Identifying Enablers of Nonprofit High Performance
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Executive Issues in Nonprofits 2005/2006 Identifying Enablers of Nonprofit High Performance Dear Reader On behalf of Accenture and the members of our Today, with the backdrop of 2005 and the research advisory group, I invite you to review unprecedented pressures placed on the sector our first-ever Executive Issues in Nonprofits by such catastrophic events as these hurricanes report. Conceived in early 2005, this inaugural among others, we find it more important than study explores today's agenda for US-based ever to discuss the challenges, barriers and new nonprofit leaders, whom we rely upon to deliver opportunities facing nonprofit organizations. There indispensable services across our country. Beyond is much to be learned during and after times of presenting a "state of affairs" for nonprofits, crisis. The issue of capacity, or the readiness of we hope this effort will serve to stimulate a well-intentioned nonprofits to fully deliver on working dialogue among all those interested in their missions, is never more apparent than when the health and effectiveness of the nonprofit they confront the unexpected. sector in the United States. As noted earlier, we believe the results of this Through this research, we wanted to identify study can help start a dialogue. One we hope insights that could help leaders deliver more will raise the issues of sustainability and efficacy effective outcomes in today's nonprofit in the nonprofit world to the same level of environment. We also hoped to identify ways importance that they have in corporate America. for American businesses to better help agencies We believe the findings of this survey provide a across the nonprofit sector achieve higher tool to help discover what business leaders, civic performance. To answer these questions, we leaders and others need to do to make sure that surveyed more than 200 nonprofit leaders across nonprofits, regardless of their chosen mission, the country, including the viewpoints of both are better prepared to deal with the unexpected executive directors of nonprofit organizations and how the corporate community can best help and corporate representatives on their boards. them build capacity. Just as we were completing our survey fieldwork, Read on and let the dialogue begin. the US and the nonprofit sector were struck with the enormous natural disaster in the Gulf Region caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and their aftermath, which quickly spread across many states. Overnight, a spotlight was placed Paul Hasenwinkel on charitable agencies—both in the Gulf Coast Senior Director area and in regions that took in hundreds and thousands of evacuees. The need for trained staff, volunteers, supplies and facilities multiplied quickly. Each agency bore the brunt of those added demands, while simultaneously needing to remain sensitive to its "normal," day-to-day services and priorities. Paul Hasenwinkel is Accenture’s Senior Director of Marketing & Communications in the United States. In this role, he oversees Accenture's marketing, employee communications and civic and community relations in more than 30 locations in the US. 1 Overview Nonprofit organizations are a vital and growing part of every community in the United States. Whether they are feeding the hungry in the inner city, helping children develop valuable skills for the working world, providing shelter for those in need or entertaining audiences with cultural programs of the highest order, nonprofits enrich the lives of those they serve and make our communities stronger. Yet, nonprofits face difficult times. nonprofits face increasingly are • Making better use of information Myriad challenges—including increased driving organizations into survival technology competition for donors' money and mode, scrambling to secure ever-more • Engaging board members to develop attention, reduced government funding funding so that they can continue to proper governance structures and several high-profile financial deliver services and programs. At • Collaborating more deeply with scandals—have ratcheted up the the same time, we found that as each other and with corporations pressure on nonprofits to both find nonprofits maintain an intense focus new sources of income and more on fundraising, most organizations • More effectively managing volunteers effectively use the money they do have. represented in our survey appear to Throughout this report, we explore be overlooking many opportunities Within this context, Accenture recently our findings and recommendations to make their own operations more surveyed more than 200 nonprofit in greater detail. We trust these effective and efficient and to achieve executive directors and board members insights will help nonprofit leaders higher levels of performance. to get their thoughts on these and and for-profit executives identify how other critical issues. This report In addition to highlighting the most their organizations can collaboratively outlines the findings of this effort. and least important executive issues, build sustainable operations that we provide guidance on specific actions enable nonprofits to carry out their Drawing on survey responses and organizations can take to enhance important missions today and beyond. insights from Accenture experts and their operations. These include: nonprofit executives, we shed light on the organizational issues that are of • Convincing donors to fund most concern to nonprofit leaders (as infrastructure instead of signature well as important issues they may not programs be considering). At a high level, our • Implementing appropriate metrics research found that the challenges to evaluate the impact and outcome of services 2 About this Study Accenture commissioned this US study Respondents were asked to select As you will see from the study, there of 232 senior executives involved in their top 10 current issues as well as is increasing evidence that the for- nonprofit organizations in the United potential future issues out of 43 issues profit and nonprofit sectors have much States in an effort to help nonprofits that spanned seven category areas: to learn from one another as they identify and address key barriers to • Donor Relations and Development tackle many of the same challenges and accelerators for achieving high around operations, governance and • Services Management performance in the nonprofit sector. sustainability. • Supplier and Asset Management This study offers unique insights in This summary reports the highlights of • Nonprofit Sector Structure and that it is one of the few to poll senior- our findings. A full copy of the report Relationships level executives on both the nonprofit with detailed appendices, including and for-profit sides: executive • Human Resource Management top issues broken out by current vs. directors of nonprofit organizations • Board Relations and Governance future, by board member vs. executive and for-profit executives serving on • Information Technology director, by US region, by category, nonprofit boards. Management by organization type and more can be downloaded at Participants were also asked to respond www.accenture.com/community. to a few open-ended questions related to governance and capacity building For more information or to request within the sector. printed copies of this report, contact Accenture at +1 312 737 8290 and mention reference code “nonprofit executive issues 2005/2006.” 3 Identifying enablers of nonprofit high performance Nonprofit organizations • Despite the country's historic love (see sidebar, "Building Capacity in for and support of the arts, arts and Nonprofits: What It Is and How the and their supporters have cultural organizations of all types Private Sector Can Help"). numerous opportunities struggle to remain afloat and deliver to improve the ways they high-quality programming to their audiences. A 2005 Wall Street Journal Nonprofit organizations work together column succinctly summed up the need more innovative challenges arts organizations face: The relationship between nonprofit approaches to how they organizations and their supporters is "Noncommercial culture producers— in need of a fundamental restructuring symphony orchestras, museums, operate if nonprofits are to continue their work theater, opera and dance companies— What is different now? Why is the and effectively carry out their missions. are suffering from a persistent low- need for change so intense? There is While there are exceptions, the grade flu in the form of eroding no single reason. Rather, a confluence prevailing method in which individuals audiences, sharply rising expenses of both internal and external factors and corporations and foundations and increased competition that has made it more challenging than have demonstrated their support of may mask more serious structural ever for nonprofits to efficiently and nonprofits is currency-based: making problems. It may be time to wonder: effectively carry out their missions regular donations to organizations. Has the nonprofit business model for the arts outlived its usefulness?"2 and alleviate the problems they were formed to address. Indeed, the size and scale of the • Although there is an abundance of nonprofit segment is testament to the organizations around the country The major external factors are relatively generosity of our country's people and that provide job-training services, well known and documented. These businesses. There currently are two millions of people in America remain include: million nonprofits in the