I am sure you have noticed big changes over the past years in the non-profit sector. They are related to leadership styles, new fundraising methods, new generations of donors… and the list goes on and on. In a digital age, non-profit leaders must change their mindset and follow best practices and new trends if they don’t want to fall behind. How informed and innovative a non-profit is can make the difference between being successful in achieving its mission or not.
At c(group we know that non-profits today are facing all kinds of challenges, from keeping donors engaged, to figuring out how to attract new donors. These are challenges that cannot be addressed as they used to in the past. New factors such as social media, analytics, and donor data are playing a very important role in today’s non-profit strategy planning.
So, how can you lead your non-profit to become a modern non-profit?
Simple.
Just by being curious about best practices and trying your best to implement them in your non-profit. However, you will need to be committed to keep learning and being open to change in order to harvest all these advancements the digital age brings. Sometimes this is hard since non-profit leaders are usually too busy to search for resources.
To provide you with the best advice and resources from professionals in the non-profit sector, we created NPChannel. A space on our website where your organization can easily find the best non-profit intel, non-profit best practices from all over the internet, and other sources of information.
The importance of effective practices
Organizational practices are activities that impact the organization’s ability to implement and manage programs. These may address some topics such as strategic planning, grant management, IT, fundraising, and marketing, just to name a few.
It is important to understand how the implementation of non-profit best practices can impact your organization’s success since they can provide with considerable benefits in the long run:
- Supporters’ and stakeholders’ satisfaction
Word of mouth is still the best way to gain brand recognition for any organization. Tapping into the new trends and information available on organizational best practices will improve the work you do, and in turn, will make your supporters happier. This will result in an increase in your word of mouth recommendations, which are the most trustful type of recommendations nowadays. Long story short, if your stakeholders are happy, you will have more opportunities open up for your non-profit organization.
- Fundraising, new donor acquisition, and retention
Fundraising and donor retention are common concerns among non-profit organizations. For most organizations finding new donors and keeping them engaged represents a real challenge. Non-profits as a whole are losing 57% of their donors every year. And 71% of first-time donors never return, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. Being up to date with non-profit best practices and fundraising trends will help you build a solid attack on this problem. You need to know what motivates your donors to give and what makes them stick with your cause for the long haul.
- Use of resources
Proper resource management is key to the performance of your organization and ultimately for the achievement of your mission. Every dollar you save contributes to those you serve, so the more you save, the greater your potential impact. But, what should you save on? By learning and implementing the right practices you can help your organization save money and improve efficiency so you can allocate those extra resources to making an impact.
- Use of technology
Technology is making our lives easier. We all use it because it is convenient and saves us time on our daily routines, so why not do the same within your organization? Keeping up with technology trends and applying them to your daily operations is very beneficial for both your employees and supporters. Make interactions with your organization easier for donors by improving your online donation experiences through mobile giving or recurring giving systems.
- Employees’ and volunteers’ skills
We are living in the age of content, and non-profit best practices are the type of content you need to consume. Non-profit experts are sharing tips about employees’ performance in all kinds of areas – finance, operations, fundraising. What skills are needed for a role, how to manage volunteers, how to find board members, networking tips… They share their experiences, whether they are good or bad, so others can learn from those mistakes and implement the strategies that led them to success.
C(Group has gathered the best and most current intel on all areas non-profit to help our clients and the non-profit industry strive. With NpChannel, we do the tedious part for you, which is finding trustful sources you can rely on. Subscribe to our channel, so that you can keep your finger on the pulse of the industry and keep your organization competitive in a quickly advancing era.