Our survey results show a “tale of two cities” in the nonprofit world now, with contrasting effects of the pandemic. What nonprofit leaders should do next depends on which city they’re in.
Read moreAu Canada: We're Open for Business
Public Interest Management Canada is open for business! The Canadian sister of Seattle-based PIM Group will provide high-caliber management consulting services to Canadian nonprofits, with a focus on financial health and sustainability.
Read moreReady for the Recession?
Nonprofits will be deeply affected by a recession. This article discusses what impacts are likely, and how nonprofit leaders can plan proactively, to help emerge stronger than before.
Read moreOpportunity: The Hidden Cost
There’s a big hidden cost that nonprofits often ignore: the opportunity cost of decisions. Failure to consider this can result in poor decisions and/or allocation of resources. Fortunately, there are clear methods to incorporate opportunity cost into strategic decision-making and planning.
Read moreAbout Those Details: Devilish or Deified?
Some say the devil is in the details, but that expression used to say the exact opposite. People often shy away from detailed work, yet successful organizational management can require embracing them. So what’s up with that old cliche?
Read moreThe Best Practice: It’s Probably Not What You Thought
PIMG conducted applied research on management practices employed by 43 nonprofits. The best practices - those most closely associated with success - might surprise you. They concern organizational strategy with several specific characteristics. These practices outshine most others in clearly distinguishing successful from unsuccessful nonprofits.
Read moreNational Immigration Law Center is Mobilizing for Justice
Public Interest Management Group has been working with the National Immigration Law Center to mobilize in support of immigration rights in a time of national crisis. NILC is rising to the challenge.
Read moreTwister, Nonprofit Style: The Art of Managing Restricted Grants
Restricted funding is a complex revenue source unique to the nonprofit sector. Many nonprofits receive restricted funding, and it brings challenges and risks. It can feel like a shell game. I offer 6 practical suggestions for playing - and winning - the restricted funding game.
Read moreLearning from the Big Mac
McDonald's Corporation is prototypical of a business that scaled-up effectively. Great operating systems are part of this story. But CEO Ray Kroc's story gives some valuable lessons beyond that. He started out on a path toward disaster because he failed to do basic business planning and financial analysis. He succeeded after he recalibrated his business model and stuck to it. This story offers important lessons for nonprofit management and strategic decision-making.
Read moreAre You Ready for the Crash?
A stock market correction is inevitable, and when it happens, nonprofits will be profoundly affected. Here are three ways that nonprofit leaders can proactively plan for - and navigate through - the storm.
Read moreWhat Every Nonprofit Leader Needs to Know about Their Business Model
Many nonprofits struggle to break even, or face strict capacity limitations. The root of these problems is usually the soundness and health of the organization's business model. The business model is a key to ensuring high performance in achieving mission and financial goals. Public Interest Management Group has released a new white paper that demystifies the business model and its key role in organizational strategy.
Read moreUpdates from The Front
In a recap of exciting client updates, we cover a range of projects, from the opening of new health and hunger solution centers, to organizations scaling up through merger, restructuring and business model assessments.
Read morePilot Study Yields Benefits for Oregon Nonprofits
In partnership with the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, PIMG completed a pilot study of the new Success Factor Analysis methodology for assessing nonprofit organizations. Participating nonprofits found the process valuable in crafting strategies for improvement. Further, the data collected in the project sheds new light on which practices are and are not associated with organizational success.
Read moreClient Focus: Washington Water Trust – Scaling up, Fighting the Effects of Climate Change
PIMG client Washington Water Trust is an organization that uses creative approaches to preserve streamflow, restore habitat and fight back against drought conditions. The nonprofit's leadership has recognized a need to grow to meet needs that are expected to increase in the years and decades ahead. Public Interest Management Group worked with the Water Trust to develop a business plan for growth through the sizzling summer—a backdrop that could not have been more dramatic.
Read more“Business Model Makeover” and Strategic Partnerships Seminars kick off 2015 in Portland and Seattle
New workshops explore the economics of nonprofit organizations and several practical techniques for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of business models. Nonprofit business models are more complex than those of for-profits. In our sector the formula can be multi-faceted, with some services subsidizing others by design. Nonprofits need to be intentional and shrewd about how the model is assembled.
Read moreData for Decisions—a Search for the Third Dimension
Nonprofit leaders are bombarded with information throughout each day. Some of it is important, some is interesting, and a lot is neither. Information is only as good as what we get from it. Unfortunately, a lot of what we get is noise. The problem is that the more background noise, the harder it is to hear the important idea or the cry for help. The key is to identify three-dimensional metrics that help tell us the real story about the organization and where you’re headed.
Read moreWhat Makes Great Nonprofits Tick?
New analysis by Public Interest Management Group offers insights—and a few surprises—on what nonprofits really need to succeed. Based on data from over forty nonprofits, this study explores 28 organizational facets correlated to overall success, including organizational strategy, culture, operations and overall business model.
Read moreBusiness Planning vs. Strategic Planning
Nonprofit leaders have expressed frustrations about strategic planning, for example that it is often time-consuming, overly-vague, and quickly out-of-date. While newer techniques address some of these concerns, the real issue is too much time spent on strategic planning, and too little (or no) time spent on business planning.
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