Each and every year charities in
Canada receive less financial supports from the government sector. If this
pattern keeps going where would the charities end up? In my prediction, we will
see more and more of larger charities 'acquire' the smaller charities forming a
larger organization with boarder scope of work. There is no certainty of the
circumstances if it happens. “If they are doing exactly the same thing (eg.
breast cancer related charities), wouldn’t it be better off to have a single
organization to handle the subject?” I do not know the answer to that; what I
know is that larger organizations require lots more processes and procedures
before one action can take place, smaller organizations have much flexibility
to act upon needs. For this reason, I believe the combination of both large and
small(er) organizations would be more effective for social needs.
I’m all for the small to medium size
nonprofits, not because I do not like the big guys, but I believe thousands of
small guys can make a great impact no lesser than a big guy, beyond that, much
faster (if integrated well). The idea here is how to make the small guys
sustain themselves in this competitive and blood-sucking environment? I say,
marketing, market your impact, market your cause, and ma[r]ke[t] the
difference. Above other important things needed in the organization, you need
marketing.
What Am I Saying?
Here’s the click, marketing is so expensive! Oh, yes, it is. What
if there is a nonprofit organization professional in marketing that works for
nonprofit organizations? That’s the idea. I am an apprentice in
marketing/public relations and I can see this is possible.
How?
By connecting small businesses those depends their revenue from
communities with charities those are the centre of communities. Charities have
much to learn from the business perspectives and vice versa. That’s the basic
concept; however, it will get lots more complicated in term of how the
organization runs: revenue model, managements, board governance, etc.
If this is a nonprofit organization,
does it mean, it cannot make profit? No, it doesn't mean that it cannot generate profit. Many people misunderstand
that a charity cannot make profit. The difference is that charity does not pay
dividend (nor have shareholders in this regards). The income is used and the profit is return into the organization. The excess income will be used to train and
educate the other nonprofit organizations for self-sustaining as well as to expand.
I believe the goal of all nonprofit organizations is to solve the social imperfections
and cease to exist due to their services are no longer required (very unlikely, but
that’s the goal). Once the small guys have the skills to maintain or even
better, grow itself with minimum support from the government sector; then, the
organization achieve its objective.
I am currently an MBA student working
on a research project on effective nonprofits management, partially to find the
best way that would make this type of organization works. If you are interested
in further detail of the organization I am planning, let me know, maybe we can
make an important change for the charities in Vancouver, and perhaps, Canada.
"Shaping the Future of Business"
Keep in touch:
Twitter - @Rathapat_S
LinkedIn - Rathapat (Moe) Suwanaratana
