As with restaurant ownership, the appeal of translating one?s passion into nonprofit action is enormous ? as are the restaurant-comparable failure rates.
It?s this impulse to proceed without checking the field ? the nonprofit world?s so-called “Bowling Alone” syndrome ? that is of real concern.
“Nobody wants to work with anybody else on nonprofits,” Nancy Hall, senior adviser with the Baltimore-based Maryland Association of Nonprofits, said of a problem that contributes to the 75 to 100 new Maryland nonprofits forming each month. “They all think that their cause, and how they want to work it, are so unique.”
Hall said only 2 percent of the 10,000 nonprofits organized statewide in the past 10 years achieved a measure of success ? and only 8,000 of the state?s 20,000 nonprofits can afford a part-time staffer.
Hall encourages nonprofit entrepreneurs to join an established organization and actually work programs, instead of trying to develop an infrastructure.
But for those determined to spend the estimated $1,000 to organize their own tax-exempt vision vehicle, membership in the 15-year-old, 1,625-member association for associations has its advantages.
“We are a statewide association of all types of nonprofit organizations,” said Peter Berns, the association?s executive director. “Our business is to help nonprofits learn to do a better job operating their organizations. We also serve as a public policy advocate ? a chamber of commerce for the nonprofit community in the state.”
But that?s not all this 27-employee group does.
In addition to the 160 industry-issue workshops, annual conference, event planning exposition, technical assistance and consultant services that it mounts each year, the association also offers a cooperative buying service that include insurance products, office supplies and equipment, and electricity.
And, in an attempt to address the nonprofit world?s more pressing concern ? consumer confidence in nonprofits ? the association boasts a standard of excellence in education and certification program that “provides a model for how a well-managed, responsibly governed nonprofit organization operates,” Berns said.
The training is priceless, said Tracy Brown, executive director of the Towson-based Women Law Center of Maryland.
“We?ve attended quite a few of their trainings,” she said. “And they?re always of excellent quality. It was particularly valuable to me as a new executive director six years ago.”
