An organization who wants some control over its mission destiny during both hard times and better times needs to think ahead about building the capacity to plan and launch new programs to meet new societal needs, and align that program planning with a research & evaluation capacity to determine long term program impact. Management can exude confidence in their mission expertise and ability to deliver on financial and mission goals by prioritizing unrestricted contributions, rather than becoming mired in ongoing liquidity concerns. They should rethink their development capacity and strategy to make a compelling systemic case for the organization to not only survive the current conditions, but to continue to grow their measurable mission impacts through this uncertain period. One could argue that during a time of existential flux, it is the fiduciary responsibility of nonprofit finance committees, boards, and CEOs-especially those with sizable unrestricted reserves-to structure a planning process to invest in a pipeline of new programs, innovations, financial function capacity, and perhaps even new program leadership. One nonprofit, with some unrestricted reserves, actually gave their staff raises at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, which they felt were not only overdue but also necessary to position themselves for the longer term. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your business model enables you to focus on programmatic imperatives during a time of need. Likewise, your business and mission options are enhanced if you have built a sustainable business model that supports a basket of effective programs, raises money from a diverse array of long-term funding streams, and all the while keeps expenses under control. Reality dictates a better set of short- and long-term financial and mission options for a self-aware organization with a balance sheet that can highlight even a modest reserve of unrestricted liquid net assets. Because ultimately, a nonprofit’s ability to answer long-term financial and mission-defining questions concurrently with the short-term ones will position them to be relevant and make an impact in a realigned and ever-changing world of need.Īll nonprofits must take a reflective step back to understand their financial and program position before, during, and after the COVID-19 tsunami of change. Nonetheless, nonprofits during this time are called to meet the ultimate existential challenge of making mission and financial decisions for the long-term concurrently with the short-term questions, not putting them on hold for a later date. That is not to diminish the very real and unenviable plight of the overburdened nonprofit financial and mission management team just trying to stay afloat in the short term. In other words, the existential survival question of “Are we here?” might be superseded by another, more fundamental existential question: “Why are we here? What is our raison d’être, our ‘reason to be’ as an organization?” But the focus on short-term questions and challenges, though understandable, might ultimately be short-sighted, causing organizations to overlook some of the most important longer-term existential questions and challenges that have the potential to define a nonprofit’s financial viability, mission relevance, and impact over time. scraping together enough cash to meet payroll and pay rent. Sisyphus had only one rock to roll up one mountain, while dedicated leaders in the nonprofit sector find themselves rolling multiple rocks of various sizes up multiple mountains.ĭuring this unprecedented time, many nonprofits have felt pressured to prioritize the short-term financial question of liquidity-i.e.
As agonizing as Sisyphus’ plight may have been, it’s nothing compared to the existential financial and mission challenges nonprofit leaders face today. Philosophers would contend that Sisyphus had it rough, rolling his rock up a hill only to see it roll back before he reached the top – then doing it all again, over and over, in perpetuity.
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