Sunday, April 10, 2011

Too Many Do-Gooders?

There are 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States, and roughly 80,000 in Washington state. Of course, not all of them are 501(c)3 tax exempt, and there are various kinds of nonprofits including churches and trade organizations.

An abundance of charitable organizations can be a good thing. It means that people have thought about where the service gaps lie in our society, and they have had the courage to do something about it. What strikes me about the huge number of nonprofits, however, is that redundancy and inefficiency must exist. There has also been a trend to push nonprofits to function much like forprofit corporations. Again, this has its advantages; but, it also breeds competition and silo thinking.

I am fortunate to be part of several groups and organizations that are engaging in dialog about the bigger issues - how to better meet the needs of the people around us by prioritizing creative solutions and collaborations. We are reminding each other to put the parameters of our own organizations aside and focus on overall systems change.

I am absolutely convinced that this is the right strategy for breaking the cycle of dependence on government funding and for opening our eyes to the actions that make our communities more diverse and ultimately more prosperous. Making time for think-tank discussions is energizing and extremely enlightening.

I challenge myself and all nonprofit stakeholders to occassionally put aside the responsibility of keeping the individual 1.5 million organizations ticking, and think about what a new way of tackling society's problems might look like. The current economic struggles and natural disasters in the world can keep us scrambling to achieve status quo, or they can inspire us to do something a little crazy, like change the world.

Cathy Bisaillon
President & CEO

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