New Year's Top 10 List - Differences in the Charitable World

I got off the phone this morning with a woman who is thinking about making the move from the for profit world into the charitable world. At the root of most of our conversation was the question "just how do the two differ?" So in the spirit of New Year "Top 10" lists, here’s my Top 10 List of for-profit versus charitable differences. Note that I’m not going for the obviously different aspects, but what might surprise you on the "other side"….

1. Passion – in the charitable world it’s about wanting to make a difference. People, inspired by their experiences or insight into a need, set out to change the world. Not make a profit: change the world.
2. Mission – most corporate employees don’t know their corporate Mission statement. Most charitable employees live their Mission statement every day. This affects every aspect of the charity.
3. Volunteers – are a key defining difference. Most charities simply could not exist without what volunteers bring: their skills, their passion, their heart and they’re free. This all has its own set of intrinsic pros and cons, but whatever the case I don’t remember many volunteers helping out the corporations where I worked
4. Boards – sure big corporations often have Boards, but unlike the vast majority of businesses charities of all sizes have Boards
5. Complexity – given that charities have Boards and volunteers, and structures or staff that parallel virtually all for-profit activities, charities of roughly the same operating budgets (size) as a for-profit business are more complex
6. Structure – at the same time, in comparing most organizations of a similar size, my experience is that charities are relatively unstructured for their size (e.g. fewer policies and manuals, less robust Human Resources practices, etc.)
7. Lean – if you think your for-profit experience was with a lean organization, I’m pretty sure there are still charities that can show you a trick or two. All funds (for better and for worse) are often pushed to the furtherance of the Mission
8. Intangible – a bit of an "obvious" difference but with important implications, unlike many for-profit organizations what is "sold" in a charity is a feeling or outcome, not a "thing". For example, this difference results in different skills for fundraisers versus salespeople
9. Voice – manufacturing has a sector voice, but in Canada non-profit is even bigger but with less "clout" (and same as the automotive sector) – Imagine Canada does great work as one voice (and in U.S. not even a single voice at all), but as evidence of this difference no Federal bail-out money was coming to struggling charities in this economic downturn
10. Understanding – most Canadians have a fairly good sense of the ingredients in the food they buy, or the "value" of property they live in, but most don’t understand the causes they support as well. If buying something and making a gift are both transactions of a kind, the difference here is that purchases are often made first through the head, while donations are often made first through the heart.

Not better or worse, but very different indeed!

Not a Fundraiser but raising Money

I had a coffee last week with the Executive Director for a smaller local "branch" of a large, well known charity.  He commented that he wasn't a fundraiser and really didn't know much about that world... And then nonchalantly mentioned he'd just led a successful local capital campaign to renovate their location to the tune of over $4 million!

Among so many things he did right I wanted to highlight three key factors, and then summarize the insights.

1. Where there were truly things he didn't know he sought expert advice, either pro-bono, from his board, or paid for it - but he did most of the work himself.  INSIGHT: Little sells better than a committed leader with a compelling and honest message - so he kept his costs down and impact up by just telling his story. 

2. His Board was actively involved.  INSIGHT: We've all heard the wisdom about the attitude of the Board defining the altitude of the organization, but he could never have achieved his goals (particularly in this economy)without his Board actively opening doors.

3. This leader has been active in this community for years, lives his own cause every day, and understands their Mission deep to his core.  INSIGHT: In a way that "salespeople" (and I've been one of them) don't often realize, relationships matter - not in the "here, I'll put those new golf clubs in your trunk" way, but in the "I need your help for something important" way, and this leader has those kinds of relationships.

In summary, charitable organizations big and small achieve their fundraising goals every day, in tough economies or not, with a "recipe" unique to that organization.  However, some of the ingredients are almost always the same:

• A compelling mission, combined with a strong case for support

• An engaged and active Board that works to support the fundraising

• A point person (usually a key leader) about whom the campaign coalesces 

Wishing you Good Conversations until next time!