It doesn’t take long for nonprofits to realize that administrative support is essential to the success of the organization. Tracking donors, writing reports, issuing invoices, all of these tasks must be done but when you are so busy running the organization and fulfilling its mission, it may feel like it is nearly impossible to “get around” to doing all of these things. Below are some tips to help you as you think about the current and future administrative needs to ensure success for your organization.
Identify Ongoing Needs.
Think about the specific tasks you need to have completed now and those that you can foresee in the near future. How much time do you think those tasks will take now? How about 6 months from now? What skills do you think are needed to accomplish those tasks?
Identify Sporadic or Occasional Needs.
Without a doubt, nonprofits sometimes need occasional assistance, perhaps to prepare for an event or to fill-in for a staff person who is ill. Spend some time thinking about those needs so that you can map them out on the calendar. Doing so will help you to be prepared instead of being caught off-guard.
Identify Developing Needs.
Is your organization in a growth mode? Congratulations! However, with growth, new challenges come. Are you thinking about adding an email newsletter to stay connected to your donors? How about a presence on social media? Or maybe you realize the need for a professional logo.
So now that you have identified current and future needs, the real challenge begins. How will you ever fulfill these organizational needs in addition to everything else you are doing? It may be time to get some help.
Join us next week as we offer some suggestions to meet these needs. In the meantime, feel free to share with us the needs you have identified.
