Usually I blog about major donor fundraising, but the topic of organization growth keeps popping up so I thought I would talk about that today.
Over my two decades of helping Executive Directors and their Boards raise money I have found that organization growth happens when there is sound leadership in place, operating from a clear strategy, with enough financial resources in hand to fund their work.
When looking at how to grow your organization, look at these three things:
- Assess the strength of your leadership team and their ability to grow your organization by asking questions. Is your leadership team focused and committed to growing your mission? Does your Executive Director have experience growing programs? Is your Board actively involved in governing your organization and volunteering to support various activities like fundraising events? The answers to these questions will help you know what to focus on next.
- Strategically, do you know where your organization is and where it wants to go or how it wants to grow? If you aren’t growing you then odds are your organization is dying a slow death. Growth happens when there is a clear strategy in place.
- In order to determine if your organization is positioned for growth you must know your financial condition and your funding. Your funding includes fundraising, revenue from services, government funding, cash reserves, borrowing and any other financial resource that can be used to fuel the mission and programs. Are you up to your ears in debt or are you sitting on a large cash-reserve? Assess your financial condition and plan for financial growth today, so you know what you can or can’t do tomorrow to fulfill your strategy
Take 10 minutes today to evaluate your leadership, strategy and funding. Once you have identified your areas of weakness you can create an action plan to strengthen those areas and ultimately grow your organization.