[DDN] I make no profit, therefore I suck

[Taran Rampersad]

Dave,

It just falls to how they measure success. To them, it's dollars. To
others, it means other things. I'm a big fan of non-profits letting go
of the hand which holds them down, and there may be models for such
things. Oddly enough, it may be a matter of ditching the non-profit
status and creating a business that creates the appropriate value.

Don't worry about the rich guys. I'm sure that they'll find something
else to invest in or bet on. The question must be asked: Their money or
your mission: Which is more valuable?

Dave Chakrabarti wrote:
> Greetings, list folk,
>
> At the NetSquared conference recently, there was a comment made by a  
> venture capitalist that "Some nonprofits just suck". This was  
> partially attached to a discussion of nonprofit sustainability  
> models, with a very large portion of participants taking it for  
> granted that "sustainability" meant charging for services. There is  
> an entrenched view that foundation grant funding and other donations  
> can never be "sustainable", and that there must be a return on  
> services offered that eventually sustains the organization financially.
>
> I responded to much of this. There's a synopsis on the Nonprofiteer:  
> http://nonprofiteer.typepad.com/the_nonprofiteer/2007/06/ 
> dear_nonprofite.html#comment-72142198
> (thanks, Nonprofiteer, for the kind words).
>
> The continuing debate lives here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/ 
> 2007/05/some_nonprofits.html#comment-71226258
>
> and here: http://www.tacticalphilanthropy.com/2007/06/ 
> philanthropic_c.html#comment-72140764
>
> ...and other comment threads on the Tactical Philanthropy site and  
> elsewhere.
>
> Coming under fire for offering services for free, by nonprofit  
> funders who do not seem to understand the difference between "mission- 
> driven" and "profit-driven", forces me to suggest that we, as a  
> sector, need to develop stronger language regarding these issues.  
> Most of all, we need to work towards a different model of  
> sustainability, so that we can pose alternate definitions when a  
> potential funder equates "sustainability" with a system based on  
> marginal returns for services offered.
>
> So my question is: "How do we measure sustainability if we're mission- 
> focused (nonprofit) instead of profit-focused (for profit)?".
>
> And related: "How do we communicate the difference to the venture  
> capitalist, foundation, and other donor communities who we're hoping  
> will support our work?".
>
> In both cases, by "we" I mean all of us mailing list denizens, not  
> our organization in particular.
>
> Responses appreciated. Backup on Tactical Phil would be awesome (I  
> think I'm outnumbered).
>
>    Dave.
>
> ------------------------
> Dave Chakrabarti
> Director of Programs
> Grassroots.org
>
>
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>   


-- 
Taran Rampersad
Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
cnd at knowprose.com
http://www.knowprose.com


Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/

"Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo
"The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine." - Nikola Tesla