Giving Compass' Take:

• Nonprofit Quarterly discusses the importance of embracing and managing risk for nonprofit leaders looking to accelerate progress toward one's goals.

• While recklessness is not the endorsement here, the case is made for a strategic approach to risk in order to take advantage of opportunities that might otherwise be unavailable for more cautious organizations. Are you up for that?

• Here's one example of how this works: a partnership to fund independent research about Facebook's role in democracy.

Generally, when we talk about risk management for nonprofits, there is a note of panic in the conversation, as we hold the image of organizations teetering with the uncertainties of government policies and funding, philanthropists changing the focus of their giving, and increasing demand for services. In fact, grantspace.org quoted the Alliance for Nonprofit Management as defining risk management as a discipline intended to identify and protect against any threat to an organization’s ability to deliver on its mission. It is a definition based on fear: fear of loss. A report covered by NPQ in 2016 represents another example of this approach.

In 2017, NPQ devoted an entire issue of its print journal to the subject of risk management in the nonprofit sector. The focus was on how to move from risk management to risk leadership, with an interview with David Renz providing focus for what that actually means. Not only do nonprofits live in a world of risk, but at times it is important to acknowledge that risk fully and even use it as a way to move forward.

Nonprofit leaders should ask a few key questions:

  • What risks do we face that can derail our mission?
  • What risks can we take that would help us accomplish our mission?
  • What processes do we have in place for assessing and managing risk?
  • Why haven’t we committed to be a risk-aware and risk-savvy organization?

Read the full article about the need for nonprofit leaders to embrace risk by Rob Meiksins at nonprofitquarterly.org.