How-To NonProfit - Leah

We have discussed at length in class that there is no “magic wand” solution to managing nonprofit organizations. We agree that each organization is made up of different individuals with different goals and each will require its own set of rules and practices in order to be successful. However, in the world we live in today, we all have the attraction to quick fixes and simple solutions to our problems. We strive for instantaneous satisfaction and want someone to answer all our questions with one easy response.

Which is where some individuals are able to create a market for themselves. Books, such as Non-Profit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals, that tout well-known nonprofit managers and experts as authors, sell themselves as resources that will enable nonprofit practitioners today the answers to their questions. There are many of such books, articles, programs – such as the Carver Method also discussed in class – that market themselves as the solution for struggling nonprofit organizations.

The problem is not that professionals do not know or realize that it is overly optimistic or unrealistic to believe there is such a quick fix or one model that will prove successful for every single organization in every single situation. Rather, the issue arises when we, as managers, choose to buy in to these dreams and let them guide us instead of our human instincts. Managers, although they may hope that these solutions are perfect, in all reality know that is not the case. We need to make sure we are allowing the checks and balances that exist within our organizations to function properly. When a model or book or some other option is presented as an option for an organization, all stakeholders involved need to be given all the information about that model and need to be able to share their ideas and opinions openly. In order for a nonprofit to be successful, then, there must be room for conversation and communication and allow for many practices to be implemented to create a path specific to that organizations needs.