What nonprofits can learn from Starbucks
Through my twitter feed to Tactical Philanthropy, I discovered Robert Egger’s blog where he introduces some great thinking. He views the current economic downturn as a potential Starbucks moment for nonprofits. Just as Starbucks correctly gauged the culture and seized an idea during the S&L crisis of the late 80s to grow their business and offer a completely new concept to the marketplace, the opportunity presents itself now to nonprofits.
Read Robert’s thoughts below, and visit his well-written piece for the full article:
Flash forward to today. Many nonprofit organizations are laying off staff or freezing services. This is certainly understandable, as the current economic climate would suggest that growth is now all but impossible. But some nonprofits have been looking at the business model we have used for decades and are wondering….”Is this our Starbucks moment?”…a time where we move beyond the metaphorical fast food of charity and develop a more sustaining menu of philanthropy. Surprisingly, the opportunities are strikingly similar.
In just a few months, millions of students will be graduating from colleges and universities and trying to find work in an environment crippled by another economic meltdown.
Unlike their Generation X elders, who were at the forefront of the community service movement, this generation has been fully baptized, with most new graduates having 5-7 years of community service under their belts. Like members of the previous generation, they look at the jobs being offered by most nonprofits and, while intrigued by the opportunity to give back, they know that they would be hard pressed to pay back unrelenting student loans or afford rent in many urban cores on the salaries offered by most nonprofit organizations.
This is where forward thinking foundations and charitable organizations are now considering a seemingly counter intuitive push to raise traditional salaries and make strategic hires, with the goal of not just attracting bold new talent, but to elevate the entire concept of charity in America.
Starbucks changed the value equation for customers and people bought into it. As a Canadian non-profit we are certainly being challenged by the impact of the economic downturn but we are working even harder at defining our “value equation” and communicating it to the community that we serve. We certainly need to challenge our staff and volunteers first to examine our efforts to ensure that we do bring value to what we do. If we do the community will reward us with its trust and the resources to continue to serve. Although the problems we deal with have been with us for what at times seems like forever, we need to continue to look for new and inovative ways to address them, a challenging task at any time.
Harry,
It certainly isn’t easy to rethink and reimagine one’s value equation. One idea would be to strike a diverse group of outsiders who you trust to examine the work you do to give feedback on what gaps or potential value could be added. Outsiders see things differently which can be of help. Since you are located in Canada’s innovation triangle (Waterloo Region), I encourage you to seek support from departments at the universities or CIGI or other centres there.
Hi Mark,
I am part of an Executive Director’s network with other non-profits and we becoming part of the Communitech Network here in Waterloo and I am hoping that this might be an avenue to connect with some people from outside our organization that might provide some insights. I think that has been one of the strengths that I have brought to my position as CEO is that I have been an outsider who is willing to learn but also share from my experience. So far things have been working out really well with our team.
Harry