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Nonprofit Organizational Assessment Tool
Social Entrepreneurship
by: Andrew Lewis*
University of Wisconsin Extension
This section of the Nonprofit Organizational Assessment Tool can help guide a group
discussion about an organization's entrepreneurial features. This group discussion
ideally should include board members, staff, volunteers, and service recipients, but could
be used as a self-assessment tool by anyone associated with a nonprofit organization.
Review the assessment form below. First, check the indicators that have been completed or accomplished. Next, indicate
the amount of improvement that you think is needed for that indicator (None or Not
Applicable, Some, or much improvement needed). It is your perception of the organization.
There are no right or wrong answers. If used with a group, each individual should complete
the assessment tool. After allowing adequate time, compare responses and discuss any areas
where there were different perceptions. As a final step, identify the top 2-3 priorities
where there was a high level of consensus on an indicator needing "much"
improvement. If you are doing this as a group, have each individual select their top three
priorities and then tally the "votes" for the group to identify the top three.
Begin developing an action plan that would address these issues (A suggested action plan
format can be found at the end of the document). After successfully implementing your
action plans that address your top priorities, revisit your assessment tool and begin
developing action plans for the other indicators that need attention.
This particular section of the assessment tool focuses on social
entrepreneurship concepts presented during the educational programs produced by the Learning
Institute for Nonprofit Organizations. The complete Nonprofit Organizational Assessment
Tool will be comprised of eight sections based on the content presented in the eight
programs that make up the curriculum of the Learning Institute for Nonprofit
Organizations. The Learning
Institute for Nonprofit Organizations was a collaboration involving the
University of Wisconsin Extension and the Society for Nonprofit Organizations.
The University has ended its formal relationship with the SNPO, but videotape
presentation kits reside in most of the University of Wisconsin Extension County
offices.
*LI faculty contributor for this section: Jerr Boschee
Social Entrepreneurship Assessment Tool**
Programs
| Indicator |
Done? |
Needs
Improvement ? |
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None/
N.A. |
Some |
Much |
| 1. The organization has developed a formal process to
identify and expand its most effective and needed programs. |
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| 2. The organization is committed to being the market leader
or number two in each of its programmatic areas and is willing to dispose of programs that
do not meet that criteria. |
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| 3. The organization is committed to the concept of
"organized abandonment," reviews its programs on a regular basis and makes tough
decisions about reducing, divesting or terminating specific programs. |
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| 4. The organization listens to the needs of clients and
customers on a regular basis in order to selectively add new programs and to develop
positioning strategies and marketing plans for all of its programs. |
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Basic Principles
| Indicator |
Done? |
Needs
Improvement ? |
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None/
N.A. |
Some |
Much |
| 1. The organization routinely works to increase the
percentage of its operating budget that comes from earned income. |
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| 2. Leadership within the organization pays increasing
attention to market forces without losing sight of the underlying mission of the
organization. |
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| 3.The organization attempts to match skills and assets with
marketplace opportunities as a means of generating more revenue for mission related
activities. |
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| 4. The organization values the collective wisdom and
experience of the organization and its key stakeholders. |
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| 5. Leadership focuses on building the long-term
capacity of the organization. |
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| 6. New ideas are based on the organization’s mission and
core competencies. |
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| 7.Profit is viewed as a means of fulfilling the
organization’s mission. |
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| 8.The organization is increasingly in charge of its own
destiny as opposed to being dependent on the priorities of its funders. |
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Organizational Culture
| Indicator |
Done? |
Needs
Improvement ? |
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None/
N.A. |
Some |
Much |
| 1. The organization is willing to take reasonable risks. |
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| 2. The organization is guided by sound business principles. |
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| 3. The organization proceeds conservatively but is not
hesitant in making changes. |
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| 4. Leadership is capable of making tough staff choices. |
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| 5. Leadership is willing to open up the organization’s
control systems. |
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| 6. The organization is able to end programs that are no
longer working or are no longer needed. |
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| 7. The organization has accepted the importance of earning
money. |
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Critical Success Factors
| Indicator |
Done? |
Needs
Improvement ? |
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None/
N.A. |
Some |
Much |
| 1. The organization values candor and is honest about its
products, services, market, competition and resources. |
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| 2. The organization is interested in being entrepreneurial
because its board, staff and volunteers are passionate about what it might do for the
organization |
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| 3. The organization is clear about why it would be interested
in heading down the path of social entrepreneurship. |
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| 4. Leadership is committed to adopting entrepreneurial
strategies. |
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| 5. Leadership has the courage to embrace change. |
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| 6. The organization has a set of three to five core values
that are clearly articulated, institutionalized, and
constantly reinforced. |
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| 7. The organization focuses on the needs of customers rather
then on the organization itself. |
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| 8. There is a willingness to engage in entrepreneurial
planning and a determination not to take shortcuts. |
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| 9. The entrepreneurial planning process is well understood by
people at the Board level, the senior management level and the staff level. |
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| 10. The organization thinks like a business at all times. |
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| 11.The organization is not afraid to act prior to the
development of the "perfect plan." |
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| 12.The organization has analyzed potential earned income
activities by using the Mission/Money Matrix©. |
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| 13.The organization exhibits the flexibility necessary to
adapt quickly to market forces. |
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Sample Action Plans:
Use the following format to begin formulating an action plan that would improve your
organization's performance relative to a specific indicator listed above.
Indicator:
The organization has a set of three to five core values that
are clearly articulated, institutionalized, and constantly reinforced.
Task |
Time Line |
Who |
Will Do What |
Evaluation Measure |
Task #1 |
7 days |
Karla |
Schedule a series of Board/Staff/Volunteer meetings that will
focus on identifying 3-5 core values that clearly define the organization. |
Board/Staff Meetings are held.
Attendance is high with all members participating in the process. |
Task #2 |
30 days |
Sub-
committees made up of staff, volunteer and board members |
Will analyze ways in which the core values
could be clearly defined in organizational reports, advertising, press releases, physical
office, and external communication pieces. |
The number of times core values are
communicated in materials generated by the organization. |
| Task #3 |
On-
Going |
Director/
Board |
Will weigh business decisions based on the
guiding principles identified by the organization |
Actions taken by the board and director are consistent with
the guiding principles that have been adopted by the organization. |
**Part of an 9-part
series of assessment tools that address critical management issues within a
nonprofit organizations. This tool was developed for the Learning Institute
for Nonprofit Organizations and is based in part on two existing tools:
Community Organizational Assessment Tool, Bright, Robert D., University of
Wisconsin Extension, 1995 (Adapted from Citizens Involvement Training Program., University
of Massachusetts, Amherst).
Checklist of Nonprofit Indicators, United Way of Minneapolis Area, 1998.
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