Converting donors into contributors was one of the two challenges for nonprofits mentioned by Peter Drucker in his classic book, “Managing the Nonprofit Organization.” Even though he pointed out this challenge thirty-three years ago, it is still valid for most nonprofits in America. In his book, he discussed his experience with nonprofits and the need for modern management practices for these organizations at the time.
The second challenge he mentioned in his book was related to the first one as well: Lack of community involvement and a sense of belonging for a community. Lack of community involvement meant fewer volunteer and donor contributions, therefore resulting in weaker nonprofits. In his book, he discussed how nonprofits are the backbone of American society and emphasized the urgency of the need for managing nonprofits professionally to overcome these challenges.
Professionally managed nonprofits can create a community structure and an atmosphere for their constituents, staying strong with the contributions they receive from them.
The arguments raised by Drucker are still very illuminating and relevant. However, the world has changed dramatically after the digital revolution, and a new set of challenges has emerged for all organizations, including nonprofits. Drucker and his peers’ work has imparted many lessons to nonprofit leaders, encompassing principles of scientific management, organizational structures, human resource management, marketing management, strategic planning, and competitive advantage. Nevertheless, all these management methods have evolved into new management styles under the influence of the methods and tools of the digital revolution.
To understand how organizational management has changed shape over the last several decades, the following examples can be given. Communication, therefore collaboration, within and outside the organization is much easier today due to internet technologies, which brings significant implications for human capital management and community development. For nonprofits, it is much easier to create a sense of community through seamless communication among constituents with the help of digital tools and technologies. Operational management is at its peak in effectiveness due to digital tools and techniques again. All operational functions can easily be managed with the help of software applications. Similarly, leadership methodologies are advanced due to participative and inclusive management styles. Leaders can receive up-to-the-minute feedback from countless numbers of constituents with the help of new technologies. Additionally, forecasting and planning are much more advanced with the technologies indicating that service quality can be increased by way of planned and well-organized activities.
America is spearheading the world with technological advancements and its exemplary nonprofit landscape. However, the big question is, “Are nonprofit managements benefiting from the new technologies to advance their organizations for community development and contributor engagement?”
Although there is no easy answer to this question, the short answer is, “It depends.” A brief explanation of this answer is the way the technological tools are being used by the nonprofit managers. If the managers are using these tools to develop ideal organizational structures for the purpose of community development and contributor engagement, then they are benefiting from these tools in a good way. If, on the other hand, managers are using these tools to collect more donations and make their life easier in management, then they are not benefiting from these tools for the ultimate purpose of their nonprofits.
We, at ETIO Consulting, believe that Drucker’s concerns are still valid, and digital technology should be used for community development and building an ideal organizational structure, rather than for attaining simple gains.
Author: Teoman Duman, Ph.D.
