The Silver Bullet Hiding in Plain Sight

A silver bullet is hard to come by, especially one to keep your organization thriving and vital to your stakeholders. A January 5^th article in Forbes by Edward Segal addresses the 10 biggest risks and threats for businesses in 2022. They are:

1. Data Breaches
2. Climate Change
3. The Great Resignation
4. Obtaining Talent
5. Pandemic
6. Lack Of Inventory
7. Burnout
8. Inflation
9. Financial Crises
10. Failure To Innovate

Silver Bullet Targets

Unlike for-profit shareholder businesses, nonprofit stakeholder organizations can address the following five risks and threats through a single strategy that should already be in your playbook.

1. The Great Resignation
2. Obtaining Talent
3. Burnout
4. Financial Crises
5. Failure To Innovate

 Mission & Vision Campaign

If you haven’t already, now is the time to conduct a “Mission and Vision Campaign” to enliven these key driving forces for your employees, donors, and stakeholders. And, be sure to develop strategies that use messages reflecting your mission and vision in all facets of your operation.

• Remind your mission-driven employees why they signed up to work for your organization. You may not be able to pay them more, but you can keep them from resigning by refreshing their original motivations.
• Attract new workers who are aligned with what you are working to achieve. Recruiting documents and advertisements should begin with your mission and vision, and show how each position will help fulfill them.
• Reduce worker burnout and improve retention by engaging those affected employees to find more fulfilling roles in your organization and increase their alignment with your mission and vision. This will also encourage your workers to find ways to innovate and improve your programs and add value for your staff and stakeholders.
• Update your donor appeals and gift conversations to remind and inspire donors, and donor candidates, how philanthropy makes your mission and vision possible.
• Reenergize your board members by reminding them why they signed up to lead and support your organization. Use campaign elements at all board and committee meetings and ask for motivating testimony from directors.

The most valuable asset of a nonprofit organization is its mission, and its vision is its greatest inspiration. I encourage you to use these to strengthen and sustain your organization’s value for your stakeholders.

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Copley Raff’s mission: Every interaction is to help nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions by meeting ambitious goals, aligning their leadership, elevating fundraising, and activating the brilliance of their teams. It is a bold promise but one that we know will serve you and your organization’s mission in a way that will deliver tangible and meaningful results – the kind of results that make a real difference!