I’ve been reading a great book called “The Abundant
Not-For-Profit” and how you can magnify your impact through tapping into the
skills and talents of those outside your organization.
If you are constrained by limited human and financial resources,
networking becomes your key to achieving goals beyond your reach. My own
personal experience with networking to search for knowledge philanthropists has
allowed me to repeatedly overcome limitations. From when I was the student president of
AIESEC Kwantlen to running my own marketing consulting team and being the chair
for a youth entrepreneurial committee, recruiting outside talent has always
been the key to achieving my goals.
I agree with the ideology presented in the book and have
been thinking about why it’s so powerful from my own experiences. How does it work?
Here’s my thoughts on why Not-for-Profits can have abundance.
Volunteer opportunities can be happiness opportunities
Based on a documentary on happiness called, “Happy”, they did research and discovered
that those who focus on, personal growth, developing relationships and helping
others made individuals happy. Much happier than those who are extrinsically
motivated. With that in mind Not-for-Profits by the nature of their meaningful
work can provide an avenue for these intrinsic goals to be realized. People are
looking for a way to fulfill these needs and Not-for-Profits are uniquely position
to provide this by providing them the opportunity to offer their expertise and
talents as knowledge philanthropists.
Draw people in with a strong vision
With this in mind you can be pro-active towards recruiting
knowledge philanthropists which means networking becomes a key activity. However,
most people I meet including leaders do not spend a lot of time or effort
towards making new connections for their organizations. Once you begin creating
a network and developing new relationships it will start impacting your
organization in profound ways as it can give you access to the resources of a
social network. A great book that examines the power of social networks in
depth is called, “Connected”.
When it comes to our own social networks we tend to be
clustered in tightly knit groups that don’t change very often. Based on the
research in the book if you were to take any two of your friends at random
chances are higher than 50 percent that they would know each other. This common
structure means that you don’t usually reach out into the larger network.
When it comes to accessing the power of a social network it
is actually through weak ties and acquaintances that we gain access to new
opportunities. For example there was a survey conducted by Granovetter to find out
how workers in a suburb got their jobs. They were asked a simple question of
how often they saw the person who helped them get their job. The findings
confirmed that its through your weaker ties and acquaintances that
opportunities flow your way.
- 17 percent responded often
- 55 percent said occasionally
- 28 percent said rarely
This power is at work in corporations as well where
organization share their executives on the board of directors for other organizations.
A great example would be Bill Clinton who sat on at least twelve boards at one
point. By focusing on building relationships with externals this create network
links between organizations that can serve and create new opportunities.
Networking to provide everyone with abundance
You can achieve goals and break through your organizational
limitations through networking. Social networks allow us to achieve things that
we could not achieve on our own. As a Not-for-Profit this is possible because of
the nature of the work that Not-for-Profits provides to the community. You can
attract additional expertise and talent through great volunteer opportunities that
benefit all involved. However to attract that talent you’ll need both a strong
clear vision and to get out there and start building new relationships !
Additional Resource:
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By Stevie Vu
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