Review of Literature
Introduction
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In order to provide specific and up-to-date recommendations to the Camp Cavy Rescue, our team conducted extensive research. Two major aspects that we were focusing on was optimizing the rescue work and making it more efficient, and increasing the awareness among the population. The sources talk about collaboration with volunteers and other organizations, fundraising and donations, events that can attract a bigger audience, and the website design that would serve the same purpose.
Human Resources and Non- Profits
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It appears that attracting the right people, whether it be volunteers or customers has seemed to be an issue with most NPO's. It is well known that most nonprofits don't attract full-time workers so the manager of the nonprofit has to fill in some of the places they can't hire people for. That can lead to a lack of advertisement to potential customers. "Business consultant and author Jim Collins has pointed out that "getting the right people on the bus" is key to organizational success. During my time as head of a government agency, I found this to be especially challenging because we had to attract top talent from leading private sector companies"(Al- Dabbagh, 2015). A study conducted at the University of Arkansas shows this. "Both the Hall et al. study and the present study (21%) also concluded that executive leaders were concerned with their level of human resource capacity within their NPO"(Brooks, 2002). Both of these authors agree with each other in the sense that there are nonprofits that do not have the human resources that is enough to make them as successful as they should be.
A Common Mind Set
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Many academic scholars have simultaneously come to the conclusion that nonprofits will seek to find commutative answers to the community’s problems that benefit all partners in more than one aspect. Samu states in the article in the Journal of Nonprofit and Public Sector marketing pages 45- 61: “More specifically, when establishing SA relationships, managers from different SA parties are motivated by different objectives and tend to direct their attention to different issues when managing the alliance operations and relationships”.
In addition, Martha Lagrace simultaneously conducts research proving a new way to grow for nonprofit organizations and concludes the fact that networking provides substantial factors to growth. In the article, Nonprofit Networking: The New Way to Grow, the author quotes Wei-Skillern, “The Audubon movement is interesting in that it is actually a range of different types of organizations who share the mission of protecting birds and the environment through advocacy, education, and land conservation.
Though these organizations shared the same mission, they pursued the mission through various organizational structures.” What Samu is doing is connecting to the fact that people have certain interests and generally only act on these interests that benefit themselves, but if they do not have the means they need to seek additional help which means they need to connect their needs to another to ensure a strong social alliance.
Wei-Skillern gives a specific example that shows to bring organizations together they need a single mission that benefits all sides, in order for the alliance to grow together. In order for a nonprofit to grow as an organization it needs to create a beneficial social alliance, but to do so the overall mission needs to draw attention from other organizations with the same goal, and as the evidence shown above by the given authors it is clear to see that this theory is used by many organizations
Why Planning Ahead for Your Nonprofit is Crucial for Your Overall Performance
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There are many tasks that need to be completed in order for a nonprofit to become successful. Having a plan encourages the leaders and volunteers of the nonprofit to stay organized. According to the American Humane Nonprofit, “Formulating strategies and going through the process leads to clarity around the outcomes, the consensus within your organization, and improved program quality" (McKenney, 2019, p. 2). Planning can also help nonprofits in different areas. An example of an area that requires a lot of planning is finances.
Since nonprofits do benefit from fundraising and donations, it is crucial for the organizations to have an effective plan to manage these funds. The American Humane Nonprofit agrees with the Cogent Business & Management when it comes to creating plans to benefit the nonprofit. According to the Cogent Business & Management, “A plan should be created to both increase the effectiveness of current fundraising activities and to provide additional fundraising opportunities” (Maguire, 2016, n.d.). Plans can open new opportunities for nonprofits and help them reach their goals.
The American Humane Nonprofit covers how creating strategies can positively impact the nonprofit. These strategies go along with the Cogent Bussiness & Management journal article which gives an example of discussing how planning can enhance fundraising for the nonprofit. Both the American Humane Nonprofit and the Cogent Bussiness & Management journal article emphasized the importance of planning or strategizing every step in a nonprofit world. Following a plan will help the organizations become more efficient and keep track of what they need to.
How Donations Assist Nonprofits to Become Successful
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Nonprofits heavily rely on others in a variety of different ways. According to the Cogent Bussiness & Management journal article, "Many NPOs rely mainly upon donations from individuals and corporations in order to sustain operations" (Maguire, 2016, n.d.). Since the nonprofits rely a lot on donations, they have to do a good job of seeking out individuals who are willing to donate their time or money to these organizations. There are many individuals in the community that are ready to donate their time and volunteer, but nonprofits have to find ways to attract these individuals. Best Friends Animal Society agreed with the Cogent Bussiness & Management journal article when discussing the importance of volunteers. According to Best Friends Animal Society, volunteers are a crucial part of maintaining nonprofits and is it essential for organizations to be ready to recruit volunteers. "You will want to make sure that your organization stands out from the crowd as a place where people want to spend their precious spare time" (Best Friends Animal Society, 2019, n.d.)
Nonprofits are maintained by a variety of people coming together for a good cause. The Cogent Bussiness & Management journal emphasizes how nonprofits need help from the community. The Best Friends Animal Society talks about how organizations need to attract community members and convince them that donating their time will be worth it. Both the Cogent Bussiness & Management journal article and Best Friends Animal Society agree that donations are necessary for these organizations to continue. Sometimes these donations are volunteer hours, so nonprofits have to find ways to advertise these opportunities to the public.
Media Coverage of the Adoption Parties at the Rescue
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Social media had been proven to be one most successful way of increasing the audience of the event and promoting awareness. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) experts confirm the necessity of using media platforms in the adoption process. "Cute animals are kings on Facebook," says ASPCA Senior Social Media Manager Olivia Melikhov. Armed with that knowledge and some tried-and-true engagement tips, you can capitalize on the social media giant to find homes for your adoptable animals” (Morrison, 2019). Not only it is important to utilize this powerful tool, but it is important to utilize it wisely – follow what had been proven to be successful before, and you will reach your goal.
Best Friends Animal Society agrees that the social networks had been an important part of their job, however, it mentions other means of communication with the audience that cannot be overlooked. “Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are used by organizations to publicize community events, to assist in fundraising efforts, and to inform and influence public opinion. Most radio and TV stations look for local causes to promote in the PSAs that they air.” (Best Friends Animal Society, n.d.) The animal rescue can use local radio channels to promote their events, and their requests are very likely to be fulfilled. Which can also serve as a powerful tool that can attract an older audience (as opposed to the younger generation and social media).
Personalized messages and descriptions of the adoptable animals
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A personal and emotionally compelling story can help the animal to get adopted. “While some of these are heart-wrenching, they do a great job of getting awareness out there on some difficult topics. Pulling at the heartstrings is a great way to help people understand the importance of many of these animal welfare related issues” (Caren, 2018) Waggle crowdfunding for pets clarifies that it is hard to go wrong with providing as more information about the animal as possible. “You should also try to find that "hook" for each dog that will grab a reader's attention. For instance, if a dog came into your shelter from an abusive or neglectful home and seems starved for affection, you might say, "Until Shadow came to our shelter, he had never known a kind word or the touch of a loving human." (Morrison, 2019) The detailed description will help the animal find their forever home faster. It will let the potential owners see something very specific about their future pet, but it will also let the particular dog/cat/guinea pig stand out.
The Importance of a Proper Website
Having a well-developed website provides many benefits for a nonprofit organization, since considering there are low funds, and efficient ways to advertise using social media. According to the Missionbox staff in their Why Social Media Matters to Nonprofits article they stay, “Done well, social media messages can help you engage supporters, capturing and retaining their attention. Social media can also increase awareness of your organization or brand, which may support fundraising efforts”. The staff emphasizes the importance of having a well-developed website for your nonprofit because the organization is based on the community.
In conjunction to what the staff at Missionbox writes in their article, Chris Danks states, “Some are more crucial than others, sure, but that’s not to say the subtle details should be ignored. In fact, it’s those minor factors which we break down below that can define your success, as you capitalize on them, whilst others overlook and dismiss them”. Having done extensive research Chris Danks has come to the same conclusion that when creating a website it is important to have the very basics down to perfection, so that way the organization is able to build off the basics to develop a well informative website. Having a website for a nonprofit is one of the best ways to socially network for an organization with a low budget, but the website must be able to state the nonprofit’s goal and how it is to be reached along with intriguing the reader, which can be done correctly when following the giving tips and ideas by Chris Danks and the Missionbox staff. Agreeing with the Staff of Mission box, Danks states websites are an effective tool to pull in consumers to boost business especially for nonprofit organizations, but when doing so it is important to know what you are doing and the outcome and how it affects your organization.
Relationship between management and Non- profits
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The literature suggested that Non-profit organizations might be difficult to run but they are successful when the management style works well. Experts have studied and found that non-profit management benefits in the long run when the needs and visions of each aspect of the organization are met. "While the project undeniably has its setbacks and limitations, overall benefits are evident for all stakeholders" (MacKrell, 2016). MacKrell's study focuses a lot on the synergy between the environment and the non- profit organization. Helmig's study goes hand in hand with the MacKrell's main focus. Both authors main idea is about the work relationship between the organization and how well it is handled to become successful. "This interdisciplinary aspect of NPO research is a reflection of the distinctive nature of NPOs, the complexity of their operations and their relationships with their environment, the difficulties of defining the boundaries of NPO activity and determining, categorically, what is and what is not an NPO" (Helmig, 2004). When all aspects of a non- profit organization work well together, the organization has a greater chance of thriving than if only one aspect of the organization has more focus and is not balanced.
Starting Up a Local Animal Rescue The Right Way
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You don't have to be an enterpreneur to start up your own local animal rescue. "There are lots of animals in need and a limited number of ready and willing rescuers, which means your efforts will be much appreciated." ( Myerson, 2019) By realizing your passion for helping those animals in need creates a better living environment for those pets who need daily care. But you have to be wanting these pets to have the best life possible. "A few bad rescues that are unregulated can give all rescues and fosters a bad reputation." (Pariser, 2014) By practicing a safe and reliable business, customers are more likely to be attractive to your local pet rescue business than for others. According to
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Conclusion
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Our research has documented the complexity of the tasks the non-profit organization with a single person in the management faces. We talk about the necessity of delegation, and about working smarter, not harder. The key findings of our research focus on optimizing the work of the rescue to make the life of an owner easier. With the help of the right people, with shifting gears to make things more automated, this task becomes achievable.