What if pizza shops were funded like nonprofits?
Nonprofit: “That won’t cover my costs.”
Donor: “Find someone to make up the difference.”
“Just imagine how much more efficient you would be with 20% less than what you should be given,” the funder says.
Common sense: “That’s bullsh*t.”
Much has already been written about unrestricted funding.
About trust-based philanthropy.
About overhead.
So this parody video — What If Pizza Shops Were Funded Like Nonprofits? — hammers the point home better than any words I could add to the mix.
Give it a watch. 👇🏽
Especially you, funder friends.
Then give it a share to spread this message:
For justice, we must fund justly.
No more band-aids on systemic woes.
Less restrictions, more revolutionary change.
Because nonprofits deserve more than monetary morsels.
Let’s shift the rules of engagement.
Let’s champion full, fair, flexible funding.
Let's redefine the fundraising paradigm now.
💪🏽💛
(Video credit: Human Services Council of New York)
“The irony for the field as a whole is that a technique meant to control costs actually undermines efficiency and program quality,” says Clara Miller.
“The inability of nonprofits to invest in more efficient management systems, higher skilled managers, training, and program development over time means that as promising programs grow, they are going to be hollowed out, resulting in burned out staff, under-maintained buildings, out of date services, and many other symptoms of inadequately funded ‘overhead.’”
The Daily Bonus
“Not only are nonprofit rules that govern money — and therefore business dynamics — different from those in the for-profit sector, they are largely unknown, even among nonprofits and their funders,” says Clara Miller.
“Let’s imagine a hotel where the guests arrive needing a room for the night, but most lack the money to pay for it. Before you check them in (you’re the desk clerk as well as the owner; it’s a low-overhead hotel) you need to make sure there’s someone else who is willing to pay for their rooms. For someone in the hospitality business, this is a challenge.”
“Luckily, a variety of people and organizations are willing to pay for these guests. However, each has a different idea about what the guests really want, how much the room should cost, even whether some guests should be able to stay or not. You get on the phone for several hours, making deals and ensuring that there’s someone to pay for the guest’s room, that all the guests will be served, and, to the guests themselves, that the rooms will be OK.”