With all of the duties that NFP treasurers are responsible for, it is easy to let the “busy-ness” of day-to-day activities distract you from your nonprofit’s core purpose. When the leadership of any organisation becomes distracted, the results soon become apparent in every aspect of the NFP. Bottlenecks and redundancies increase, which decreases efficiency and effectiveness. The quality level of the services that are offered also suffers as recipients, donors, volunteers and staff members become less satisfied.

The following tips can help treasurers, board members, administrators and other leaders to regain their focus and increase their productivity.

Suffering from an Identity Crisis – Define Your Mission, Goals and Values

Some organisations seem to suffer from a bit of an identity crisis. They are composed of a group of people that want to do something good to help their communities, but they don’t seem to be able to make much headway. They sort of drift along, not growing or accomplishing anything. In a situation like this, the nonprofit’s leadership hasn’t really lost focus – they never had a clear vision of their purpose at the start. Organisations that want to have a substantial impact in their service communities have a clear picture of why they exist and what they hope to achieve. It is the board’s responsibility to define their values, purpose and vision.

Whether your mission and purpose have changed, or your leaders have become distracted, you must first start at the beginning and create a solid foundation. Take the time to sit down and decide on what it is that your organisation hopes to achieve, and the values that it will uphold as it carries out its mission.

Too Much, or Too Little Responsibility – Define Roles, Empower Your People, and Delegate

Once you know that your not-for-profit has a clear mission and has defined its goals, it’s up to the leaders to communicate your organisation’s purpose to others. It’s easier to get others on board to helping you achieve your nonprofit’s mission when everyone is clear about their duties, roles and responsibilities.

Boards should take steps to clearly define the responsibilities of their members, and work with the managers, CEOs and other administrators to ensure that the roles of staff and volunteers are clearly defined. Steps should also be taken to break up responsibilities so that not all of the duties fall on the shoulders of 2 or 3 key individuals.

Allow folks to cross-train for various tasks and empower individuals throughout your organisation to make decisions that improve the quality of assistance that you provide to service recipients. When people know what is expected of them, and have some autonomy in how tasks are carried out, it decreases stress, prevents burnout, and increases engagement. It also improves retention, efficiency and satisfaction at all levels of your organisation.

Rather than having a group of people working at cross purposes, when your organisation has focus, you have a team of individuals that are on the same side. Together, they communicate, collaborate and cooperate with one another so that more work gets done.

Are Potential Donors and Volunteers Still Unclear on How to Help – Check Your Messaging

As your organisation continues to focus on its core mission, some individuals that are not familiar with your NFP might remain unclear on your nonprofit’s purpose and uncertain how they can help. When this occurs, it is vitally important that you go back and zero in on all of their messaging to ensure that it is clear and focused on your mission.

All of your messaging should be in keeping with your values and brand. Your messages should be targeted to a specific audience and help them obtain the image that you wish to portray for your nonprofit.

All messaging should make it clear to the reader what action they need to take to help your NFP achieve its mission. Messaging should convey a sense of urgency to encourage direct and immediate action.

If your messaging is not focused on your mission, your readers will not be as well. This is true whether the specific communication is your nonprofit’s newsletter or a fundraising campaign on social media, keep your audience focused on your mission with clear, direct messaging.