“The federal government just passed the largest package of tax breaks in recent history yet is “firmly committed” to deficit reduction. How does that work? By cutting discretionary spending. Since they can’t cut Social Security and Medicare, and they won’t cut the military, that leaves relatively small pockets of social program spending – pockets which nonprofits depend upon – to take deep cuts.”

How about a task for Obama’s next two years? Or, should he be reelected, a goal for a second term? His campaign aphorisms of “hope” and “change” have been unfairly derided, but if there’s one area in which we owe it to the next generation to improve, it’s in deficits and revenue.

It would be great, wouldn’t it, if the nonprofit sector were able to explain why the work we do benefits everyone? Especially to those in government who are decision makers, and to those who have the power to influence or change allocation of assets. There is a dramatic difference between the idea of charities one so often hears about in the press (powerless groups waiting with their hands out) and the powerful changemakers that the nonprofit sector can be as you describe it above.

Thank you so much for writing this.

What you propose is a great idea.

The challenge would be to write the case well enough to convey the complexities of the nonprofit’s situation in a compelling way, and not be overly long. It might be hard to do that as an insider so here is another approach: connect with a local graduate school class studying nonprofits and get teams of students to research and write the case.

With all the talk about the importance of sharing/learning from failures, it could be a very powerful and useful exercise for organizations to share problems they are currently facing.

Imagine the feedback and stories that would emerge if the museum from your example had shared their predicament with an increasingly active internet community. Or if they shared it with a series of University class rooms for students to discuss.

How would these unbiased individuals assign blame? What solutions would they propose? In their professional lives, how did they handle similar situations?

Answers to all of these questions (and more) could be gathered, analyzed, and delivered back to the ailing nonprofit for free or very limited cost. All they’d have to do is distribute a link to a SurveyMonkey along with their case and ask anyone interested to reply with their thoughts.

Cash-strapped nonprofits get free feedback on important challenges and ideas for potential paths forward. Students get real-life cases to work on and could potentially see the rewards/consequences of specific actions taken. The greater nonprofit community could gain access to a new wealth of knowledge regarding common failures.

Anyone know any nonprofits willing to take a risk?