Summary

The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was, perhaps, the most successful nonprofit organization in history, yet you've probably never heard of it. That's because it did such a good job of eradicating polio back in the 1940s and '50s that it nearly put itself out of business. But, rather than abandon a highly effective fund-raising organization, the NFIP transformed itself into an equally successful organization dedicated to children with birth defects ... the March of Dimes. Faced with shrinking budgets, rapidly changing social needs, a hostile political climate, and ever more intense public scrutiny, today's nonprofit organizations, like the NFIP before them, are finding that it's not enough to simply update a mission statement or patch over a list of outdated goals. They're discovering that survival now depends on the ability to effect real change the same way corporate giants such as IBM, GM, and Hewlett-Packard have, by reinventing themselves from the ground up--in other words, through reengineering. And while there are dozens of excellent guides on strategic transformation in the for-profit sector, until now, there have been none devoted exclusively to nonprofit reengineering. Written by a former "Big 6" partner, Reengineering Your Nonprofit Organization does for the nonprofit world what Michael Hammer and James Champy's classic, Reengineering the Corporation, does for the for-profit sector--it offers a comprehensive blueprint for radical strategic change. But this book goes further. It considers not only the lessons learned from the corporate world, but also the special needs and concerns of the nonprofit sector. Rather than attempt to overlay a business reengineering paradigm over nonprofit organizations, Alceste T. Pappas offers an original model designed around the unique character of the modern nonprofit organization. In place of the traditional nonprofit stopgap approach to managing change, she offers a "zero-base" approach that incorporates a host of proven techniques for assessing and radically redesigning all facets of your operation, including mission and goals, organizational structure, and business processes. She introduces some of the most innovative new strategies for establishing partnerships and forming alliances, allocating resources, and involving staff and volunteers in the reengineering process. Dr. Pappas also presents a "best practices" approach to establishing new more efficient and cost-effective systems. Packed with case studies of innovative organizations that have fundamentally changed some or all aspects of their operations, Reengineering Your Nonprofit Organization shows how you can remain true to your organization's vision and still meet your bottom line. Finally, Dr. Pappas provides a rational framework for measuring success and sustaining growth and improvement during the years ahead. Reengineering Your Nonprofit Organization is essential reading for all those involved in strategic planning and reengineering, from executive directors and other paid staff to fund-raisers and volunteer board members.