An area of great personal interest for me is in learning about and sharing how to improve the impact and effectiveness of organizations and groups of people trying to make a positive difference in the world.

Alan Grossman at Harvard summed up the problem statement this way:

“The disorderliness and complexity of the philanthropic funding environment distracts nonprofit management, shifting focus away from organizational performance. Far from being a benign influence, philanthropic capital markets have an insidious effect on making and keeping high performance a top priority for nonprofit managers. The result is a distinct competitive disadvantage for nonprofits.”

By 2052, an estimated $6 trillion will flow directly to social enterprise organizations. Concurrently, a new generation of business leaders and philanthropists is experimenting with hybrid forms of social enterprises while demanding more transparency and accountability from the organizations they are funding.

In my view, there is an enormous opportunity to transform society on a grand scale with effective and high-performing non-profits and NGOs working in the field.

One organization I am involved with that shares this view is SDplanNet. This organization helps professionals involved in development planning share innovative approaches for integrating sustainable development into plans, strategies and budgeting processes at national, sub-national and local levels. In other words, it helps development efforts be effective.

To further the world’s work in sustainable development, I am also an editorial team reviewer for Canadian Center of Science and Education’s Journal of Sustainable Development. The other journals I am involved with can be found on the Publications page of this blog.

If you share this interest and would like to talk further or work on a side project, please feel free to get in touch.

Recent Posts Related to Social Impact:

• How the non-profit and NGO sector can sell to their strengths: impact.

Related Articles

• Getting It Done: Improving Nonprofit Performance
• Twelve business models for social enterprise & innovation (compassioninpolitics.wordpress.com)
• Why a Nonprofit Board Should Assess Itself Each Year. (atlantahoamanagement.wordpress.com)
• The Nonprofit Model is Broken (bhargreaves.com)
• How to Create an Effective Non-Profit Mission Statement (crystalkeyministries.wordpress.com)

Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations “Standards of Excellence”
(This is a widely recognized, principles-based assessment tool that suggests principles for effectiveness in many of the major functions in nonprofits.)

Fieldstone’s Nonprofit Life-Stage Assessment
(Includes descriptions of the various life cycles of nonprofits, and associates recommendations (“best practices”?) to address each)