In the last few months we have spent quite a bit of time working with clients on organizational transparency. Below are some general lessons learned from our interactions with nonprofits, funders, and government agencies.

When most nonprofit managers think of nonprofit transparency they generally think in terms of financials. While this is a vital piece of the puzzle, recent allegations involving activities by employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) have changed the expectations of funders, community members, clients and the community at large.

It is no longer enough to keep good financial records (although it is absolutely necessary to do so), funders and other stakeholders are more cautious than ever and organizations need to be completely open about all of their activities.

As nonprofit boards and Executive Directors struggle with the demands of more rigorous scrutiny by funders, I thought it would be a good time to talk about some of the basics of full organizational accountability.

Nonprofit transparency encompasses every aspect of an organization. Some of the questions being asked are quite different then they used to be:

• Do the actions of the organization reflect the core values and mission it promotes?
• What is the real impact of the organization on the community?
• Are there proper safeguards in place to ensure staff accountability?
• Is there genuine evidence of a high regard for integrity across all core aspects of the organization? These include:
  • Program operation and hiring practices
  • Evaluation and communications
  • Financial practices

Here is a brief overview of a process that we have used with our clients to answer these questions.

Since all organizational activities flow from mission, the first step in achieving full transparency requires that you have a clear understanding of the purpose of your organization.  Mission is the heart and soul of a nonprofit organization. As someone mentioned to me many years ago “Passion without purpose is action without vision.”

Once you have a clear understanding of mission it’s time to take a look at your activities. The key questions at this point are:

• Are all of the organization’s programs in-line with your stated purpose?
• Is the organization experiencing “Mission Creep?” - Mission creep is defined as “The expansion of a project beyond its original goals, often after initial successes.” Mission creep is usually considered undesirable due to the dangerous path of each success breeding more ambitious attempts, only stopping when a final, often catastrophic, failure occurs.
• What does a successful outcome look like?

If you find that some of you programs do not mesh with your mission, you need to ask yourself why your doing them. If you have a legitimate reason, maybe your founding mission is no longer accurate and needs to be re-examined and updated.

Many organizations are very good at describing what they do, but struggle when asked to talk about what that work ultimately achieves for their clients and the community. Be sure that you know what a success looks like, it will make it easier for you to justify yourself to your stakeholders.

Next comes the question of hiring and staff training. This is the place in your organization where the rubber hits the road. It is the place where all of the resources come together to achieve organizational mission. It’s also the place where, without proper supervision and policies, the “wheels fall off the bus.” Questions to ask at this point are:

• Do you have policies and procedures in place that empower staff to make decisions that are aligned with the mission of the organization?
• Are you hiring the right people for the right jobs?
• Do employees have a solid understanding of the mission and are they committed to delivering services in a way that is highly ethical?

Having the right people, in the right positions, with the right guidance is something that we all intuitively understand. Unfortunately, there is a difference between understanding and execution. As organizations evolve, it’s easy find cases where employees have been moved into positions for which they have no passion or lack the proper training. Take some time to do an inventory and you may find that you have the right people to achieve your goals, but they are in the wrong positions.

After you have determined that your organization is offering mission driven, well constructed, and properly staffed programs you need to measure your outcomes so that you can effectively communicate them to you stakeholders. It is vital that you monitor programs and collect the data that allows you to communicate how you are affecting the community in a positive way.

Without proper metrics organizations will find it difficult to obtain the funding and other support necessary to thrive.

Related posts:

1. Apply for Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Free Customized Financial Services–July 30th!
2. How to Get to Win-Win With Nonprofit Funders
3. Top 7 Reasons Why Nonprofits Fail – And How To Avoid Them
4. New York Times Company Nonprofit Awards to Honor Excellence in Organizational Management
5. Maine Community Foundation Seeks Noms for 2009 Noyce Award for Nonprofit Excellence

Posted in Best Practices