Nonprofits vs. Business: Collaborators or Competitors in the Social Space?

Why does the business sector think they have a new cure for the ills of society, nicely repackaged and repurchased under the new and trendy title of "social entrepreneurship"? The nonprofit sector is entirely mission focused, entirely driven by doing good will for others. The business sector, for necessity, is driven by a profit motive even though of course they could do good with their money or their company's money. I certainly commend this!

Nonprofit management programs teach the basic management functions of human resource management, marketing, communications, accounting etc. The unique thing is that we do all of this within the context of how the nonprofit sector is regulated and structured in the U.S. and around the world.

A nonprofit is a business type, organized under the IRS tax code, which does make it unique and separate from the for-profit sector. Business schools don't "own" good management. Good management is good management. Business schools absolutely own management practices within the for-profit sector, where stakeholder profit maximization makes total sense.

I love the broader idea that we need the business sector, the government sector, and the nonprofit sector to address large social issues like poverty and education. No question.

But to suggest that social entrepreneurs, defined by the business school, will or can do this alone is short sighted. Nonprofit educators and leaders have already done a great deal about large social issues, and very successfully.

Let's work together, the for-profit and the nonprofit management schools, to bring our greatest strengths together.

Comments

The Long Distance Race: Building Career and Personal Resilience

This past week or two, I have been listening to several interviews with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook Chief Operating Officer and author of the bestselling " Lean In " book. She has cowritten a new book called " Option B " following the death of her husband, just released this week. I have the book and I can't wait to read it! But beyond the book, she is calling for a movement, for all of us to build resilience and help others build theirs. She and her co-author have created a nonprofit organization called OptionB.org to provide tools to build resilience. Visitors can share their own personal stories, join online support groups and find information from experts. Of course we can all use some support if we faced with difficult circumstances or choices, sometimes because of something we have pursued but other times simply because life happens. Life is beautiful in all of its complexities and riches, and sorrow and disappointment as well. They are all learni...

A Thank You Letter to Libraries

“The public library is a center of public happiness first, of public education next.” ― John Cotton Dana , A Library Primer (1903) . Libraries have been, and will likely always be, a large part of my life. My library at Holy Name Catholic School was my first volunteer experience, at the age of 10. By volunteering in the library, I could come to school early before the other students arrived, and sort and shelve books. I remember feeling peaceful while my classmates arrived on buses and on foot, filling the grounds outside. At the first bell, the silence would end, and I would have to go to my classroom. I started a classroom library in 7th grade, complete with our very own card catalog. On weekends, I would go to the Pembroke Public Library , finding a quiet corner usually on the second floor and escape in books, the outside world fading away to barely a hum. I spent many hours in that Public Library ...

Passion and Persistence: Committing Your Life to Public Service

I was recently interviewed for a podcast created by a former MPA student, Jake Lawrence. When the podcast is ready, I will make sure to send out the link to everyone. Jake asked some very good and insightful questions that really got me thinking, how did I get here? Seldom do we take the time to really reflect on "how did I get here?" so if you have never done that, it's a useful exercise. For those of us who see our teens and twenties in the rear-view mirror, I don't think we could have predicted exactly where we would be in life today. I am also grateful we did not have a crystal ball because we would have missed out on some valuable lessons and experiences. For myself, I grew up in a single-mother household when my parents divorced as I turned 5. Although supported by a close-knit extended family, my living circumstances was fraught with emotional turmoil, poverty, upheaval, and just day to day stress. There are many people and organizations tha...

Recovering Executive Director

Search This Blog