The Nonprofit FAQ

Management Basics

“Nonprofits” come in every size, shade and flavor.

There is no such thing as “nonprofit management” if the phrase is taken to mean there’s a one-size-fits-all management discipline that can or has to be applied in nonprofit settings. It just doesn’t work that way.

Also, there is no great divide between managing a nonprofit and managing a for-profit of similar size and scope. Lots of what for-profit managers do sounds very familiar to nonprofit managers, and vice versa; in some jobs, the work is virtually identical.

In the same way, there are some features of nonprofit management that will vary greatly depending on the communities in which the organization works and some that are pretty much basic elements of any situation in which humans work together.

That said, nonprofit managers still need to manage. And nonprofit managers need to be able to recognize the very real differences in management dynamics that do exist in some parts of the work. At Idealist.org, we try to make it easy for people who work in nonprofits to understand the challenges they face and find useful tips and guidance that will make their organizations more effective and their jobs more satisfying.

This collection of resources for nonprofit managers runs from soup to nuts. We’ve pointed to resources that were originally developed for use in the corporate world. And we’ve identified publications, websites, and discussion channels where nonprofit managers can find pointers drawn from everyday experience in nonprofit work.

The rest of this introduction explores what you can find at and through Idealist.org to help people who work for or lead nonprofits understand management or find answers to specific management questions. There are pages developed by Idealist staffers, there are links to explanations and commentaries on other websites, and there are pointers to other all sorts of tools for nonprofit managers. You’ll see that there’s a lot of help out there. We have tried to make it easier to find useful resources quickly.

Where it’s important, we’ve highlighted the distinctive features of nonprofit management and tried to point out resources that can be particularly helpful with those questions. We also link to general management tools that any organization might find useful. Some of the things we’ve found and point to are especially useful in one or another part of the world—advice about taxes will always be very very local! And some are just about human nature and what is needed if people want to cooperate with each other, work for community benefit, and build lasting institutions that can survive the stresses and strains that come with the territory.

This resource guide is a continuously evolving project. Please let us know if you find something useful that we haven’t pointed to, if you find something wrong, or a link that doesn’t work. Every page has a “feedback” button. Please use it. We’re eager to keep up with the best of the best in the ever expanding world-wide web of resources to help people build organizations that build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives.

What We Have at Idealist.org

Tools for Nonprofits—direct links to rich explorations of key topics.
-- http://www.idealist.org/tools
Consultants and Vendors—hundreds of providers of every sort of service a nonprofit might need.
-- http://www.idealist.org/consultants
Support Organizations—in the Nonprofit FAQ, a listing of groups in many countries of the world that focus on supporting the growth and effectiveness of nonprofits.
-- http://www.nonprofits.org/tools/support-orgs.html
Your Own Idealist Listing—any nonprofit organization anywhere in the world can create an Idealist listing for itself to announce programs, volunteer opportunities, publications, etc. There is no charge. With a listing, you can also announce job openings (US organizations pay a small fee for this service).
-- If you don't already have an Idealist listing, information on what to do is at http://www.Idealist.org/neworg
The Nonprofit FAQ—notes on hundreds of nonprofit topics organized by subject.
-- http://www.idealist.org/npofaq
- This page in The Nonprofit FAQ has annotated links to several websites with good resources and information about managing nonprofit organizations.
  -- http://www.idealist.org/npofaq/19/73.html
- This page in the FAQ has annotated links to several websites with good resources and information about managing any sort of organization.
  -- http://www.idealist.org/npofaq/0/1556.html
- Introduction to Using the Nonprofit FAQ
  — http://www.idealist.org/npofaq/0/1490.html

Posted May 3, 2006; added "general management" link 6/1/06; "nonprofit management" link 6/4/06; Idealist Consultants entry updated 6/30/06; 11/11/06 -- PB