The 2013 Nonprofit Excellence Awards were recently handed out to three top New York City area nonprofits (see more below).
This year, Anat Gerstein joined the selection committee. What follows is an adaptation of her post for the Awards' blog. You can find the blog here.
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The Children's Village won the 2013 NonProfit Excellence Awards Gold Prize
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When the NonProfit Coordinating Committee's Michael Clarke recently pointed out that a Google search for "nonprofit management" identified over 6 million entries, I paused. It pales in comparison to the 1.3 billion entries for "business management", but it is a much newer field.
As a matter of fact, it was only this past summer that three leading nonprofit "oversight" organizations - Guide Star, Charity Navigator, and BBB - loosened their recommended caps on what nonprofits should spend on "overhead" (a term that doesn't exist in the for-profit world - after all, you can't create the next smartphone without investing heavily in Research and Development).
This latest move sends a signal to donors and supporters that we no longer have to prescribe how much nonprofits should spend on various departments - like communications. It's also an affirmation of the fact that individual nonprofits are capable of making the right financial and management decisions that are mission driven and in the best interests of the people they serve.
The Nonprofit Excellence Awards certainly bear this out.
Nonprofits with excellent management practices see the fruits of their efforts in the results - a greater positive impact on clients, increased and diversified fundraising, a more engaged board, stronger operational efficiencies, reduced costs (with saving plowed back into client services), happier and more committed staff, and more.
That's certainly true for this year's three winners - The Children's Village, CSH, and BronxWorks.
Strong communication practices are key to excellent management. Here are a few practices that can be implemented by all organizations, regardless of size, mission or funding source.
1. Have a plan. Before the start of the year, develop even a simple plan that outlines your communications activities for the year (PR, social media, website updates, newsletters, fundraising communications, annual reports, etc.), prioritizing activities based on your goals.
2. Seek communications outcomes that align with your organizational goals. If you want to increase individual giving in the coming year, for example, identify what communications tactics (newsletters, annual reports, social media, board-driven communications, etc.) you will employ and what message you will consistently promote.
3. Get everyone involved. Even if you have a dedicated communications team, you should get other staff, board and surrogates involved. Use them to amplify your message to a wider audience, or to help with particular communications activities, like getting your board chair to pen an op-ed, for example.