The Profit In Not-For-Profit

nonprofit jobs

The accountant teaching my finance course made it quite clear:  “The only difference between for-profit businesses and not-for-profit organizations is that one pays taxes.”  I’ve since found he was only partly right.  What he meant to say was that the only accounting difference was paying taxes. It’s taken me a while to learn the real difference.

I’ve spent years making money in the for-profit sector, and it’s been rewarding and challenging. I’ve learned a lot.  The last few years I’ve been more involved in the not-for-profit world. It’s been even more rewarding and challenging, and I’ve learned even more. 

As a volunteer for Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (http://www.rfbd.org/) I helped convert books into audio files for people who can’t read text. It always amazed me to think that a person who has trouble reading could digest a textbook on quantum phyics, epic poetry or computer programming by listening to my voice.  At a thank you dinner for volunteers, one of RFB&D’s clients told me, “I know your voice - you read the case study for my marketing course.  Thanks for helping me get my MBA!”

At SCORE (http://www.score.org), the volunteer arm of the Small Business Administration, I counseled dozens of entrepreneurs trying to turn their dreams into businesses. One of them now runs a medical escort service for senior citizens who need to travel; another develops websites for arts organizations.

My current volunteer activity has almost become a full time job.  I work for the Executive Service Corps of Chicago (http://www.esc-chicago.org), a not-for-profit that takes the management experience of people like me and transfers it to the not-for-profit community in Chicago.  We give them the tools they need to carry out their missions.  In my six years at ESC, I’ve logged a few thousand hours of volunteer time.  

I’ve

• Coached the Executive Director of an agency that teaches kids life skills through the discipline of musical performance
  
• Helped a park district develop a strategic plan that will result in more recreational opportunities for residents
  
• Facilitated a growth plan for an agency that helps people with nervous disorders lead a normal life
  
• Built an advisory board for a halfway house that helps ex-felons re-enter society as productive citizens
  
• Did team-building for an agency that helps people find and keep decent housing
  
• facilitated peer group meetings of executive directors in which they share their challenges and solutions
  
• Taught management skills for a library’s staff
  
•  Developed a marketing program for an association of people with dysphonia, a speech disorder
  
• Taught a hundred or so other ESC volunteers how to do Strategic Planning and Coaching
  

My reward?  I’ve got a certificate of thanks on my wall, a couple of engraved pens, some coffee mugs -- and the personal and genuine thanks of dozens of executives, managers and volunteers for helping them help other people. I get the same reward they get:  in a small way, I’ve helped make the world a little better.

So, what’s the real difference between for- and not-for-profits? Check your organization’s mission statement.  Does it contain the words, “Increase shareholder value”?  Or does it say, “Help someone who needs help!”

George Krafcisin is President of Mosaic Management, Inc., where he does coaching and training for businesses and executives who want to become better leaders.  He gives his services away to those who don’t have “profit” in their mission statements.  Contact him at Mosaic_Management@mac.com, www.MosaicCoaching.biz, or www.LinkedIn.com/in/krafcisin.