3 Necessities For Nonprofit Scaling

With the economy still floundering along, the demand for nonprofit services are high. Yet these same organizations are experiencing a lack of resources to fund important programs. How are nonprofits expected to make do? According to a recent post on Huffington Post Impact, the answer lies in scaling.

In the article, Ventureneer founder Geri Stengle wrote that organizations must scale if they are to continue to provide programs that solve social issues. This was a topic that was discussed in detail at the Social Impact Exchange in New York City. According to Stengle, the overarching theme of this year's conference was that scaling must be accompanied by appropriate investment in an organization's capacity.

Here are three methods of support that were discussed at the conference:

• Business Planning: Business plans are an opportunity to think things through on paper before putting the plan to the test. Nicole Farmer Hurd from the National College Advising Corps, Lisa Jackson from New Profit Inc., and Meghan Duffy, Manager of Special Initiatives at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations made this point during their panel.
• Leadership Development: Richard Brown of American Express Philanthropy told audiences that new leaders must get training when first beginning. Brown said that the leaders he has coached said that the advice they got from coaches transformed the way they thought.
• Peer Advisory Groups: During her panel, United Way of Long Island President/CEO Theresa Regnante espoused the benefits of being part of a group of decision makers. She shared the benefits she received while working with a group of executive directors who met regularly with a facilitator to solve problems.

There were four other methods discussed at the conference. You can read the rest in Stengle's article on Huffington Post Impact.