Be Thankful For This Network Challenge
Written by Jordan Vernoy
Tis’ the season to be THANKFUL.
Thankful for our families, our friends, our health, and so on. And in this season of thankfulness, I’m reflecting on one of the biggest network challenges we face today.The challenge is the enormous number of people and organizations wanting to do good. This bounty, if not effectively connected, can make it difficult to impact the world's wickedest problems.
Independent Sector developed this infographic about the scope of the nonprofit sector in the United States.
You read that right, 1.6 million nonprofits, employing 11.4 million employees and utilizing 63 million volunteers! Not to mention $193 Billion in donations!
Can we pause and be THANKFUL for the generosity and passion of people in this country to serve their neighbors.
It is a wonderful thing… and a huge challenge for social change leaders.
In a world where consolidation of corporate brands is leading to efficiency and innovation to meet consumer needs quicker and smarter, it is easy to think that bigger is better. And in some ways that is a logical argument.
Large numbers of organizations are focused on similar, often identical, goals without the collaboration, partnership and trust needed to maximize their resources to serve their respective missions. This disjointedness is not for a lack of commitment to the mission each organization serves. In fact, empathy combined with urgency keeps our heads down working our hardest, without time to recognize the parallel efforts happening around us.
However, consolidation and efficiency can limit community level impact and program effectiveness. It is not as if the 1.6 million nonprofits we have now are reaching every person in this country with the resources and support they need to have the quality of life every person deserves. In fact, we know that minority populations have inequitable access to all types of programs and supports, and a recent New York Times article pointed to the fact the minority led nonprofits are also drastically underfunded by philanthropist in this country.
How do we validate and utilize both the impressive reach and community building nature of local organizations as well as the access and resources of national organizations? It is through building networks that recognize the assets of all types and sizes of organizations, focuses on developing shared goals together over our own organizational goals, and distribute leadership and power throughout that network.
During a recent project, my team and I traveled the country visiting local organizations that were providing direct assistance to people in need of support in their community. Everywhere we went those attributes of empathy and urgency were abundant. The passion and caring that the staff and volunteers poured into their work gave us all an emotional jolt of hope. At the same time, the local organizations often did not identify as part of a broader network or a movement of organizations working towards the same goal. Operating on shoestring budgets and mostly volunteers, they put all they have into serving the people who walk through their doors. They feel like lone organizations serving their community the best that they can. Yet we are aware of tens of thousands of organizations with very similar missions around the country, many asking for connections, resources, and motivation to continue.
Imagine if the drive and passion of those staff and volunteers could be harnessed and supported by a network with abundant resources and connections that exists to serve the same mission. How much closer could we get to solving the problems each community is facing? Even better, what if that network was working in partnership with other networks serving the same people with an extremely similar underlying mission? What wicked problem couldn’t we solve?
I challenge you to stop for a moment and be THANKFUL for the people who give of their time, energy and resources to support your mission.
Then honor the generosity of those supporters by thinking about how you can become a better partner with other people and organizations who care deeply about the same mission you are working to achieve.
We will all be better for it.
See What I Mean has extensive experience working to understand the relationship between different parts of a network, and how they can be strengthened through intentional engagement and trust building. We would love to work with your network, and help you understand what you could do to maximize the generosity of people who care about your mission. Schedule a Discovery call with us by using the button below.