Focus in the face of shrinking resources
Over the past year, I’ve had the chance to speak with dozens of leaders at social [MOU1] impact non-profits big and small. It comes as no surprise that the enormous loss of funding the sector is experiencing as a result of the current administrations actions to eliminate much of the federal support is top of mind. For a sector that exists because they already feel that “not enough is being done”, a change like this is a dagger to the heart. Not all non-profits are directly impacted. According to Candid, only 30%[MS2] [MS3] of American non-profits receive funding from the federal government, a total of $303 billion annually. But even those who aren’t directly impacted will now be facing more competition for municipal, corporate, philanthropic, and individual giving. It is also worth noting that the money is just a proxy for what they’re afraid of. “What if we can’t feed as many people?” “What if more children die because we couldn’t provide them critical healthcare?”
So what now?
The most common reactions I’ve heard are “We need to step up our individual campaigns” or “It’s time for philanthropists to put their money where their mouth is.” While making up any sudden shortfalls with other funds will undoubtably allow non-profits to continue to operate as they have been, the likelihood of making up that shortfall in it’s entirety is low, and even with the best fundraising efforts, outside of their control.
So then what is in their control? One reaction I’ve been surprised to not hear much of is “Let’s figure out how to be more effective with what we’ve got to work with.” Trying to work within more limited means doesn’t always have to mean having less of an impact. According to an SSIR Article[MS4] on non-profit capacity building, “we’ve seen evidence that strategic capacity building can, in fact, […] achieve greater impact than funding can alone.” Sometimes, taking a step back and reminding yourself of the impact you’re trying to have can bring to light simpler approaches, lower cost solutions, or opportunities that have been missed.
I see great parallels to my experiences as an engineer at NASA-JPL. Every mission is attempting extraordinary work with very limited resources. The spacecraft can only be so large and weigh so much while still fitting onto a rocket to get it where it needs to be. Any energy the onboard science instruments require to operate they either brought with them, which is finite, or is drawn from the sun through solar panels, which are constrained by how large they can be. The bandwidth for transmitting the valuable information back to Earth for interpretation and discovery is sometimes so limited that every bit matters. And every bit of these limited resources are fought for between not only the many science instruments onboard each mission but also the “spacecraft systems” that exist to keep those science instruments alive, healthy, and operational. So how is it that so much discovery has still been possible?
Every mission follows a process called Systems Engineering. At it’s core, Systems Engineering is a structure that forces you to create a very clear set of statements about what questions you’re trying to answer or problems you’re trying to solve (requirements), guides you on how to select a solution that can solve your problem and fit within your constraints and limited resources (concept), helps you check that your implementation was executed as planned (verification), and confirms whether or not your implementation solved your problem (validation). These steps together minimize bias and foster a deep focus on the problem being solved while ensuring every person and system understands their part in solving that problem.
How can a non-profit use this to ensure their valuable resources are spent on efforts that will matter?
Step 1: Define the Problem – Why am I doing it?
Define the Problem
The first and arguably most important step is to be very clear about WHY it is you’re trying to do something, not WHAT you’re going to do or HOW you’re going to do it. What problem are you trying to solve or mission are you trying to fill? Why is it important? Who do you want to help and what impact do you want that help to have had on them? If you[MS5] ’ve recently gone through a strategic planning exercise, the impact your non-profit exists to have on others should be fresh in your minds. If not, any major inflection point or disruption, such as this, is a good time to revisit your non-profits’ central purpose.
Understand the Problem
Reach out to others to better understand this problem. Talk to those you want to help, people who are close to the problem you want to help tackle. Ask questions and be curious. Speak to others who also care about this problem being solved. Whether they represent a potential funder or another organization looking at the same or similar problem, their perspective can make your approach better.
Break Down the Problem
Write down the problem your organization seeks to tackle. What set of things lead to that problem existing, perpetuate its existence, or create barriers to solving it? Write these down as “sub-problems”. Keep doing this until the individual problems appear manageable or solvable. Some problems will only get broken down one or two levels. More complex problems will be necessary to break down further to be solvable.
Step 2: Define the Solution(s) – What am I doing?
Brainstorm Solutions
Look at the set of problems you’ve written down. What action could you take to solve one of them? What project could be implemented that would make good progress on another? Is there an initiative you started to think about during the problem definition phase that could tackle two or three of the problems you wrote down? This is a good step to get some outside input into, both from those that are close to the problem and those with little understanding of it. If you’ve already been doing work to tackle these problems, include those actions and initiatives here as well. This process will help you either justify continuing or guide your modification of that work.
Embrace Your Strengths and Assets and Acknowledge Yours Limitations
What is your organization already uniquely capable of? Do you have deep subject matter expertise in an area? Do you have a deep volunteer base to draw from? How much funding do you expect to have available over the next couple years?
Consider what assets you have outside of your organization. Do you have strong connections with local government and community leaders? Are other organizations already tackling other parts of the problem you’ve listed?
Choose your Solution(s)
Consider the set of solutions you put together earlier. What would it take to do each of these? What options, or set of options, would be the simplest way to solve the problem? Which solutions complement work other groups are already doing toward solving the problem?
Choose the solution, or set of solutions, that embrace your strengths and fit within your limitations. Be honest about what is within your ability to solve or tackle right now.
Step 3: Implementation – How am I doing it?
Implement your Solution(s)
You’ve decided what you’re going to do. Now you just have to do it. Easy, right?
This step will vary wildly based on the actions you’ve decided to take. No matter the steps you plan to take, make sure that you’ve planned what resources (people, money, etc) will be necessary, clear expectations have been set and agreed to with those you will rely on, and you’ve set intermediate milestones for yourself to know you’re on track. Remember: Plans are nothing, but planning is everything.
Collaborate with other Organizations
If your solutions rely on other organizations to be solving other parts of the problem, stay in touch with them. Plan to collaborate regularly to keep yourself abreast of each other’s progress and to learn from each other.
Plan for Validation and Verification
When planning the implementation, it is critical to know and plan for how you will measure Steps 4 and 5. Without doing so, you can easily implement your plan without knowing if it mattered.
Step 4: Verification – How will I know when I’m done?
As you get close to finishing the implementation of your solution, it’s a good time to reflect verify that’s true. What was the original solution defined as? Did you implement the solution originally envisioned? Did implementing the solution go as you expected it to? Did it take more or less time than you planned? Did it require more or fewer resources than you forecast?
Step 5: Validation – Am I doing the right thing?
Of all the steps, this one is the most often skipped. Perhaps it is because people often look at the verification step and declare victory because the project was implemented. This step exists to ask the question “Yes, but did it matter?”
Take a look back at the original problem definitions. Did your solutions have an impact on those problems? What impact did they have? How do you know? Did your solutions create other problems that now need to be solved[MS6] [MS7] [MS8] ?
Ensuring Effective Change
This process looks deceptively linear. In reality, discovering something unexpected in one step will often force you to revisit a previous one. The important parts of the process are starting from the beginning and focusing on defining your “why” and ensuring you don’t get hung up on an early step and never make it to the end. Being able to close the loop and answer the questions “Did what I do matter?” is critical to effective change. Getting into the habit of approaching any initiative in this way, whether large or small, will help you increase how effective your actions are and as a result grow the impact you have on the people you want to serve.
This approach is uncomfortable. Human instinct is to solution-find when you sense there is a problem. I can help you frame your challenges in a way that leads to effective impact. Reach out to find out what that could look like for you and your organization!
[MOU1]Need to establish some credibility! Feel free to edit to bolster the reader’s confidence that ‘hey, I know what I’m talking about…’
[MS2]Check and find citation
[MS3]https://blog.candid.org/post/how-many-nonprofits-rely-on-government-grants-data/
[MS4]Cite this article appropriately: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/building_nonprofit_capacity_hand_in_hand
[MS5]I keep switching between second and third person referring to non-profits
[MS6]How do I imply that this isn’t a linear process? “I understand the problem well enough that it’s time for me to find the right the solution, but I do so knowing that I don’t fully understand the problem.”
[MS7]When am I “good enough” at each step but willing to go back?
[MS8]Can use funding changing environment as an example of this