Verified Document

Non-Profit Management Term Paper

Non Profit Management The primary objective of forming a nonprofit organization is to provide services to the community. The term "nonprofit" is used for those types of business, which are formed on the principle that profits will not be distributed to the owners. Majority of the non-profit organizations are organized under the cover of corporations, which are formed under the corporation law of the state in which they are operating. States have their own legislations for the formation of non-profit corporations and some of them allow the formation of other forms of organizations such as a trust or an unincorporated association. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has exempted those organizations from taxes, which are serving any kind of charitable, religious, scientific or educational purposes.

The typical structure of a non-profit organization includes three major areas. These are control, programs and central administration. The control or governance function of a non-profit organization is responsible for overall strategic planning, decision-making, guidance and control of the organization. Effective governance is necessary to keep the activities of the organization in line with its objectives. Moreover, the goals and objectives defined by the top management of the non-profit organizations are to be materialized. This can be done through effective utilization of resources, owned by the organization, to organize different programs for the benefit of the society. The success of these programs is then measured in terms of their outcomes. Outcomes are usually measured by analyzing the impact of organization's services on the society. Finally, to keep the functions of the organization running, it employs some expert staff in it's central administration. As non-profit organizations are limited in terms of resources, they try to keep the cost of hiring administrative personnel as low as possible. This issue is itself a challenge for these organizations.

Challenges faced by non-profit organizations:

The major challenge faced today by the non-profit organizations is that of "devolution." The terminology of "devolution" is used by the non-profit professionals for the cutbacks in the federal funding for non-profit organizations. Recent legislations passed by the Congress have reduced the obligations of the federal government in providing assistance to the needy and the poor. Federal government...

According to this new arrangement, funds will be assigned to states, allowing them to allocate these funds on their own decision. Although, with the decentralization of funding operations, there will be lesser bureaucratic red tapes and more control at the local level but the services programs initiated by the non-profit organizations will be exposed to great level of risk because of reduced federal funding. From the absence of federal contributions, most of the non-profit organizations will be facing significant financial problems because they receive around 30 to 40% of their funding from federal sources. To worsen the situation, these organizations are faced with a continuous increase in demand for human services, which is very difficult to fulfill in the current scenario.
Devolution has created several challenges for the leaders of non-profit organizations. Now they have to run their functions with increased efficiency with reduced level of resources. In this regard, they have to redefine their operating procedures and try to search for other sources of funding. With the lack of funds for human services, non-profit organizations will have to adopt several traditional "for profit" organizational strategies like strategic alliances and restructuring.

Another challenge faced by the non-profit organizations is of fees and fundraising. Fees is usually charged by these organizations for the services provided by them and is to be paid by either the person receiving it or a third party such as the government or any other charity organization. However, a fee is not the primary source of revenue for the non-profit organizations because their fees rarely cover the cost of the product or service being provided. This is the reason why non-profit organizations search extensively for additional revenue sources and get involved in different fund raising activities. Interestingly, the services provided by the non-profit organizations are of high worth to the communities but it is extremely difficult to measure the outcomes of these services. It may take years to experience a significant change in the behavior of the society because of the efforts of any organization. As a result of this limitation, non-profit organizations are unable to demonstrate results of their efforts and therefore donors become hesitant…

Sources used in this document:
References

Kent E. Dove: Conducting a Successful Capital Campaign: The New, Revised and Expanded Edition of the Leading Guide to Planning and Implementing a Capital Campaign: Jossey-Bass: 2nd edition: October 1999

Stanley Weinstein & Robert F. Hartsook: The Complete Guide to Fund-Raising Management: John Wiley & Sons: 2nd edition: February 2002

Michael Allison & Jude Kaye: Strategic Planning for Nonprofit Organizations: A Practical Guide and Workbook: John Wiley & Sons: July 1997

Non-profit Management
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Non Profit Management the Purpose
Words: 3002 Length: 12 Document Type: Term Paper

Grants for science education are provided to schools and individuals, with the objective of helping to inspire careers in science. ("About HHMI," 2010) When you put these different elements tougher, this shows how HHMI is involved in medical research funding from: working directly with researchers to providing funding on a host of projects and initiatives. This is important, because it allows the nonprofit to fund a number of different

Non Profit Concept Concepts in
Words: 395 Length: 1 Document Type: Essay

This feeds into a second concept of importance which concerns the targeting of goals. (17) Here, our capacity to meet the interests cited by the Mission is tested as we define some clear expected outcomes as a product of our efforts. Namely, we might identify such goals as selected 100 teachers annually who might qualify for the assistance which we have offered. This would involve the preemptive determination of criteria

Non-Profit Crucial Organizational Concepts for
Words: 328 Length: 1 Document Type: Essay

It is important to set the overall goals, as well as the smaller, intermediate goals, which must be achieved in order to attain the greater objective. The greater goal is that of raising funds, and examples of intermediate goals include the selection of a suitable location or the attraction of wealthy contributors. The benefit of paying attention to setting achievable goals materializes in a gradual and punctual attainment of

Nonprofit Effective Leadership and Management
Words: 3870 Length: 10 Document Type: Thesis

One of the greatest challenges in attempting to meets its ambitions as a socially conscious organization is the refinement of its ability to tend to the diverse needs of those who might specifically benefit from its services. This may be with respect to racial, ethnic, social, geographical, professional or economic diversity, indicating that in all areas there is a constant imperative to shape procedures according to the needs of manifold

Nonprofit Vs. For-Profit Healthcare Organizations Healthcare Organizations,...
Words: 710 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Nonprofit vs. For-Profit Healthcare Organizations Healthcare organizations, both profit and non-profit, are designed to help people in need. However, sometimes that goal fails because of the notions of performance that are used in the private sector (i.e. for-profit). These are not the same as the notions used in the public sector (i.e. nonprofit) (Speckbacher, 2003). Private sector health care is based much more closely on economic theory than public sector health

Non-Profit Management: PALS 4 Paws Case Study
Words: 2220 Length: 8 Document Type: Capstone Project

Fundraising for PALS 4 Paws Financing for Non-profit Organization PALS 4 paws is a non-profit organization interested in safeguarding pets in the U.S.A. To protect them from abuse, neglect, abandonment, and euthanasia. The goal of PALS 4 Paws is to decrease the number of animals that are going into animal shelters and increase the number of local adoptions to ensure better lives for pets. As a non-profit, PALS 4 paws will manage

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now