In a LinkedIn BoardSource group, a member posed the following question: "There are many critical differences between not-for-profits and the for-profit sector. So, what does it mean when we hear the catch phrase 'We need to act more like a business?'"
The person who nailed it was Dean Remoundos, a business development executive from the New York City area:
"I think that acting more like a business is not at all inconsistent with being a not for profit. Mission statement: is it reviewed every year to see that it is still relevant? Are objectives set each year for what the organisation seeks to achieve? Is the board of directors performing its function, or are they more appropriately a board of donors? Are programs being evaluated in view of the mission statement? Has the organisation identified all its constituencies? Perhaps most importantly, are costs being analysed with respect to benefits?"
"Not for profit" is not an entitlement to be an inefficiently run or out of touch organisation. It is just a taxable status which allows an organisation to spend 100% of its money in an effort to attain the goal it seeks. While there may not be a reported Return on Investment in the traditional sense, there should well be an analysis done on a periodic basis as to whether the expected Return on Intent or Return on Efforts was achieved.