- Saturated market
The nonprofit industry has grown tremendously over the past few years. In the US alone, there are more than 1.5 million registered nonprofit organizations as per the reports by the National Center for Charitable Statistics. With the increase in competition, there has also been and rising competition for markets and resources. This is making it hard for nonprofits to stand out from the rest. With the rising competition for resources, there is also a problem for organizations to compete for public attention. The high number of nonprofits means that they must appeal to one group or another to get money for their causes.
- Volunteer recruitment
Starting a nonprofit can be easy but getting the right volunteers to steer your cause is something that is totally different. Research indicates that 31 percent of nonprofits find the recruitment of volunteers as a leading challenge. While some may think that this is a problem for new charities alone, the truth is that even the established ones face the same problem. This forces nonprofits to provide volunteers with the resources they need for success and training to enhance their skills. Even with these, there are still low rates of retention in the nonprofit space.
- Retaining the best employees
Skills have become more and more specialized in the nonprofit sector today. As such, with talented employees on your side, you can always offer the best service. However, if you fail to give employees what is worth their skills and effort, someone else will do that. The biggest challenge you can face today is ensuring that the talented employees are supported, learn new skills, and are happy. With the rising popularity of remote work, employees have become more independent and retention is becoming more challenging than ever.
- Getting funds for causes and missions
This is perhaps one of the hardest things for any nonprofit out there. Since a nonprofit is as good as the causes or missions it supports, the ability to get enough funds determines the achievement of goals and objectives. According to A State of the State Sector survey, more than 50 percent of nonprofits in the US are unable to meet their goals and reach their missions due to funding issues. While most of the problems can be linked to the competitive environment, most nonprofits lack adequate fundraising plans and lack enough effort. Those who succeed are nonprofits with the right strategies that include proper enticement of supporters to raise funds and plan on spending donor money.
- Confronting performance issues
Performance issues are always a concern to nonprofits, just like it is for any other business. As such, if your nonprofit is not doing what is needed by donors and other stakeholders, a competitor can easily come in and take your donors. As a manager, you must identify and eliminate problems quickly. As a nonprofit leader, you must always be careful to ensure a balance of getting the results and maintaining the relationship with the volunteers. Although you need to be strict, ensure that you have the trust of all stakeholders.
