I think of an organization’s vision as something bigger, even loftier, than a mission statement. It’s your dream. It’s the ideal that you work towards bit by bit every day. You started out with a very clear vision - you could imagine what the world (or your community) would be like if your organization accomplished its goal. But the everyday challenges of running an organization may have caused you to lose sight of your dream. The very same vision that once had you ready to conquer the world may have faded.
Try to bring that vision back into focus. Now, imagine having tens, hundreds or even thousands share a passion for your vision, working together to make it happen. What would happen? Would your organization grow? Would you be serving more clients or greeting more guests? Would you have a larger budget and a highly qualified staff? Would the world be safer, happier or better educated? Would you have solved the unsolvable problem?
Nonprofits come in all sizes and exist for an endless number of reasons. Whether you provide educational, cultural, spiritual, recreational, health or social services; you are big, small, a start-up or established, you have recognized a need and exist to fill it. Running and growing a nonprofit is a complex and challenging task. Ever changing boards, staff, social and economic conditions, even competition, present obstacles. You have many inside and outside forces working against you. As a nonprofit leader, your vision is the fuel that drives the organization.
Reading Millard Fuller’s obituary, he founded Habitat for Humanity, reminded me that it takes just one person to care deeply to start a nonprofit. Maybe your organization, like others, began with a founder’s passion. Moving beyond that point requires getting others to share the vision. A mix of people willing to give time, money and talent must join in the quest.
There is no question that it takes more than a vision to grow an organization but, I don’t think, you can argue the reverse: You can’t grow an organization without a clear vision.
Continued expansion and development, rather than sharpening the vision, may have blurred it. You may be stagnant or growing in ways you hadn’t anticipated. As your board and staff grow and you diversify your programs staying focused on your vision becomes more difficult. Even with the best intentions you, your board, staff and volunteers may be working at odds - making efficiency impossible and hampering everyone’s good intentions to move forward. Your vision may be old, new or evolving, it is the center of your organization.
Should we ponder merging similar nonprofits?
Most discussions that I have been involved in over the years that concern ‘duplication’ of activities among similar nonprofits have predominately centered on the issue of ‘job protection’ for the executive director. While this is entirely predictable, it should be recognized that the issues driving the missions of nonprofits are not easy to solve and there may never be enough people to get the job done. Accordingly, the merging of similar (duplicative) programs and agencies seems to be a very reasonable way of addressing the community needs and the individual protectionism among executive directors and even board members who have long-standing ties with certain organizations, despite the possibility that those organizations are now either ‘irrelevant’ or ‘duplicative’ to the objective reviewer.
Charity fairs are one of the best leadership development opportunities that exist in the non-profit world. Non-profits that have learned how to integrate workplace giving campaigns into their overall leadership development efforts can use them to provide low risk, high value opportunities to their staff in a number of areas, including project management, public speaking, and team building. For example, the skills that can be developed and practiced through participation in charity fairs include:
Oral Communication - public speaking skills -you can practice your “elevator speech” dozens of times in the course of a campaign.
Team Building - the non-profit action officer can get practical experience in creating and leading a team, whether they are paid staff or volunteers.
Listening Skills - the non-profit team will have the opportunity to listen to hundreds of people in your community - what are they saying, what’s most important to them, etc. These are your potential donors and supporters - does your mission resonate with them, are they aware of your organization, etc.?
Written Communication - there are multiple opportunities to develop one’s writing ranging from simple memos to an analysis of the comments from the members of the community that were made at the charity fairs that is prepared for the executive and board leadership
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