CEO, The Boston Foundation
- America has a larger nonprofit sector than any other developed country. Also, more people give than vote in this country.
- Nonprofits provide the fluidity to try out new ideas for positive change without the burdens faced by the government or private sector.
- The government's role is not to implement ideas tested by nonprofits, but to provide supporting policy such as tax incentives.
- You can't do everything with just nonprofits -- you need a 3-way partnership with the government and private sector.
- The barriers to entry for social entrenpreneurship should be kept low to attract new ideas. Everything started out as an implausible idea.
- Money is usually given to religious or academic institutions, with which the donor has personal ties. However, people are now donating more to social entrepreneurships because they are starting to trust that the money will be used well.
Vanessa Kirsch
CEO & Co-Founder, New Profit
- Money in the nonprofit sector doesn't always flow to what works (e.g. Michelle Obama ran Public Allies in Chicago so efficiently that investors wanted the money to go to needier branches). Instead, fund what works, then more problems will be solved.
- To grow a nonprofit, one often ends up spending more time fundraising than doing the nonprofit work. Instead, leave fundraising to the specialists (e.g. New Profit).
- Money is not the only factor in growth -- more importantly, the nonprofit has to find talent, restructure, etc.(e.g. Monitor partners with New Profit to provide pro bono management consulting).
- The Balanced Scorecard helps to measure a nonprofit's success and to report results to investors. The transparent process and feedback help improve nonprofits over the years.
- Competition (for funding) may not be a bad thing -- it creates excellence. However, the terms of competition are often not very clear.
Chuck Harris
Managing General Partner, Harris Capital Partners
CEO, SeaChange
- Nonprofit funding should be treated like any other investment. Present a viable business plan and a good management team. The returns should be measurable social change. Choosing what to fund is the same process as when a company wants to buy another company.
- SeaChange raises money much faster than the typical nonprofit. They match money from private donors and foundations to organizations.
