Best Practices

What are nonprofit Best Practices?

To assist Nonprofits in their pursuit of operational excellence, standing committees comprised of best-in-class Nonprofits and Experts, (and Funders where appropriate) collaborate in the development and maintenance of a circumspect set of Best Practice standards in the following six Sections of Nonprofit operations:

• Program Management & Accountability
• Fundraising, Marketing & Communications
• Governance, Legal & Risk Management
• Accounting & Financial
• People & Organizational Development
• Technology & Business Systems

Each of the categories above are broken down into many sub-categories. For more detailed information about each area of nonprofit Best Practices, please click here.

Are there other areas of Best Practices other than listed? 

Yes, we get new subcategories recommended all the time. Some of the recent suggestions include:

• Facilities
• Commercial and quasi-commercial activities
• Strategic Planning
• Defining or refining the mission
• Strategic Partnerships, Collaborations and/or Amalgamations
• Crisis Management or Damage Control
• Maximizing protections, exemptions, accommodations, and privileges

Please engage others by creating a new conversation in the Professional Networking area under the Benefits navigation tab on the top menu.

Business Structure

How is The Center structured?

The Center is structured as a social enterprise. A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize social impact alongside the potential of profits for external shareholders. Although most of our nonprofit and funder membership work within 501(c)3 structures, most of our industry expert members do not. Since nonprofits and funders already engage their professional service providers outside of a nonprofit structure, we concluded that a social enterprise would be the best business structure for all involved.

Using this kind of for-profit business model, we can generate revenue from commercial sources such as advertising, affinity programs and partnering with professional service providers rather than charging a membership fee. This then allows us to invest in tools and resources which we provide to the Nonprofit community through free membership.

Why did you choose a free membership model? 

To benefit the entire nonprofit ecosystem, we believe that our membership has to be free for all parties. To elevate the nonprofit community to operational excellence, we had to remove all barriers to entry and the best way to achieve that is to provide membership at no charge. In that way, any individual or organization interested in becoming the best version of themself can participate.

How does The Center make money?  

The Center makes money only when adding value to our members. This is accomplished exclusively through our direct Service Offerings, Resource Center and professional programs created to help Nonprofits gain operational competency through applied Best Practices.

Resource Center

How can my organization become a Featured Business Partner? 

All Business Partners are personally vetted and approved by our Managing Partners. For more information, please visit Becoming a Business Partner.