Where should non-profits and social enterprises begin when considering their financial options?
First stop is right at home: Is this the right time in the organization’s evolution to be making these considerations at all? It’s worth setting a filter to screen timing on making these considerations at all, and avoid wasting valuable time/energy/resources spinning wheels down the road.
Here are a few suggestions for filter questions: Who is making these considerations? Are they the right person/group to champion this assessment, and do they have the resources to do it properly? Do they have a keen understanding of the organization’s mission, direction & ground level operations? What is the organization’s fitness level in terms of taking on a big new challenge that will affect mission, direction & operations in often unforeseen ways?
