Run your non-profit as a business, not a hobby

Recently, our very own team member, Divya published an article on LinkedIn about the struggles non-profits know all too well, when it comes to growth. At ClubRunner, working with non-profit groups, we've seen this firsthand ourselves.

An excerpt from the article:

Despite the wide range of what non-profits do, they all have a striking similarity in their struggle to grow and prosper. The root cause is the misguided mindset that they are "non-profit" rather than "for-profit". These labels only apply to the financials, but should not affect the way they operate or present themselves. I've seen first hand evidence of even the smallest groups achieve big goals simply by changing their toolkit!

The biggest obstacles preventing non-profits from growing and reaching their goals are neither budget nor a lack of manpower; rather it is their mindset and way of thinking. I found that the executives were unable to look past limitations and road blocks. Moreover, many of them simply saw themselves as volunteers and part-timers and believed that success was merely a matter of more time and resources. As a result, they were resigned to achieving small incremental changes. While this is understandable, I started thinking if we could make more of an impact by adopting strategic business elements. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that we simply needed to embrace the mantra, ‘think like a business’. Non-profits play an integral role in community service projects but it isn’t just a matter of organizing a few fundraisers.

Read the rest of the article here and share your thoughts with us! We'd love to hear your opinion!