Here's something a little different stemming from our Parents to Projects (P2P) program. An opportunity -- not for parents to help an organization that's working on their behalf, but -- for leaders of disability organizations to help another organization that's working on their behalf.
Confusing?
Follow me:
The Bridgespan Group is a management consultancy that serves nonprofits. It regularly conducts polls and surveys. The reason being? Bridgespan believes the more insights it can gather about its constituents or customers, the better it should be able to increase its own impact. By "increase its impact" I mean help organizations (like the many nonprofits that make up our community) become more effective.
Their unstated proposition: If you nonprofit leaders will tell us about yourselves and your organizations by voting in our polls -- if you'll go to work for us, in other words -- we'll do our best to repay you down the road. How? With tools and advice: better ways of doing things; better ways of running your operation; better ways of trying to fulfill your mission. That's the inducement.
I'll throw in two more -- one that's hypothetical-theoretical and another that's more immediately practical:
- I doubt if Bridgespan has a clue about our community. What if, however, it were suddenly deluged with survey and poll responses from us? Maybe it would then pay us some attention, keep us in mind, or make concerted efforts to serve us?
- If you as an organization leader were to take a few minutes to share your opinions here, at Bridgespan's site, you might well learn something valuable about gathering constituent input. (which you could then conceivably apply within your organization)
Either way, in my opinion our nonprofits would do well -- very well -- to follow their lead.
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