When Should Your Nonprofit Invest in Help?
Some of the coolest nonprofits we work with started as a little side project. The Yard Foundation started when a fellow firefighter experienced a family emergency and his colleagues gathered to raise funds to cover his expenses. Project I Am began after an 8-year-old fed the homeless with his aunt and he was left with the desire to do more. Project Fire Buddies started with a firefighter playing a simple air hockey game with a young boy battling leukemia and his siblings. People with all kinds of careers from all walks of life saw a need for something in their community, took an idea, and ran with it.
That may resonate with you. You had an idea, did a little research, and now you’re sitting at the helm of a 501(c)3 organization, wondering what’s next. Maybe you’ve exhausted your resources and are unsure what to do now. Perhaps you know exactly what to do, but you’ve run out of hours in the day. Maybe the way you’re feeling lies somewhere in between.
Investing in the growth of your organization can be scary for all kinds of different reasons. Maybe you’ve been doing it all on your own every step of the way, and the idea of letting someone else take the reins on any part of your organization is overwhelming. Maybe you’re worried it won’t work. Maybe you know you need help, and you’re even ready to outsource some work, but you’re not sure what to outsource or how to do it.
If you’re trying to decide whether it’s time to invest in the growth of your organization, we have some questions for you to consider.
What do we need help with?
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to growing your nonprofit organization. No two founders are the same, and no two organizations are the same. Take some time to consider your strengths and weaknesses, and consider bringing in support to help you build up areas that could use fine-tuning.
What are our reasonable goals?
When you look ahead to the next few years or even months, where would you like your organization to be? What is it going to take to get there? Think about what kind of support would best help you achieve those goals.
What can we afford?
Take a good, hard look at your budget and decide where you can free up some funds to hire support. Once you know your budget, you’ll be able to determine the best ways to spend that money to help your organization grow.
Are we ready and willing to give up some control?
Perhaps this is the most important question of all. Watching something that started as your side project take on a life of its own can be an incredible experience. It can also be challenging in unexpected ways. Sometimes, the way you’ve always done things might just be what’s stopping you from growing even bigger! Make sure you’re ready to have honest conversations and try new ways of doing things. We promise it’ll make your organization better in the long run.
