7 suggestions to improve the performance of your not-for-profit

When you read about innovation and management practices, most of the business press and news center on for-profit firms. However, non-profits constitute a huge portion of our economy. According to the Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics, just the public charity sector alone accounts for over $1 trillion in total revenue. There are approximately one million public not-for-profits and private foundations registered with the IRS.

Notwithstanding these impressive statistics, many nonprofits struggle to effectively manage. This article reviews seven insights from the field nonprofit management.

Use technology prudently

New developments in Internet and telephone technology are making it increasingly easy for nonprofits to save on travel expenses and increase collaboration. Desktop sharing applications are becoming more functional and allow nonprofit managers to immediately create virtual meetings across geographically dispersed groups. Additionally free conference calling companies such as Rondee.com are enabling nonprofits to cut their telecom bills and create better team dynamics as well as facilitate coordination with other nonprofits.

Stay focused

The most effectively managed nonprofits are ones that stay tightly focused on their mission and do not allow their staff and leadership to get sidetracked by peripheral goals. Most nonprofits operate under significant resource limitations. Addressing three goals with 100% effort will generally yield superior results compared to going after six goals at half effort.

Use data based decision-making practices

One of the key trends recently affecting nonprofits has been the increasing reliance on evidence based decision-making. Nonprofit practitioners can apply the same practices to ascertain what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and reliance on conjecture is being systematically replaced by empirical data to justify decisions.

Grow your network

The most successful nonprofit practitioners create networks of supporters who share their philosophy and mission. While the term networking frequently gets a bad rap, the simple fact is these networks can provide more than just financial support. Crucially, associations also provide the psychological support which is so vital to maintaining enthusiasm amongst leaders and volunteers.

Learn how to lobby

Many nonprofits believe that lobbying is the province of for-profit enterprises. While that may be true in some situations, many successful nonprofits have developed a real advantage through mastering the art of lobbying. Whether to secure needed reforms in public policy or the support of public leaders, lobbying can be an effective method for nonprofits to accelerate traction.

Keep fundraising focused

Most of the nonprofits that have grown dramatically in the past few decades have done so by concentrating their development on a single type of funding source. The strategy typically employed requires creating efforts and messaging designed for the needs of their primary funding source. Not only is this approach generally more effective than the shotgun method, it enables deeper relationships to be formed between the funding channel and the nonprofit.

Multiply through matching

Multiply your fund raising dollars through matching gifts. Most people know that some employers will match gifts to qualifying nonprofits. Less well understood is the multiplier effect of getting promises from givers to match the gifts of smaller contributors.

The good news in all this is that these methods are not costly. Whether its deploying free teleconference systems or learning methods of how to lobby, nonprofits can ratchet up their performance through these 7 suggestions.

Living in California, Bob Letterman is a frequent contributor to technology forums. Rondee.com's free conference calling service is among his early stage strategy consulting clients in the area of telecom.