Organizations face challenges in meeting the needs of the groups they serve and ensuring their longevity.
Nonprofit leaders said time and budget availability were the most common challenges preventing them from implementing changes. Additionally, over 40% of nonprofits cited their level of understanding of the challenges they need to address, limiting them from implementing changes.
So how do organizations implement change? By relying on change management.
What is change management?
Change management is developing a structured approach for an organization’s transition from today to the future.
Many internal and external factors can impact nonprofits and spur a need for change, including:
- A shift in the leadership of the organization.
- A change in the funding climate, such as new auditing requirements.
- Increased competition for funding from other nonprofits.
- Changes in the laws or regulations surrounding a nonprofit’s work.
- Rapid or sudden growth within the organization.
Embracing change management can help nonprofits adapt new initiatives with minimal disruption.
4 Areas nonprofits target
Nonprofits need to embrace change to survive and thrive in a changing world. These four areas are where many nonprofits focus change management initiatives and efforts.
1. Organizational structure and leadership
Change comes slowly due to the distance between board members and the issues directly affecting the communities nonprofits serve. Some nonprofits even undermine the social movements they set out to support as they deal with operational delays.
To prevent this, nonprofits are reframing their leadership and operational roles by finding, recruiting, and developing leaders within the communities they serve.
This approach recruits community leaders who make decisions based on shared vision and values, with your board taking a direct role in the community. The nonprofit organization and the community they serve share an open flow of resources, ideas, and people working toward a common goal.
Your nonprofit is positioned to better serve the community and address emerging issues with little to no operational delay.
2. Collaboration
According to Philanthropy, 69% of nonprofit leaders are concerned about employee burnout. To prevent burnout and lessen teammate workloads, nonprofits are finding new ways for internal collaboration.
With staff members working in hybrid arrangements, organizations need practical tools to communicate, share updates, and foster collaboration. They’re finding these tools in digital workflows and collaborative solutions.
These tools help nonprofit leaders manage workloads and ensure no one person has too much on their plate. Plus, these tools go beyond just promoting internal collaboration.
By taking a collaborative approach, nonprofits can better serve their constituents. For example, when executing mission-related activities, leaders can pull from other departments to ease the burden on a team and ensure everyone gets to benefit the community they serve.
Many nonprofits have even used digital tools to coordinate collaborative initiatives with other organizations to work through joint distribution models and share capacity and personnel.
3. A pivot to digital service delivery
The rise of digital services has had a lasting effect on nonprofits as more people turn to digital-first services. As nonprofits provide digital services, they must navigate the laws and regulations associated with doing so. For example, nonprofit organizations in healthcare face privacy concerns when offering virtual services to patients.
Nonprofits continue to migrate to efficient digital tools. The 2024 Trends Report shows that nonprofits continue to optimize inefficient physical systems. In 2022, only 33% of nonprofits said their technology use was very efficient, and that amount has increased to 41% in 2023.
Now is an ideal time for nonprofit organizations to invest in technology and use all the tools they have available as digital service delivery becomes a norm.
4. Data collection and usage
In this digital-first era, most nonprofits collect user data, from how many people visit their websites to the demographics of top donors. This data is invaluable, and nonprofits frequently use it to influence goal-setting, yearly planning, and regular decision-making.
This data provides actual samples from the donors and stakeholders who have an interest in your organization.
Yet, data collection comes with its own unique challenges. Deciding what data to collect and how to make the best use of that data can present a few challenges. It can be helpful for nonprofits to ask two questions when collecting data:
- How will the information prove that our organization is making a difference?
- How can we use this data to see where we need to make changes?
With that established, it’s also crucial to have policies to safeguard data and protect users’ personal information.
Adopting effective change management practices enables nonprofits to adapt to evolving challenges, enhance their operations, and continue making a meaningful impact in their communities.
Ready to empower your nonprofit with the tools to navigate change successfully? This webinar explores change management and other ways nonprofit leaders can save time.
