How to keep your non-profit organization thriving in volatile times?

As the self-funded Founder of Friends with Dignity, a domestic violence charity focused on supporting victim-survivors in navigating provisional financial and tangible resources and programs, I’ve witnessed first-hand the incredible strain that increased expenses put on the sector’s ability to help those in need. I faced multiple challenges trying to establish a charity from the ground up, including meeting increasing demand and maintaining sustainable growth. All this while I was working full-time as a nurse during the organization’s initial inception and having to navigate the complex not-for-profit requirements that ensure good governance. Recruitment, volunteers and staff retention From the very beginning, a big focus of mine was to retain resources through creating a great culture for volunteers and staff. I researched and read a lot about how to manage volunteers and gathered insight from local volunteer groups and networks to generate strong and effective policies and procedures. Hiring full-time and part-time employees who shared our organization’s values was one of the most successful and rewarding decisions to ensure consistency, sustainability and to provide a great service to our beneficiaries. When employees share our core values, they are more likely to be motivated by our goals, leading to increased collaboration and effectiveness in serving the community. This alignment creates a positive work environment where everyone is driven by a shared purpose. However, securing funding for recruitment is certainly always a challenge. Leadership and development: To ensure I held myself accountable and felt supported when growing Friends with Dignity, I engaged in a good mentoring program where I was able to expand my knowledge and talk through any obstacles. Alongside this, something that really benefited our development was attending various conferences and workshops to meet and listen to experts in the sector. To keep us on track, we hold monthly leadership team meetings to review our strategic approach and discuss changes to our budget. I also collaborate closely with services and charities in the local area to share resources and insights to improve outcomes for those impacted. Raising funds: I believe that fundraising is the toughest aspect of running a not-for-profit, especially since the sector is so competitive and smaller charities often get overlooked. To make matters more difficult, expenses in the not-for-profit sector in Australia (4.2 percent) are outpacing the rate of inflation (3.8 percent), and not-for-profits face the unique challenge of driving growth while operating without excess revenue.