PdF friend Seth Godin has a great post up today, which he calls “The Problem With Non.” It’s a cri-de-couer aimed at the people who create and run non-profit organizations, especially those who imagine that they are about making change:
The problem facing your group, ironically, is the resistance to the very thing you are setting out to do. Non-profits, in my experience, abhor change.
Take a look at the top 100 twitter users in terms of followers. Remember, this is a free tool, one that people use to focus attention and galvanize action. What? None of them are non-profits. Not one as far as I can tell. Is the work you’re doing not important enough to follow, or is it (and I’m betting it is) paralysis in decision making in the face of change? Is there too much bureaucracy or too much fear to tell a compelling story in a transparent way?
….
When was the last time you had an interaction with a non-profit (there’s that word again) that blew you away?
Please don’t tell me it’s about a lack of resources. The opportunities online are basically free, and if you don’t have a ton of volunteers happy to help you, then you’re not working on something important enough. The only reason not to turn this over to hordes of crowds eager to help you is that it means giving up total control and bureaucracy. Which is scary because it leads to change.
I can think of a lot of political organizations this applies to. Kudos, Seth. (Hat tip to Ellen Miller.)
September 15, 2009