Building Stronger Nonprofits in Idaho: The Three-Year Journey of Idaho Partners for Good

What did you expect to see after three years of doing the business of capacity building with Idaho nonprofit systems leaders?

First off, is there really a need for Idaho Partners for Good’s approach to nonprofit organizational health? Yes! We have nonprofit leaders and board members reach out regularly to ask for help, resources and support. These organizations might range in staff and budget size, issue area, demographics, services, and impact but one thing remains constant… they all have the courage to seek help to shore up gaps in their operations and infrastructure. This is very encouraging and should lead donors to the conclusion that if they help support infrastructure (overhead) with their funds, their investments will have a much greater impact. Note: we have a framework to help guide you if you'd like to make a bigger impact.

We’ve all heard the horror stories in the media of the bookkeeper embezzling funds, executive directors who make exorbitant salaries off the generosity of donors, and the inability to hire high-quality candidates to work in this sector. While it’s a reality for a small percentage of our nonprofits, the majority of Idaho nonprofit leaders do what they do because they love their community and are committed to making a difference. Let’s come alongside and provide the kind of time, talent, and treasure that helps them meet their mission.

In a nutshell, here’s what Idaho Partners for Good does; we give better (time+talent+treasure) so nonprofits get better. This is what we are known for and a message that is starting to resonate with people who want to impact their community from a systems level. If you are drawn to this too, we invite you to check us out. A great place to learn is at our upcoming 3rd Anniversary Meetup at Lost Grove Brewing.

What has happened in 3 years? One of the big lessons that we have embraced: limitations drive innovation. We haven’t been blessed with an abundance of treasure but the time and talent invested in this movement has driven us to innovate over and over again throughout the organization. We’ve taken what we’ve learned and continue to iterate to find ways to better support our ‘why” (Simon Sinek) --stronger, healthier, better-equipped nonprofits who do more of what they do best. We can’t allow ourselves to follow the path of least resistance and we push ourselves and the nonprofits we work with to continually find ways to step out of their comfort zone and into the space where magic happens, i.e. the learning zone.

Strategic leaders continue to join this effort and because of our social enterprise (Impact Team) we aren’t beholden to anyone, so we can take risks and try stuff to continually learn. Our crew is an amazing group of people from all walks of life, ages, stages, professions, and experiences. They have helped design our infrastructure to go the distance while supporting others in the nonprofit sector. This is truly the more excellent path forward. There are way too many examples of what doesn’t work, including relying on grant funds as your main source of revenue. It’s a mistake too many nonprofits make that results in a ‘flash in the pan’ which affects everyone else

Could we use more funding? Yes, AND… we want to stay hungry and in a place where our values of continual learning, entrepreneurial mindsets, and designing with the end user continue to take center stage in all we do.