How to manage stakeholders' influences over a nonprofit organization?

How to manage stakeholders' influences over a nonprofit organization?

The nonprofit organizations are involved in areas where there is a social or charitable need that is not covered by the government or a for-profit organization. According to the course lecture, “the goal of a nonprofit organization could be described as one that provides an educational or charitable service” (Grand Canyon University, 2012). The needs and desires of many individuals, groups or organizations are satisfied by the actions of the nonprofits in many ways. That is the reason why those people or organizations are putting their weigh in the scale in order for the nonprofits to succeed in their endeavors. Those people or organizations constitute the stakeholders. Lewis et al. (2001) cited in the course material describes three types of nonprofits: philanthropic organizations, mutual benefit organizations, and advocacy organizations. The philanthropic organizations are working hand in hand with the community, and the their relationship with teh stakeholders influence their decision making process by focusing their effort to satisfy the community's needs in many areas, such as education, health, religion, cultural development, and social services.

Generally speaking, non-profit organizations operate in complex environments with multiple stakeholders, such as funders, referral agencies, government officials, volunteers, and clients or participants (Balser & McClusky, 2005). That is, stakeholders’ interests exert a great influence over the non-profit company. Management needs to take into account the organizations, groups or individuals that may show interest in each project. Therefore, “stakeholders represent a source of uncertainty for nonprofit organizations, since NPOs typically require resources and legitimacy from their stakeholders, and these streams are not necessarily predictable or controllable” (Balser & McClusky, 2005). Management must design a strategic plan based on the key stakeholders’ involvement in sustaining the organizations activities. The stakeholders, in this case, might bring their skills, their time or funding to the completion of the projects. The non-profit management forecast of the stakeholders' interests added to the community's wellbeing define the effectiveness of each activity. Since the funding and the support of nonprofit organizations come from stakeholders, the impact of their activities over the community are highly important.

If a strategic plan is stiff and wordy, it will not help to move well.  Balser and McClusky (2005) suggest that effectiveness of nonprofit will be measured based on the constituency model, because it happens that the panoply of stakeholders dealing with the organization presents different expectations. Each project developed by the nonprofit needs to be aligned with the stakeholders expectations while staying focus on the organizational vision and mission. That means, a flexibble implementation plan is necessary for a harmonious execution of each project. The plan needs to leave room for change. Despite the limit of a strategic plan in managing nonprofit projects in relation to its vision and goals, it is important not to give up on the importance of the plan to define the road ahead. Changes will be made as moving along the realization process. According to Richard Mittenthal (2004), “all important stakeholder groups should have a voice in the planning. At a minimum, those groups include staff, current and incoming board members, clients, funders, and partner organizations”(p.2); and I add the community. The main goal of the organization and its partners is to succeed; therefore, it is important to get all the constituencies implied in the planning process.

Finally, management must inform the stakeholders of the steps towards during the execution. That is, stakeholders must be educated on the organization vision and mission in order to understand the integration of each project in the perspective of the organizational goal. “While missions and visions are essential, they may be seen as hollow without a description of activities needed to fulfill desired aims” prevent Mittenthal (2004). In sum, communication is the key for organizational effectiveness.

References:

Balser, D. & McClusky, J. (2005). Managing stakeholder relationship and nonprofit organization effectiveness. Nonprofit management & leadership, vol. 15(3), 295-315. Retrieved March 21, 2013, from https://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/eds/detail?vid=5&sid=eaec70a4-1245-44e1-a6b4-61473c437cd5@sessionmgr104&hid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ==#db=bth&AN=16345555

Mittenthal, R. (2004). Don’t give up on strategic planning: 10 keys to success. Nonprofit world, vol. 22(3), 21-25. Retrieved March23, 2013, from https://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=2eb6c838-b358-4ec7-a902-7a6ba6807068@sessionmgr12&hid=15

Stakeholders in nonprofit corporations. (2012). Grand Canyon Universiy. Retrieved on March 21, 2013 from https://lc.gcu.edu/learningPlatform/user/users.html?