501(c)Files | Nonprofit News

Nonprofits and Crisis Management: It’s the Mission, Stupid

by Tom Durso on February 12th, 2008

Last week the b5 servers got all hinky on us, and posting to and reading the network’s blogs — including the 501(c) Files — was a sketchy proposition for a day or two. That got a lot of us here on the Business Channel thinking about crisis management. For nonprofits, I think, there are a couple of crisis categories: the random “bad event,” for lack of a better phrase, and the far more serious disconnect of mission.

The former — a fire at a school, for example, or the embezzling arrest of a charity’s CFO — are terrible things that must be addressed publicly, but they rarely cause lasting damage. What really hurts a nonprofit is when its actions are perceived as being in serious conflict with its mission. Take, for example, a university, one that espouses certain values, inviting to campus a speaker whose very public viewpoints clash with the school’s own stated mission. You can bet your annual fund check that a number of cranky alumni will fire off e-mails within nanoseconds accusing the university of turning its back on its values and pouting that they’ll never send another gift again. The challenge for nonprofits in this situation is demonstrating that its actions actually are in concert with its values. For the university in question, that means pointing out that the free exchange of ideas is firmly embedded in its mission, and that it’s far healthier and more productive to engage those with whom we disagree than to point fingers.

This is no easy task. Crisis management is by definition a reactive measure, and organizations, regardless of profit status, almost always suffer perception hits when they’re playing defense. Once again the need for strategic planning is shown to be paramount: Nonprofits must — must — evaluate every potential activity in terms of its connection to mission. If they don’t, they risk seeing their names in the paper for an entirely unpleasant reason. | 501(c)

Share This

Related Stories

• Are You Willing to Look in the Mirror?
• CIO Altruism Could Help Convince Nonprofit Funders of the Value of Supporting IT
• The Unnecessary Prospect of Nonprofit 101
• Wounded Twice: Some Charities Send Returning Vets the Wrong Message
• Missing the Mission | The Importance of Detail-Oriented Management

POSTED IN: Accountability, Mission