Management

Topic 2

PRO307

The not-for-profit sector

Lecture Objectives

• Understand the role of the not-for-profit sector and the different types of not-for-profit organisations

• Evaluating the challenges and opportunities of the not-for profit sector

Not-for-profit sector

• Also known as the third sector, NGOs (Non-government organisations) although each started with different backgrounds

• They are diverse community, voluntary organisations and social movements that cannot be classified in government or business sectors

Contrasting approaches to defining NGOs (Adams & de Bussy, 2008)

• Non-profit making, voluntary, service-oriented organisation that benefits its members or other members of the population

• An organisation of private individuals who believe in certain basic social principles and who structure their activities to bring about development to communities they are servicing

• A social development organisation assisting in the empowerment of people

BAIN report into NPOs

http://www.bain.com/Images/BAIN_BRIEF_Unlocking_the_ power_of_Singapore's_nonprofits.pdf

Contrasting approaches to defining NGOs (Adams & de Bussy, 2008)

• An organisation or group of people working independently of any external control with specific objectives and aims to fulfil tasks that are oriented to bring about desirable change in a given community

• An organisation not affiliated to political parties, generally engaged in working for aid, development and welfare of the community

• An organisation committed to the root causes of problems, trying to better the quality of life especially for the poor, the oppressed and the marginalised in urban and rural areas

Contrasting approaches to defining NGOs (Adams & de Bussey, 2008)

• An organisation established by and for the community without, or with little, intervention from the government that is not only a charitable organisation but also works on socio-economic cultural activities

• An organisation that is flexible and democratic in its organisation and attempts to serve people without profit for itself

Modes of non-for-profit communication (Dimitrov, 2008)

Types of non-profit communication

Tactics used/skills needed

Advocacy – advocate on behalf of their members, interest/issue groups to influence the political process

Lobbying, coalition-building, negotiation, campaigning, community consultation

Charity – provides single and multiple services to the disadvantaged, raise much of their revenue by donations

Fundraising, marketing, branding, advertising, media relations, grant-seeking

Community Service – communications profile is closest to the corporate world, relations with stakeholders is key

Reputation-building, public affairs, media relations, communications campaigning

Public Education campaigns – specialise in educating the population on public issues (and their causes)

Media relations, advertising, communications campaigning, community consultation

Advocacy

Charity

Donate blood!

• http://www.donateblood.com.au/

Community Service

Public Education

Characteristics of not-for profit sector (Dimitrov, 2008)

• Capitalising on the human factor – personal ethics, psychological well-being and a better long-term outlook for the client

• Promoting closer ties with the community – provides a service and advocates for its clients causes

• Lack of resources – both monetary and human resources

Challenges of working for/in not-for- profit sector

• Bad publicity – malpractice suits, misappropriation of funds

• Recession – may lead to less donations and voluntarism (95% rely heavily on volunteers)

• Competition for government and private funding (700,000 registered NFP in Australia)

• Increasing tighter governance & policies for the sector

• For advocacy groups, the need to balance governance compliance with lobbying for change in policies

Challenges of working for/in not- for-profit sector

• Lack of resources other than staff or volunteer time

• Difficulty in attracting capable staff

• Lack of management skills, communication expertise and research capabilities

• Lack of proper organisational structure and division of duties

• Need to balance politics of survival with commitment to community ideologies

• Tends to be tactical rather than strategic in communications

Opportunities of working with not- for-profit sector

• Easy to rally help/support through volunteers who wish to contribute to the cause.

• As its not-for-profit, its causes are usually held in high regard as it benefits the community

• Subsidies or free usage of services – eg lower advertising costs, lower fee for usage of public facilities, subsidised services such as telephone, internet costs

• A well-positioned cause can attract media attention more easily than commercial events

NFP Median Salaries

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