It should fall into such considerations as adaptability, which the COVID-19 experience has taught us should always be at the back of our minds.
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