The Dynamics and Challenges of Nonprofit Growth
Growth can mean different things to different organizations, and managing growth in a responsible way is essential – regardless of the shape, size, or flavor of that growth. Too little growth can cause an organization to stagnate; too much can overwhelm an organization and cause detrimental effects, such as delays in delivering on the mission.
For nonprofits, managing growth becomes a balancing act of preparing for and evolving with growth in every area of the organization – from funding and operational overhead to technology and risk management.
About ‘s Nonprofit Finance Research Study
In this study, the leading provider of nonprofit software surveyed more than 300 nonprofit finance professionals across nearly every vertical – including social services, education and healthcare. They discovered that growth, while broadly defined, is very important to most nonprofit organizations. And the search for additional revenue dollars (whether from donations, grants, services, or other sources) is constant.
What found is that some aspects of growth haven’t changed much:
- Nonprofits still anticipate growth in the next year and beyond.
- They’re still looking for new ways to generate revenue.
- They’re still at least somewhat confident in their ability to manage risk as they grow.
But also discovered some shifts, including:
- Less reliance on government grants.
- A need to be more transparent with funders as the organization grows.
- A focus on purchasing new technology and moving to the cloud.
Download the Nonprofit Finance Study to discover how your peers are aiming to grow their organizations, as well as their plans for overcoming the challenges that coincide with growth.
Within the research study uncovered:
- What growth looks like at nonprofits
- Biggest growth challenges
- How nonprofits plan to grow
- Risk management during growth
