Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability

Full citation: Bell, Jeanne; Jan Masaoka; and Steve Zimmerman. Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, 2010. San Francisco: Jossey Bass

Monday, January 09, 2012

Contributed by Margaret Donohoe

This books challenges nonprofit leaders to re-examine their decision making processes and recalibrate how we think about mission impact and financial return. Jeanne, Jan, and Steve draw on their vast and well respected expertise in finance, strategy, governance and funding to offer us common language, process, analysis, and insights to help Boards and staff find objective balance in the ongoing subjective debate of impact vs. sustainability. They are not preachy or fluffy in their message. Rather, they pull together fairly complex topics in a simple way that engages nonprofit organizations in a values driven discussion that blends mission with strategic business planning.

The book is clearly organized into five easy-to-use sections that follow the journey of three fictional nonprofits to help the reader understand how organizations of different size and focus can make decisions in strikingly different ways and still be successful.

1. Introduction to Key Concepts

2. Mapping your Business Model: The Matrix Map

3. Making Choices to Adjust the Business Model

4. The Business Logic of Nonprofit Income types

5. Ongoing Decision Making and Leadership

The Matrix Map is the heart and soul of the book. While their model is based on the standard 2x2 matrix similar to the Boston Consulting Group’s work in the late 1960’s, they re-work it to a simple, but powerful model to access impact of programs vs. profitability and sustainability.

Throughout the book they develop the Matrix Map and illustrate its use through a variety of examples and situations common to the sector and the real world challenges and opportunities we all face.

While this book will clearly bring fresh ideas and new tools to most nonprofit financial and planning processes, its greatest value may be in helping to strengthen the partnership between Executive Directors and their Board leadership as they find new ways to address the age old debate of balancing mission with the bottom line.

Where to order this book online: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470598298/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cvfundraising-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0470598298
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  Susan Low 35 days ago
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  I found this book very helpful! The Matrix Map is easy to understand and I have used it as a consultant with several non-profits. The "aha" moments it generates are priceless.
  
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