Doing good and doing it well

The once popular perception of Not for Profits as amateur organisations run by enthusiastic volunteers has disappeared. Of the many trends that have emerged from the latest Grant Thornton survey of the sector, one stands out: Not for Profits on both sides of the Tasman are striving to adopt more professional standards in how they manage, operate and govern the enterprise.

Those organisations that are not moving in this direction (and their numbers are still significant) will face increasing business risks, not to mention challenges in sourcing the ongoing funding necessary for a sustainable enterprise. This is the first time we have surveyed Not for Profit organisations on both sides of the Tasman (previously, our bi-annual survey has covered New Zealand only). We thought the results may show marked differences in how organisations in each country operate, and in the challenges they face. We discovered the opposite. By and large, and once size and turnover are taken into account, there are few significant differences:

The major challenges and trends identified, focused on:

• funding
• governance
• social enterprise
• social governance