Purpose of Nonprofits

September 18, 2013

SOC 405

Reflection Paper #1

There are two very different ways of thinking about the purpose of nonprofits. The first approach is that nonprofits are social institutions. This means that nonprofits are there to serve society. The managers of these organizations are portrayed as servant leaders. The history of the organization is full of morals, values, and missions. They do not deny the fact that business strategies are helpful, but they are cautious not to let these types of strategies overtake their social purposes.

The second approach is that a nonprofit is in fact a business, just with a social purpose. These types of organizations do not veto the importance of social missions. They just know that it is just as important to use business methods to make sure that those social missions get carried out. They tend to measure their successes and failures. We discussed this in class in relation to a nonprofit whose purpose was to help people find jobs. The founder of this organization wanted to build basketball courts. His board had to tell him no for the fact that although the basketball courts would serve as an outlet, they do not play a role in the mission of their organization.

It is important for a nonprofit to have a balance of both approaches. An organization could miss out on a better and more efficient way to serve their community if they do not take business methods into consideration. Argumentatively, if an organization focuses too much on the business side of things, they could lose sight of their purpose and mission. A manager of a nonprofit should have clear knowledge of both perspectives. They must know how to do everything they can to serve their community, while doing this effectively by the use of business strategies. Extra Table successfully balances being an organization with social purposes while implementing business tactics to successfully serve their community. A successful business owner founded Extra Table. He is...