Summer Is Here! Celebrate With Free Access to the Not-for-Profit Pulse!

The Summer Solstice is upon us! To celebrate, we’ve decided this week only to provide public access to the first three volumes of Not-for-Profit Pulse. These free highlight survey reports each provide an analysis of a different trend that is top-of-mind for today’s not-for-profit sector based on a series of short surveys of the Canadian not-for-profit community.

Topics covered to date include:

• The Evolution of Volunteerism (New - Released Today!)
• The Impact of the Generation Gap on NFP’s (February 2010)
• Social Media and the NFP Sector (December 2009)

If you like what you see, we hope you will sign up here for an email notification to participate in our next NFP Pulse, which will launch in the coming days.

Our upcoming five-minute survey will focus on the recruitment and retention of members and donors – a trend that has been identified by several Pulse participants as something they would like to see covered in this publication.

Happy Solstice everyone – I hope it is a sunny one!

(This great photo taken by: Todd Baker)

NPO's Neither Panicked Nor Overly Prepared for the Generation Shift

Well, the results for last month’s NFP Pulse on the Generation Shift have been tallied and analysed...and I have to say I’m a little surprised at some of the results.

It seems that the demographic changes about to occur are definitely on the radar of the 95 NPO’s we surveyed...but it’s not an issue that is keeping non-profit leaders awake at night. When asked how concerned respondents were about this issue on a 1-7 scale with 7 being 'extremely concerned', the average response was a moderate 4.4.

What was really interesting is that most respondents acknowledge the issue will become critical within the next 5 (36%) or 10 years (28%). Despite this, very few (13%) claim their organizations are “extremely” or “very well prepared” for what’s coming down the pipe in the not-too-distant future.

Let’s take a step back and think about this for just a minute: Next year, the first Baby Boomers will hit the golden age of 65. This massive demographic bulge represents 26% of the American population (U.S. Census 2006) and 30% of the Canadian population (Statistics Canada 2006)...they are going to start leaving the workforce in growing numbers without enough new workers entering the labour force to fill their shoes.

The private sector is already scrambling to position themselves for the impending shift by creating strategies to appeal to, attract and retain quality personnel from generations X and Y and shifting business models to appeal to evolving customer demographics...so why haven’t non-profits (at least the ones we surveyed) adopted a similarly proactive approach?

It’s not too hard to see that all of the not-for-profit sector’s core stakeholder groups are extremely vulnerable to the impact of the demographic shift:

Staff and Leadership: Not only will good personnel and leadership become harder to find, but necessity will dictate that younger people with less tacit knowledge and experience will be put into roles of increased leadership and responsibility.

Membership: Maintaining and growing membership is already a core challenge for many non-profits. Not only will this be exacerbated because of membership losses due to aging, they will also have to battle it out to attract the comparatively smaller number of younger members needed to ensure the organization’s survival into the future.

Volunteers and Donors: As with members, there is and will continue to be a shrinking number of volunteers and donors relative to the organizations in need of their support. Volunteers and donors will also contribute in different ways than their predecessors.

Now, I’m the first to take my hat off and acknowledge that non-profit leaders are extremely busy people, many who struggle to cram 30 hours of work (or more) into a 24 hour day. Staff, volunteer and funding shortages are the ‘norm’ for many NPO’s, meaning they often need to prioritize which of the many “critical” issues to focus their already-stretched resources on.

Whether it is a current priority or not, what is clear is that demographics are becoming a big issue. Non-profits are going to have to be ready to change in a number of different ways, ranging from how they communicate and appeal to younger demographics as well as to evolving programs, services and volunteer opportunities to fit the needs, values and priorities of their evolving stakeholder base.

In some cases, it isn’t too unrealistic to predict that organizations may have to evolve their very mission, vision and/or structure if they are to continue to fit stakeholder needs in terms of value and meaning in the years to come.

So, why wait for the crisis to hit? Given the expected timeframe predicted by survey participants if for this issue to become critical within the next 5 or 10 years, perhaps now is the time for non-profits who haven’t already done so to put this issue on the agenda for their next strategic plan.

Am I right when I suggest that the reason why non-profits aren't dealing with this issue is because they are busy dealing with other priorities? What is your experience in terms of concern and preparedness with this impending issue? Is it a priority for your non-profit? 

This is the first in a series of blog posts reflecting on the results of the Association Resource Centre's second edition of the Not-for-Profit Pulse, which highlights the level of concern and preparedness of not-for-profit organizations relative to the impending generation shift. The sample for this survey comprises a total of 95 Canadian not-for-profit organizations with representation from industry/trade, professional, charity and special interest groups. It is important to note that the results of this survey reflect the responses from those surveyed only and are not necessarily representative of the entire not-for-profit sector.

Ready or Not, Here it Comes: How Will The Generation Shift Affect Your NFP?

We’ve all heard the warning bells:  The baby boomers are creeping toward retirement leaving larger and larger gaps behind them in organizations of all shapes and sizes.  Even more alarming is the shortfall that is already starting to occur in the number of working-age adults available to fill their substantial shoes. 

This is an issue affecting countries across the globe. For our U.S readers, here are some interesting statistics and projections compiled by the U.S. Census (2006).

Because this is such a top-of-mind issue for NFP’s, and because it has just been selected as the topic for the next edition of the Not-for-Profit Pulse, I thought I would share with you some interesting information I came across last week from Statistics Canada (Highlights from Statistic’s Canada’s Population Projections for Canada, Provinces and Territories 2005-2031).

• The median age of Canada’s population is expected to rise from 39 years in 2005 to between 43 and 46 years in 2031 and between 45 and 50 years in 2056.
• By 2056, approximately one out of ten Canadians will be 80 years and over, compared with about one in 30 in 2005.
• The proportion of the working-age population will decline steadily in the 2010s and 2020s, reaching about 62% of the total population at the beginning of the 2030s

The generation shift is fast becoming a huge issue for NFP’s across North America – not only are associations and charities struggling to find qualified people to work, volunteer and to lead their organizations into the future, but the makeup of their member and donor bases are also evolving, putting into question everything from programs and services to membership categories.

What do you think? Are you alarmed? Surprised? Overwhelmed? Underwhelmed?

If this issue is of interest to your not-for-profit, I urge you to take five minutes to participate in this months’ NFP Pulse survey on the Generation Shift taking place across this country.   Not only will you receive a free copy of the participant report, but by sharing your own organization’s experience with this issue, you will be helping yourself and others to start thinking about some of the ways NFP’s can start preparing for the shift that is already starting to occur.

There are only a few days left to participate! Click here now to complete the survey.

Just Who Do You Think you’re Talking To?

NFP Pulse Social Media Survey Suggests Non-Profits Focus Social Media Efforts on External Stakeholders

There has been a lot of discussion in the blogosphere and among not-for-profit circles about why and how NFP’s are using social media...but I haven’t heard a lot of chatter about just who it is NFP’s are trying to target with their social media efforts.

The ARC’s December 09 edition of the Not-for-Profit Pulse focused on a survey conducted with 81 Canadian not-for-profit organizations about their use of social media.  A summary of some of the highlights of this research is available here.  If you are interested in more information on this exciting new initiative and how you can involved, click here.

As part of this initiative, we included a question about the intended audience of participants’ social media efforts.

I found it really interesting that a majority of the social media efforts undertaken by the NFP’s in this study target external stakeholder groups, such as members, donors and the public.  In contrast, internal stakeholder groups such as the board and staff do not currently appear to be a primary target of NFP social media initiatives.

When examined in context with the rest of the survey results, I think this makes a lot of sense.  The main reasons why survey participants use social media in the first place are to facilitate communication between the organization and its members or donors and to facilitate networking between these same individuals.  Promoting, marketing and education of an organization or cause to the public was also seen as a primary reason for using social media. These key motivators fit quite nicely with the target audiences identified.

It will be interesting to see how this focus evolves as increased convergence and mobility entrenches social media even more firmly into the way we work, live and play.  There are so many social media tools already in existence that can help to facilitate communication within organizations that I wonder if it is simply a matter of time before not-for-profits begin to adopt this medium in their day-to-day operations.

What do you think?  Am I completely off the mark?  Why do you think there is relatively little focus on using social media for staff, board members and internal volunteers?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

What Do YOU Want to Know About? Help Us Choose the Topic for January's NFP Pulse

Thanks to the great feedback we've been receiving, we've decided to make the Association Resource Centre's NFP Pulse an ongoing research initiative for the benefit of the non-profit community. 

On a bi-monthly basis, we will survey professionals like yourself on the issues, trends and challenges that they are dealing with in today's evolving association landscape. 

Participants will recieve a free participant copy of the results and we also hope to use this valuable research to generate some rich discussion here on the ARC blog. 

This is where you come in.  You are the NFP professionals carrying out the day-to-day tasks that keep your organizations running smoothly:  Who better than you to let us know what topics we should be focusing on?

We are determined to make this research initiative as relevant to your needs as possible, but we can't do it without your help!  It's your turn.  So here's the question we'd like you to answer:

If you had a roomful of NFP professionals and could ask them about anything you wanted, what would it be?

Click on the Suggestion Box to tell us about your top choice to help us make sure the NFP Pulse focuses on topics that really matter to you!   

The upcoming NFP Pulse Survey is scheduled for mid-January.  So get your suggestions in!  Based on your feedback, we will announce the upcoming topic in the first week of January!

If you would like to participate in future NFP Pulse surveys (and receive the free participant report), please visit the registration site.

 

Thanks for your input!