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  • "Are There Too Many Nonprofits?" Is The Wrong Question
    Rick commented on the article | about 2 years ago
    "Are There Too Many Nonprofits?" Is The Wrong Question

    If I can push back on your assumption for a moment, why do we need more good nonprofits and why do we need fewer bad ones?  It seems that the primary goal is to create more impact in sum.  However, it does not seem obvious to me that more nonprofit organizations are required to do that.  Nor is it clear that the existing poor organizations present an obstacle to increasing impact.  (Though one could argue that they serve as a diversion of funding that could be used more impactfully elsewhere)


    I think the underlying logic of the statement "don't start another nonprofit" is that the good nonprofits which already exist need more support.  It's not necessarily that starting another nonprofit is a bad thing, per se', but rather that it is unncessary to do so if the goal is increasing the sum amount of impact being created.


    The argument goes that we don't lack for organizations trying to solve social issues.  We lack clarity around which ones are the good ones and which aren't.  Adding another organization to the mix just adds to the inefficiency of the system.  The fixed costs of running an organization are multiplied.  The creative thinking and research gets done in parallel by many organizations when it only needs to happen once.  We spread thin our resources.


    That's not to say you shouldn't start a new organization.  But I think it's a fair suggestion to say "consider how your time and your investors money can be used most impactfully."  If you truly need to create a new organization to do it, by all means.  But also consider the benefits of bringing your time, energy, creativity, and the funding those things can attract to an established organization that is already headed in the right direction.

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