What is Organizational Effectivness?

Joann Ricci is the Foundation’s vice president of organizational effectiveness. In 2011, this was a new role for the Foundation. Joann designs and leads programs to strengthen the region’s nonprofit organizations. Learn more about the field of organizational effectiveness and how it benefits the local nonprofit community in the OE section of the website.

Q: What is organizational effectiveness (OE)?

A: O.E. is the capacity of an organization to engage its knowledge, skills, resources, people and stakeholders to effectively fulfill its mission.

Q: We often hear the term ‘capacity building.’ Is OE the same?

A: Yes. Both are terms that describe how an organization fulfills its mission—through good management, strong governance,  and programs that make a difference and serve the community.  And, as Grantmakers for Effective Organizations suggests, effective organizations demonstrate “a persistent re-dedication to achieving results.”

Q: What makes an effective nonprofit?

A: For starters, the organization has to have a clear sense of its identity—it must know who it is and what it does— in relationship to the community it seeks to serve. It has a discipline for learning, can reflect on its strengths and challenges in meeting its mission to make a difference; has an action orientation, continuously taking the necessary steps to improve.  Click here for more answers to that question.

Q: How does the Foundation do its OE work?

A: We established a set of principles to help guide us.  These principles are drawn from best practices from the field, and from many years of combined expertise and experience from the Foundation staff and those we serve. Our desire is to fully empower our nonprofit partners, and this means engaging them from a position of partnership and respect, drawing on their knowledge of the context and culture in which they live.

Q: How do you determine the needs of the area’s nonprofits?

A: We collect data through surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one conversations.  We engage nonprofit practitioners to help us identify and design the best ways to meet their needs.

Based on the data we’ve gathered thus far, we’re focusing on the following areas:

1.)   Providing technical assistance and training through workshops,  seminars and networked learning activities
2.)   Connecting nonprofits with the resources they need to improve and grow
3.)   Directing  support to area nonprofits for organizational capacity building
4.)   Increasing the bench strength and skills of the local consultant community
5.)   Increasing the overall health of the ‘nonprofit ecosystem.’
6.)   Designing and implementing original research

For more information on Reports and Resources, click here.

For more information on Learning Opportunities, click here.