W09 Reflection

The material this week discussed some key problems faced by Non-profits. Key among them was the concept of the non-profit starvation cycle. Non-profits face multiple causes of this starvation cycle, including unrealistic expectations from those who fund them. Funders unreasonably expect non-profits to continue to reduce overhead, spend less on advertising and marketing. This in turn results in underfunded overhead and incorrect tax reporting. This is a cyclical problem, where reporting is lower than actual, but then because lower amounts are reported, lower amounts are expected. 

This can be corrected if funders are educated on how much things actually cost, and grants being given based on impact rather than overhead. All of this needs to be changed so that non-profit organizations have the freedom to invest in their infrastructure in order to see higher impact in the long run. 

This was made abundantly clear in Dan Pallota's TED talk. This talk really got me thinking about how I have evaluated charities that I have researched in the past. Like many, I refused to support certain charities because they had what I considered to be excessive overhead. The way Pallota explained the need for NPO's to address infrastructure made complete sense. It became a pivotal moment for me as I completely changed my opinion on how charities are run. 

•  Discuss how you can use this lesson as a nonprofit volunteer, donor, board member, or employee?

This lesson has taught me to think more critically about my expectations for NPO's, in how they run and are managed, how they use the funds they have, and how they can make the most out of the limited funds they have. As a donor, this lesson explains why charity organizations fail so often, and the strategies donors can use to help them be successful.