Nonprofit organizations are an under-appreciated sector of the economy, responsible for over ten percent of national employment and contributing roughly 40 percent of all human services. However, project management is not widely utilized in this sector […] The nonprofit sector is one in which there are huge opportunities for project management professionals to contribute to the good of their society and world.
— Project Management Institute
Today’s nonprofit organizations tend to focus on big goals, yet many times they lack the resources to accomplish them. For nonprofits to gain control of their goal strategy, it’s crucial that they leverage project management techniques — and don’t stop short of bringing in software or other tools that increase your organization’s reach and productivity. Whether it’s Waterfall, Agile, or Lean project management, any of these techniques will improve how your organization runs its internal processes and procedures. By leveraging them, organizations start transforming how they manage and execute strategy as they move toward their goals.
What can project management do for your nonprofit?
Adopting project management gives your organization the opportunity to standardize tasks and procedures, which in turn standardizes your workflow and returns productivity hours to the organization. It increases communication across your team and lays the foundation for a centralized place to gather information. In the process, it also gives you insight into the gap between your perceived human capital and your actual human capital.
There’s an array of easy-to-use tools that can help your organization, but keep in mind the first step can be as simple as building a project plan in a spreadsheet and tracking milestones as you go.