Guest post by Tera Qualls, communications coordinator, Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University
On day two of the NGen Preconference, I participated in a session on shaping the future of the nonprofit sector. This session led by Heather Gowdy and Mary Stelletello from LaPiana Consulting focused on five trends having profound impact on the social sector. These five trends, found in their Nonprofit Next research initiative are:
- Demographic shifts – ethnic, age, and geographic diversity
- Technology – shifting rapidly in all ways
- Increased emphasis on working in networks – networks have always been important, how we can we now leverage our new networks?
- Interest in civic engagement and volunteering increasing – more youth, boomers, unemployed, and underemployed workers are and want to volunteer
- Sector boundaries blurring – the private, public, and nonprofit sectors no longer have strict boundaries or specific roles
With all of these shifts in the nonprofit sector, there is increasing importance for nonprofit organizations to shift how they work. Organizations are being pushed to look outside of their typical or traditional work structures to include new strategies to be more sustainable. The session presented many practical tips for working in these paradigm shifts, but four tips in particular stood out to me.
Tip 1: Strategies for Including Diverse Ideas
The presenters pointed out, “The most essential piece of being successful is having strong human capital.” Organizations should ask themselves, are we focusing on leadership, management, and workforce development, and also encouraging diverse ideas in our work? Organizations should also focus on diversity internally and externally. Having an environment that is supportive of taking risks and listening to the community allows room for more diverse ideas.
Tip 2: Communication is Two-Way
With the increased use of social media, online discussions, and venues for sharing ideas, conversations are happening everywhere. The reality is organizations have lost control of what people are saying about them, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Individuals are sharing their experiences. Mary said it well, “No organization is an island anymore.”
Tip 3: Decreasing Need for Formal Organizations
Formal organizations are no longer the only way to get things done. Individuals can raise money and a follow a cause without being part of an organization. To increase your network and results organizations have to learn how to leverage the interests of all the individuals participating in these “informal” organizations.
Tip 4: Non-traditional Volunteering
Increasingly volunteering is not happening in the organization’s office or on a traditional basis. There are online tools that organizations can use to leverage volunteers on different levels and at all times of the day. Heather said, “Organizations do not have to recreate the online wheel.” There are many tools available now, that organizations can use to utilize volunteers on a new level. The example that they provided was episodic volunteering, where people volunteer online for an organization an hour at a time.
The session really drove home the importance of being an adaptable and flexible organization. Easier said than done, right? It got me thinking about how I can use some of these strategies in my work to keep my organization relevant.
Are you seeing these trends in your organization? What is something you can do today as a leader in the sector to push these changes forward?<
