I spent most of my career in the business world. I was always extremely active and in leadership roles in church and other civic activities, but I earned my living in a for-profit environment. During those years, as an outsider looking in, I believed non-profits had so much to learn from the world of business.
Having spent the last 7 years in full-time ministry, I realize my perception wasn’t completely accurate. I still agree most churches and other non-profits can learn business principles from the corporate world, but now I realize the for-profit world can equally learn from the world of non-profits.
From my experience in the two worlds, here are a few examples where we can learn from each other:
Non-profits can learn from for-profits:
- Business management
- Structure and systems
- Strategy
- Performance evaluation
- Marketing
When it comes to making a profit and producing results, the for-profit world has mastered the task…or at least attempts to do so. Survival and success in this world depends on balancing everything from cash flow to employee performance results in an effort to show a profit to the bottom line.
For-profits can learn from non-profits:
- Purpose
- Mission
- Values
- People-building
- Social responsibility
In the non-profit world, the emphasis is on achieving the purpose of the organization. The focus of attention is not necessarily (actually not usually) on business principles as much as human principles. Success is determined more in accomplishing a mission than on realizing a financial gain. Non-profits advance people over profit.
I see a win/win situation when these two worlds collide. For-profits can be even more profitable when they invest in people and work towards the vision, even sometimes at the expense of immediate profits. Non-profits can continue their mission more effectively when they practice healthy business principles.
My questions is: How do we get these two worlds together more?
Are you currently in the non-profit or the for-profit world? Have you experienced both? Do you see other ways we can learn from each other?
I've been working in the NPO world since graduating from college. I've struggled with watching NPOs try to function like businesses, which I fundamentally disagree with, or watching NPOs purposefully avoid all sound business practices (like good accounting), which I also disagree with!
I absolutely agree with the sentiments in this post, and wish that leaders from both types of organizations could read it and have the humility and wisdom to heed it. To bring us together, and allow us to recognize our need for one another, will require humility, wisdom, and people bold enough to speak this kind of truth.
Thanks for bringing these ideas to the attention of us all!
Thank you. I like your thoughts on bringing us together!
Interesting article, my wife is developing a non-profit and I am in the midst of the business world working retail. It can be an interesting difference of perspectives sometimes….
Getting non-profits and for-profits together is tough, but I believe that the best way to tackle the situation would be to convince each one of the benefit that there organization is going to receive from each collaborative project. If I were to propose a community project that would involve both non and for-profits, I would play up the fact that the for-profit’s bottom line would increase due to the marketing of their brand in the project. For the non-profit I would play up the fact that their mission is going to be accomplished through the project.
At the end of the day, non-profits and for-profits need one another to flourish. Non-profits provide healthy, wholesome people to the workforce of the for-profit world, while the for-profit world provides the resources that the non-profit needs to serve the people that they are targeting.