How does your organization really function? No, I mean really…in every aspect: Financial, legal, human resources, governance, etc. As we get busy with the daily work of the nonprofit, too often we forget to look beyond the obvious to ensure that the organization is functioning optimally. An organizational assessment can help you learn about the strengths and challenges of the organization…and once you know what these are, you are able to make changes to help it grow and thrive.
Nonprofits play an important role in our society. They are responsible for taking care of those in need, the elderly and infirmed as well as provide care and education for our children. And, faith-based organizations and ministries have such an important role as they let the rest of the world see Jesus in places where it is pretty dark. As such, it is essential that they function well. More and more foundations as well as individual donors want to see that organizations are strong and vibrant before investing in them. An organizational assessment will document the areas where an organization is strong as well as those areas where more work is needed.
An organizational assessment can also be used as a tool to recruit and attract high quality staff. Once complete, the results of the assessment can be shared with potential employment candidates to document the conditions of the nonprofit.
Does your organization struggle to attract board members? Including the results of your most recent organizational assessment may help you to attract new board members. Even if the results of the assessment are not exactly what you wish they had been, simply having the results will demonstrate to potential board members that you are aware of your weaknesses and willing to address them. In other words, such an assessment makes a statement that you are serious about building a strong organization.
Finally, in this time of increased scrutiny and accountability, an organizational assessment can document your willingness to be transparent in all areas of organizational operations. Looking at all areas of organizational functioning will help your organization be a step ahead of those who are not willing to look so closely at the things that are “not quite right” within the organization.
Don’t let fear stop you from assessing your organization.
Let’s face it, all organizations have weaknesses and struggles. Strong organizations identify those weaknesses and work to strengthen them. When is the last time you looked at your organization from every angle? While doing so can be scary, it can also create an opportunity for the organization to grow and thrive.
Send us an email, we have developed a tool to assess nonprofits and can guide you through it as you work to make your organization function optimally.
