What this looks like more closely…
Fast Growing Nonprofit Sector
- Over the past decade alone, more than 400,000 nonprofits have been formed in the U.S. compared to 200,000 in the 90s and 160,000 in the 80s. The nonprofit sector employs more than 13 million people in the United States, representing about 10% of the workforce. (National Center for Charitable Statistics)
Lack of Workforce Development Strategy
- Every year approximately 700,000 Liberal Arts majors graduate in the United States and over 60% will work in the social sector. Yet, liberal arts graduates are less likely than their business or engineering-focused counterparts to receive valuable opportunities to enhance their preparation, prior to entering the workforce. (National Association of Colleges and Employers)
Lack of Organization Capacity
- The nonprofit sector is made up primarily of small and midsize organizations. Of all filing nonprofits, 82.3% have expenditures of less than $1 million. This overwhelming majority of organizations, however, only held 7.4% of the sector’s assets. (Council of Foundations)
Lack of Professional Development
- Though corporations on average spend just over $1,000 per employee on professional development, nonprofits and governments, on the other hand, spend only an average of $656 per employee; meaning preparation prior to entering these fields is key. (Philanthropy Journal)
We are at a very unique time in world history. A time where social media and world issues have collided, causing awareness on levels never seen before. And although many of us know enough about what’s going on at home and worlds away to take action, many issues still persist and solutions are elusive. In order to eliminate the world’s woes, these groups have to produce results and take action that is effective and sustainable.
As consultants and technical assistance providers in the nonprofit sector, we have seen several good ideas fail to reach potential impact because they were poorly planned, insufficiently funded, understaffed and managed ineffectively. Even worst is when people with good hearts do more damage than good, mostly because they didn’t take into consideration the full picture before jumping into a serious social problem, or lacked the skills to create real social change.
The deficiency seems to lie in the lack of skills, information and cultural competency needed to tackle these issues and an overall lack of professional standards and resource sharing across the non-profit sector. The SISGI Group was created to move the needle on social issues and empower the sector to turn good ideas into real solutions through Preparation, Education and Collaboration.
