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Effective Economic Decision Making by Nonprofit Organizations

In an effort to help some folks in my Frictionless Fundraising workshops understand the economic landscape of new media, I spent part of my day explaining marginal costs. I should probably also recommend this book to them, as I am recommending it to you: Effective Economic Decision Making by Nonprofit Organizations, edited by Dennis R. Young. Although the chapter on ICT avoids a number of major issues, the book as a whole is very strong. I enjoyed the editor's last words, in which he develops these seven insights: (1) Mission is a primary concern, central to making all wise economic choices in nonprofit organizations. (2) As a practical matter, mission related effects are often difficult to codify and quantify, but they should be made as precise as possible. (3) Qualitative as well as quantitative benefits and costs must be acknowledged. (4) The tensions between mission and market must be understood and appropriately managed. (5) Diversify to manage risk. (6) Nonprofit organizations are pushed and pulled by multiple, diverse stakeholders. The challenge is to retain a clear focus on mission and core capabilities, in light of these pushes and pulls. (7) Economic conditions change. Nonprofit economic decisions need constantly to be revisited. Posted: 10/25/05; 7:54:37 PM #

Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change

William Bridges' book on Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change is justifiably a best seller. As you can tell by the subtitle, the book is not about planning for changes or about making wise changes. Instead, it presents a clear, well organized approach for dealing with it. One example: Identify the losses that people are suffering from the change, acknowledge them sincerely and thoroughly, and compensate people for them. Another example: Sell the problem, not the solution. Posted: 10/25/05; 7:30:09 PM #