The First Steps: How to get started building a high-impact nonprofit organization

added by Tivix Team

Carrying an idea forward effectively--that is, administratively, financially, and in terms of public awareness--requires a series of different skills.  Some people have one or more of these skills; very few people have most of them; and it is safe to say that NO ONE HAS ALL THESE SKILLS. So the first rule in developing and running a high-impact, nonprofit organization is this: Assess honestly the skills you have and find people to provide the ones you don't.

First, prepare a project statement. A "good idea" must be drawn up clearly and convincingly. The prose must be grammatical and concise. The idea trail must be clear, from needs, through strategies and methods, to desired results. Examples of your ideas and their implementation help make a presentation readable and understandable, but the examples must be interesting and never pedantic or laborious. A clear, strong write-up of your proposed project is essential in the early development phase. If you don't have the necessary thought-organization and writing skills to produce one, you must find someone who does.

Second, in conjunction with developing your project statement, you should prepare a more extensive, overall developmental strategy. This should outline (that is, list in temporal sequence and with hierarchical needs and activities) the series of steps you envision to implement your project. To be sure, this strategic planning is dynamic--it develops, grows, and changes--and it should continue to do so for some time. But it is important to see--and to spell out for others to see--just where you hope to go and how you hope to get there. As with the first step (writing a clear, forceful project statement), if you do not personally have the conceptual skills to develop a strategic plan, face this personal limitation squarely and realistically and get help.

Third, "finding someone" has important broader implications. The worlds of donors and investors, of publicity resources and news media, of supporters and sympathizers respect and respond to the titles and credentials or you and those who are associated with you. Two characteristics are important in your friends-and-associates list: it is important to have people who have titles and credentials (academic degrees, "hot" resume items, etc.) related to what you are hoping to do; and also to have people with successful experience in the various sub-components of your effort.

So after (1) you have a clear, convincing presentation of your project written up, and (2) you have developed a preliminary strategic plan, you should (3) think through just who are the relevant leaders or authorities in your field that people would listen to. And you should write and meet with as many of these "important" people as you can.  If you know them personally, that is certainly best. If not, you can read the books they have written and write them interested, complimentary, informed letters. Or find out explicitly what they have done, what positions they have held, what courses they teach (and have taught). And open a communication with them that is knowledgeable and respectful. When they don't respond to your first letter or email, write another, and then another. Go to their lectures if you can, and be sure to ask them a question or two--something that is interesting and complicated enough to catch their interest and to show your awareness of the matter, but also that is answerable.

Don't put a request for support or endorsement or for heavy-duty consultative advice on your project way up front in your early communications with these "important" folks. They don't want to feel "used" any more than you would. What you want to communicate is that (1) you are interested and impressed with them; (2) that you are knowledgeable and interesting yourself; and--ultimately--(3) that something is brewing that they may be interested in.

Of course, as soon as you start to get positive responses (even "feelers") from one or two people, you can start to say to others, "Dr. So-And-So wrote me that . . ." and "when I talked to So-And-So, she said. . . ." This increases your credibility. It may sound crass and manipulative, but if it is done gracefully, this approach can help you build up your authority- and support-base.

Fourth, in conjunction with (1) writing your project statement, (2) developing a strategic plan, and (3) building your network of associates, you should (4) identify other crucial areas of expertise you will need, and either practice and hone your own abilities or find other "experts" for areas you cannot handle. Most people need a lawyer, for example; many need an accountant; many need publicity experts; some need assistance with personnel--with hiring and firing, health and human resources management, and the like. So the fourth step in developing an effective nonprofit organization is developing a management and services/consultation team.

Although any one organization only has one board of directors, there are really two different possible kinds of boards of directors with two different kinds of members and two different roles for the organization. The traditional board of directors is made up of well known individuals, community leaders, and experts in your organization's field. All big, well established non-profit organizations have this kind of board of directors. Their responsibility is to set long-range goals and overall strategy for an organization. Commonly they meet once a year, they give an organization prestige, they collect their salaries, and they, in fact, do very little.

Smaller non-profit organizations commonly have a "working" board of directors. These are also people of note, community leaders, and experts in the fields of activity of the organization. The difference is that these people come to work--they may include a lawyer and an accountant, perhaps a public relations professional, and others with applicable hands-on experience and a willingness to roll up their sleeves and pitch in to get the work of the organization done. A "working" board of directors commonly meets at least once a month--though the members may be "around," helping out with the activities of the organization throughout the month as well. And "working" board members commonly volunteer their services--they usually do not get paid.

A traditional ("cosmetic") board of directors or a "working" board both the management team, the salaried employees who actually run the organization day after day, week after week. And they are different from key consultants like a lawyer (if you cannot get one to join a "working" board), or an accountant, publicist, etc.

These four steps lay the groundwork --

1. writing a project statement
2. developing a strategic plan
3. building a network of associates
4. developing a management and services/consultation team

They clarify in your thinking and lay out for others to see just what it is you want to do and how you hope to do it. They create a list of who (of note) "believes" in you, and also who is going to help you put it all together and make it run. This is the foundation for your house. It is a lot of work--often much of it goes unnoticed and unappreciated. But an effective organization can only be built on such a strong foundation.