How can a non-profit organisation maximise its impact for good on the future of the world? According to a recent ChangeThis manifesto by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather Grant McLeod based on a study of high-impact non-profit organisations, there are six things which the most effective organisations do well.
Instead of focusing exclusively on their own organisation and providing only direct services, they work externally with all sectors of society and advocate for policy change; instead of avoiding or opposing business or capitalism, they work with businesses; instead of treating volunteers as free labour, they engage people in meaningful experiences and build long-term relationships; instead of competing with other organisations, they nurture relationships with them; instead of becoming bureaucratic, they constantly adapt; and instead of maintaining a command-and-control hierarchy, they empower others to lead and take action.
How much more effective would a poverty-relief organisation be if its vision was not just to serve the poor, but to put concern for the poor on the hearts and minds of people so powerfully that failing to care for the poor became socially and politically unacceptable? The authors’ more detailed findings are embodied in the book Forces for Good: the Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits.