Help me name a nonprofit that, if you were to interview it about why it exists and what it does, would be able to tell you a true and coherent picture.
Wait: shouldn’t examples be plentiful? I’m just not sure anymore.
When a nonprofit knows why it exists, it can ask if what it does accomplishes its why. For example, if a food pantry says it’s ending hunger, but its programming provides food on a daily basis without getting a community nearer to ending hunger, something isn’t true and coherent. Clarity about this disconnect can lead to innovation, including collaborating with individuals, associations, or institutions to actually end hunger. Or, the pantry can be more honest about why it exists, which is to be a stop-gap, to provide food to people daily.
