It’s Time to Embrace the Change and Drive Innovation

Akolade offer tips on what not for profits can do to put their organisation in a better position, ahead of the upcoming Australia’s Not-for-Profit Leaders Forum.

Australia’s not-for-profit sector is now facing ongoing challenges as never before.

Last month, The Australian reported that the sector sees 3,000 new charities pop up every year, competing for the same decreasing amount of funding and grants.

While researching with professionals in the NFP space, it has become apparent that most are struggling; struggling to keep up with the constant change. Many are operating under old models, with outdated boards and with no room for innovation. And not to mention the disruption technology has brought to the sector.

As a result, many NFPs and charities are struggling to be sustainable and remain viable in the new commercialised market.

However, there are a few key areas that have come up during our research that leaders of an NFP can do in order to put their organisation in a better position.

• Firstly, it’s all about navigating your organisation through an era of change. And in order to do so, you’ll need to create an innovative and strategic leadership whose mentality can be filtered down through all levels of the organisation. Leaders need to ensure that there’s a clear goal that the organisation is working towards while also engaging all staff to work towards it.
• Once you have this leadership mindset, you need to develop strategies to embrace and drive change, rather than shy away from it. Ensure you’re at the forefront of the latest trends, rather than 10 steps behind.
• Now that you’re embracing change, it’s about time to embrace technology. Technology might seem scary and complicated, and many feel so far behind they don’t even know where to start. But starting somewhere is better than not starting at all. If utilised correctly, technology can bring your organisation many advantages; anything from increased efficiency in regards to admin work, to how to improve donor relationships, target a broader market, grow your brand and increase transparency and business accountability.
• Last but not least, you need to ensure you have the right employees for your organisation. Most NFPs are filled with staff with big hearts fighting for the good cause, but they may lack the financial skillset, marketing strategies or business development, someone from a corporate background could bring. Attracting the talent that will take your organisation to the next step is critical, and having engagement strategies in place to retain them is equally crucial.

Developed together with leading industry professionals, the upcoming Australia’s Not-for-Profit Leaders Forum is designed to give decision makers from not for profits the tools to steer the business in the right direction.

Leaders from some of Australia’s most prominent not for profits will gather between the 5 and 7 December to share their successful case studies on how to make an organisation stand out, grow and bring its staff with you on this ever-changing journey.