TCC Group's Mittenthal: Foundations, Nonprofits Benefit From Business-Strategy Models

Since many NPOs work toward very long-term goals—breakthroughs in medical research or fighting to put an end to genocide, for example, can take many years—many NPOS strategically plan their process using a "logic model," Mittenthal notes. It is very much like modeling the long-term strategy for a business. He illustrated his point by showing the model for a large NPO that charted its "resources/inputs, strategy, short-term and long-term outcomes and impact."

TCC helps the NPO evaluate its "awareness, knowledge, attitudes, motivation, skills opportunity and behavior," he explained. Like a roadmap, the model provides the NPO with direction for its long-term journey, something that is useful for the organization's staff, donors and, of course, beneficiaries of the NPO's cause.

Measuring Nonprofits' Effectiveness

TCC Group also consults with nonprofit organizations to "measure their effectiveness," build the NPO's capacity and plan their strategy. The firm uses its "Core Capacity Assessment Tool (CCAT)." This online tool measures "effectiveness in relation to four core capacities—leadership, adaptability, management, and technical," and provides a report that shows the NPO its own score, as well as benchmarks against peers in the TCC Group's database of NPO evaluations.

Many of these metrics borrow from the types of performance measurements and program assessments that are used by businesses. They can help an NPO's executives understand where to apply resources to be more efficient and effective and understand what is necessary for the organization to become sustainable. Whether a philanthropist intends to build an enduring institution that lasts beyond generations of family involvement or to give away all of their wealth within a generation, adopting business strategies and modeling can provide a clear path and help them achieve their goals.