Innovation, Problem Solving, Collaboration

I found three sites worth visiting in the last few days. The first was a non profit blog site titled BlogDigger http://groups.blogdigger.com/groups.jsp?id=2849 The site contains links to current messages in several hundred "Blogs by and/or about Non-Profit organizations". I read through a few of these, and the links highlight some of the most important challenges facing non profits in America and the world. They also provide some great tips that any non profit might use to do better work.

The second site is the Community site of Accenture, one of the largest professional consulting companies in the world. The feature on the http://www.accenture.com/community page is "Executive Issues in Non Profits 2005/06: Identifying Enablers of Nonprofit High Performance". I printed the report and among its findings are a) 77% of non profit executives and board members say "expanding the current donor base is the top issue". 61% say "recruiting high-impact board members" is the top issue. To me, these are the same. In traditional philanthropy, you need well-connected board members who can, AND WILL, help raise money.

A few weeks ago I posted a link to a CompassPoint report, titled Dare to Lead, which provided similar information, showing lack of access to funding to be the biggest contributor to executive burnout and turnover in small and medium non profits. The report is at http://compasspoint.org

The third site I visited was the India Development Coalition of America. This is a small grassroots group of people who want to support charities in India. The site is http://www.idc-america.org

What's the point?

The research provided by Accenture and Compass Point provides information that non profits and for profits could be using to innovate new ways to raise and distribute revenue, ideas, talent and technology to non profits throughout the world.

However, that is not likely to happen until these groups, and many others, connect with each other in on-line portals where ideas are available for innovation, where on-line meeting and discussion capacity is available, and where someone provides a blueprint, and points to maps, showing all of the places where resources are needed, and all of the existing non profits who are scurrying around like goldfish in a feeding bowl, trying to find food for their operations.

If this is of interest to you, visit the eConference page at http://www.tutormentorconference.bigstep.com and find a time and an on-line space where you can begin to join this process. Or, find time to send an email to others in your business, professional, faith and alumni network, to encourage them to join.