After years of working with nonprofits, I’ve often heard their leadership say, “we’ve got to stop acting like a charity and run this thing like a business.” A few business fundamentals that we’ve seen can make a real difference in the nonprofit arena are:
- Strategic Planning
- Accountability for Staff
- Targeted Marketing
- Value-Based Selling
- Transparency in Finances
I also think businesses can flip the mirror around and learn a ton from our nonprofit counterparts.
Most nonprofits have to split their time between providing value for the dues/programs they offer, and the pursuit of philanthropic gifts. That makes the nonprofit more adept at certain areas that businesses can learn a lot from, such as:
- Lasting relationships between members (customers) is the key to loyalty
- Treat people like people, not an account number
- Invest in the member (customer) community
- Leverage every free (or nearly free) communication tool possible
I wake up every day knowing my mission is to provide software and services that contribute significantly to our customers’ success. I am so grateful for the many ways our nonprofit customers have influenced the way we execute on that mission.