A recent Portland Business Journal article stated the CEO pay of leading non-profits was up a collective 7 percent in 2009, and hinted that because these were non-profit companies, perhaps they were being paid too much.
Have you ever asked yourself why we as a society treat nonprofit (501 ( c) 3 charitable mission-driven organizations) as second class businesses?  We ask them to solve extraordinarily difficult community problems with an unsustainable business model, we ask that they be fiscally efficient while constantly fundraising to sustain themselves.  We ask that they do business with a sense of scarcity rather than in the spirit of abundance and hope. How does the “always on the financial edge” revenue paradigm of many non-profits inspire hope, creativity and/or generate real change to the status quo?  The answer is, it doesn’t!

The non-profit model makes no sense/cents.

If one looks in the aggregate at the nonprofit organizations in any given community, it is surprising at how much money flows through these businesses and into the community.   Every one of the organizations mentioned in the article were high-performing in forwarding their missions, financially sustainable, and thus a thriving business.  If they were for-profit companies, they would be candidates for investment by private sector investors, and the pay (at the levels in the article) for the company leaders would not be in question.  We seem to expect these organizations to struggle and sacrifice and pay below market wages.

The non-profits that I have worked alongside of, for building community projects have shown a tenacity, financial accountability and a holistic approach that I have scarcely witnessed in some for-profit companies.

The skill and talent required to run a nonprofit is no less demanding than that for a profitable for-profit company.  So in order to prove that they are truly mission focused, committed and deserving of their special tax status, they must operate as a sub-culture of business.

Tax status aside, nonprofits are simply small and sometimes large businesses serving a niche market and providing socially and environmentally focused products and services.  The sustained health of our communities and our planet rely on these organizations to perform well and be financially sustainable.  Let’s hold them in the same value that we do the for-profit businesses.
For more information about this subject I invite you to read “Uncharitable: How restraints on nonprofits undermine their potential” by Dan Palotta.

“Approach the world confidently, optimistically, with brilliant expectations” –James Rouse

Yours in standing for thriving communities,

Sharon

We’re going to post updates on the work we do with capital projects and communities here, on our blog page, about every quarter or so. There’s so much to tell, so many challenging opportunities to embrace, so many hopeful things happening!

Stay tuned for more news, and be sure to check out the website to see how we approach each project.

For the best,

Sharon