Essential Infrastructure
The prosaic necessity of building a strong organization
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A friend with long-time executive experience in non-profits recently said to me: “How are we going to change the world if we can’t effectively run our organizations?”
We had been discussing various bad behaviors and uncertain futures at places we care about (or used to care about). And in discussing these organizational (or personal) failures, we kept returning to the commonplace neglect of operations and management in the non-profit sector. Had there been solid operational systems in place, some of these organizations could have weathered the storm of bad press, bad actors or simply made it over the hill on a rough economic road.
It’s long past time for non-profits — and funders — to invest in quality infrastructure: the HR functions, financial management, legal oversight and tech capabilities that provide a strong foundation for our work to continue.
Infrastructure is the ugly adjunct of non-profit development: not glamorous, not easily fundable — certainly thankless. But the failure to establish solid operations punishes staff and weakens the organization. We need to put the scaffolding in place to support the work and those who do it.
Some non-profit leaders and, sadly, many donors, believe that nearly all funding should be earmarked for programmatic work or that a focus on infrastructure is unimportant or somehow beneath them. Leaders might trumpet the lack of management training or internal structure because their work is just too important to take the time to build out an organization (or: maybe they dislike sharing executive power). Many legacy organizations were once able to grow their organizations without making time or resources available for building proper infrastructure.
But eventually, the problems created in the vacuum of poor management or weak operations come back to haunt everyone, no matter how good the programmatic work is. A lack of infrastructure breeds insularity and reinforces impunity. When organizations fail to build solid managerial and operational infrastructure, it just delays the inevitable problems, burning out star staff, including directors who have to perform multiple managerial roles beyond the ones they were hired to do. In response, workers start mailing it in, unionizing, or desperately seek a way out.
Staff deserve to work at a sustainable, supportive and well-run operation. Why not treat them well? Why not be generous (not simply in the financial sense) to those working alongside you? Why not try to prevent future, foreseeable problems now? You can wait a year to establish a new and exciting program. That program will be far more successful if the organization is itself strong enough to sustain it.
Building infrastructure need not be perfect or comprehensive or all done in-house. Organizations can access outside experts through their networks, lean on board members for advice on things like budgeting, IT, PR, communications, legal services. In terms of legal advice, organizations are well served by establishing a pro bono network for help in contract review or employment law. Plenty of law firms apportion or even require pro bono hours.
There are all kinds of ways to outsource services like payroll and human resources. (Although, best not to outsource services without an internal point person providing consistent oversight – no one will care about your employees like you do.)
There are a lot of free resources out there, too. Stanford Law School’s non-profit clinic is an incredible resource for template documents: link here.
Lastly, one of the best ways to show commitment to process and accountability is to set up anonymous, functioning complaint mechanisms for staff and for board members. Invest in supporting different perspectives. Create a culture of listening. People deeply value being able to tell their story. You can make it clear that those stories will — at the very least — be heard.
Organizations can tout their commitment to transparency and accountability all over the place. But, mundane, functional operations that serve staff well and solidify the organization’s future — these actions speak louder than words.
Related, unrelated, and tangentially-related recommendations for stakeholders:
Good reminder about what fundraisers can and cannot do: Fundraising Expectations
Modest plug for reading David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon before the Martin Scorcese version comes out.
Better Call Saul, among its many, many pleasures, is a love story for the ages: