When a recession hits and money gets tight, non-profit organizations can do three things to keep on an even keel, financially:
- Increase your income,
- Cut your costs, and
- Use your resources more effectively.
As
you know, the Wild Apricot blog aims to help nonprofits do more with
less, making
efficient use of the resources you do have available, whether that's technology, human resources, or the two in combination. For expert guidance in the first two areas — how to reduce expenses and
increase revenue in a downshifting economy — do take a look at these recent articles from Fieldstone
consultants Alexis Cress, Tom Triplett, and Sandy Jacobsen:
* 20 Emergency Funding Sources for Nonprofits
Cash Flow Management, Contributed Income, Earned Income, Debt Financing, and Existing Assets
* 20 Cost Cutting Ideas for Nonprofits
General Advice, Purchasing, Cash Flow Management, Facilities and Infrastructure, Staffing, and Program Services
Both of these articles are structured as easy-to-read charts, from
which you can pick-and-choose the ideas that are likely to work best
for your organizations. Not all of the tactics that are
suggested in these articles will be suitable for every nonprofit, as the
authors freely acknowledge, but any organization should find a number of practical ideas here.
Fieldstone Alliance
is a independent not-for profit 501(c)3 organization that offers
training and consulting to help charities, associations, and other
nonprofits to improve their performance, with a focus on publishing,
research and innovation within and for networks of organizations. They’ve been at it for more than a quarter-century, so there’s considerable experience behind the expertise; and Fieldstone’s
twice-monthly “Nonprofit Tools You Can Use” e-newsletter archives
are well worth reading. And from there, you’ll be linked to even more
well-vetted resources on topics of interest to nonprofit organizations.
