A Message from Michael Cantacuzène

      OAI's Newest Tool: Scorecards

In the current economic climate, nonprofit leaders need to identify and resolve unprecedented risks to their organizations while ensuring that they and their organizations maintain strategic focus on their most important programs and activities. To help with this effort, OAI is introducing two new tools: the OAI Organizational Scorecard and the OAI Leadership Scorecard.

On May 13th, OAI partnered with Leadership Greater Washington to present Nonprofit Crisis 2009: New Problems and New Solutions. Based on their questions, observations and comments, the audience of nearly 80 nonprofit leaders from the Washington, DC area and our featured panelists (Maxine Baker of the African American Nonprofit Network, Maria Gomez of Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, and Rick Moyers of the Meyer Foundation), it was clearly confirmed that nonprofits are facing unprecedented problems and concerns and that nonprofits need strategic tools and solutions in order to weather the economic storm.

Because of the economic environment, donors are more cautious when contributing and many are demanding data so that they can understand where the organization stands financially, programmatically and operationally. Nonprofit leaders are taking on a wider range of roles and responsibilities and need to know where they should be spending their time and how competing priorities stack up against one another. Additionally, nonprofit boards, as they seek more information about the timing and level of cash inflows and outflows, are demanding more detailed financial forecasts and reports from their Executive Directors.

The OAI Organizational Scorecard covers 24 key issues that can help determine the success and sustainability of a nonprofit. It provides a concise snapshot of an organization’s strategic position and serves as the jumping off point for confirming or changing strategic directions. Knowing that nonprofit leaders need tools to allocate their limited time and resources, OAI recommends that nonprofit leaders adopt the OAI Leadership Scorecard to judge if/when/how to allocate their time, energy and expertise.

Clear strategic vision with concise explanations will lead nonprofits through the current downturn and will provide comfort to donors who want to ensure that their donations are as effective as possible in trying times. This is especially true because donors in 2009 want to know that their money is going towards not only a worthy cause, but also towards an efficiently and strategically run organization that will survive the downturn.

Like Steve Orr and the rest of my OAI colleagues, I am very confident that Americans will remain incredibly charitable and that our economy will recover and grow in the long run. But every nonprofit leader should take time early this summer to review their organization, operations and strategic priorities with the goals of focusing on what they do best, of strengthening weaknesses in high priority functions and of delegating, sharing, and/or outsourcing all low priority functions.

Contact us to see a sample scorecard and find out how OAI’s other nonprofit management and outsourced development services can help you today.