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Who is Driving in Nonprofit Organizations?

After reading Rod Dreher's post, Ending the Too Big to Fail Threat, I was inspired to place nonprofit organizations under the same lens. One phrase in particular stood out to me. He wondered if banks and government "were [confusing] their own interests with the public's interest, and govern that way". After serving on nonprofit boards and interacting with my Web firm's nonprofit clients, I've started to wonder if nonprofits suffer from the same problem. I've seen a spectrum of ways to govern - some focused on the organization's interests and others focused on the people that make up the organization.

When it comes to nonprofits, many of us are under the impression that all of the work that they do is inherently "good". In an ideal world this would be true; however, there's one variable that we often forget about. Nonprofit organizations are made up of people with distinct missions, interests, and agendas. The core people that control nonprofits are the board and executive staff.

I've wondered for awhile if it's possible to separate your personal mission, interests, and agenda from that of the organization. It is an honor to be a part of a nonprofit whether you're on the board or part of the staff. Of course, you should only be involved if the work the organization is doing is congruent with your personal values. Unfortunately, there are ways that conflicts of interest can arise. I'm not talking about the blatant stories we hear about someone stealing money. I'm talking about the more subtle ones that fall in a gray area like showing favoritism in selecting vendors or letting personal prejudices dictate how to provide services.

It's hard to say that a person is "wrong" for doing these things. But it makes you wonder if they are letting their Personality or Spirit drive. Also, you have to consider whether they are looking at the larger picture - the Spirit of the organization. Instead they are letting their Personality take control. They are showing the childish, sometimes selfish side of themselves in order to accomplish a goal that is important to them. Had they let their Spirit drive, they would have opened up more possibilities for tapping into the Spirit of the organization.

Those that participate in the management of a nonprofit (either on the board or staff level) are doing so because they have a particular interest in helping the nonprofit organization accomplish important work. It doesn't hurt to get some personal satisfaction from the connection also. It's when that personal satisfaction becomes so strong that you are driving the organization to do something that might not be in its best interest.

For more on this topic, view the question I asked on LinkedIn: As a nonprofit board member, how do you ensure that you're focused on furthering the organization's mission and not your own?

I'm eager to hear what others think about this topic. Have you experienced this gray area and/or conflict of interest as a nonprofit board member or staff person?