The Importance of Your Reputation

How important is an organization’s reputation in today’s competitive marketplace? It is not an exact science but it is incessantly important and there is no denying it. An organization’s reputation is everything. It is fundamental to every fabric of an organization’s ability to be successful. It is crucial to recruiting board members, raising money and delivering services; once your reputation is tainted, it is very hard to recover.

So the question becomes, “how do you protect your reputation?” Here are some key principles I believe are valuable and will give you something to reflect on.

• Mission first. No matter what you do, always have the mission of the organization at the forefront of every decision. Ask yourself the question, “how does this affect the mission?”
• Be transparent. You should be an open book and be willing to share information, including financial information freely
• Communicate the good work you are doing. Other people will benefit from the knowledge of your work and gain a positive impression because of it.
• Build strong ambassadors. You can’t do it alone. Whether it is a board member or other volunteers, your network will expand and your reputation will improve because others are also singing your praises to the community.
• Listen to your clients. It helps fulfill your goals by incorporating certain expectations and suggestions that clients have of you. They are your most important stakeholders.
• Learn from your mistakes. We all make them and we can all do a better job because we have learned a valuable lesson from them.
• Be passionate. If you don’t show enthusiasm, how can anyone else get enthused?
• Be honest and forthright. There is no better way to protect your reputation than truth and honesty.
• Quality is essential. Whether it is a letter, a brochure, a presentation, a newsletter or something else, the quality must always be exemplary.
• Look and act professional. People associate you with the organization you represent. How you look and what you say is paramount to your organization’s reputation.
• Be respectful and patient. No matter how stressed and overwhelmed you are, take the time to engage others in conversations and discussions. Be open to dialogue and never be in too big of a hurry to talk or share.

Organizational success is harder to find today than ever before. There are a lot of reasons for today’s level of parody. It is our work environment, competition, economy and a saturated market that can significantly impact nonprofit organizations. A competitive advantage can be achieved by using some of these simple principles. Your reputation may be your greatest asset. You must protect it and nurture it. Not once in awhile, but every day. If you can do that, then it will add to your success and help bring others along to insure future successes. It may not be a check from a donor but it is just as important.


Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.

Choices for the Poor Are Often Difficult

We all face scarcity. It is the fundamental economic problem of having unlimited wants or needs and limited resources. However, the choices a person or family struggling financially faces are quite different than the average income person or family. And with the current economy and high unemployment rate many more families are now faced with these difficult decisions.

Some people have the luxury of going to a grocery store and purchasing items because they like them. If they want to save some money, they may opt to purchase a generic brand of the item, but they still make the purchase.  A person who lives in poverty faces very different “trade-offs” and often the choices are not easy ones to make. For example, a low-income individual may have to choose between filling a much needed prescription or paying the electric bill. It may be the choice of getting  a meal or going hungry. Maybe they have a part-time job and need to pay for child care to work.  The wage earned to work may not be much more than the cost for a child care provider.

Therefore, low-income families must decide what is most important at that very moment. It is not what they like or desire, but what their current greatest critical need is. If they don’t pay the electric bill then they won’t have heat and lights. If they are fortunate to have a job, how much will child care cost? What about transportation costs and if the only option is public transportation, is it available? If you add into the equation a sick child or other unpredictable expenses then the choices become even more precarious. 

Many times we read about poor people being irresponsible. But I believe that, in many cases, it is not about responsibility but about priorities, and the priorities are driven by financial challenges which require complex decision-making. Choosing between your job, your health, your child’s health, food, medicine or electricity are pretty hard decisions.  I recently met a lady that lost her job and home because two of her children became severely ill at the same time and she had no support system or safety net. She is currently living in a homeless facility in the upstate and trying to get back on her feet. Her circumstances left her with few choices and life as she knew it quickly cascaded out of control. There are thousands of people in the same boat.

As we think about the challenges we have in our own lives, it is important to put those challenges into perspective. Even though we often show empathy to those less fortunate, I am not sure we truly understand their plight. I will never forget the words of the lady in the upstate, “I live by faith and I want to be the best mother I can be, and work hard every day so I can provide for my children and live without depending on others for help.”

Difficult decisions and monumental consequences are a way of life for those living in poverty, day in and day out. Their hopes and aspirations may be no different than ours but their path to getting there is very different. Being mindful of the choices others have to make is part of the learning landscape. If we understand what it might be like to walk in someone else’s shoes, then I think we will be more apt to respect their circumstances a bit more.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Today’s New Reality

As a nonprofit organization, you have been successful for many years. You have raised millions of dollars from an array of sources. You are well respected in the community and are doing wonderful things to help many people in need. Then, in 2008, the recession hits and the game changes. Grant funds from government and private funders begin to dwindle. Individual donors become reluctant to give because their own investment portfolios have suffered and dropped significantly. Your income drops by 50% in a one-year period. The demand for your services increases by 150% due to the recession. This is your new reality.

You are not alone; nonprofits throughout the country are faced with this new reality. It is the start of a tornado of events. First, there is panic. You start calling funders and begging for an exception to the grants process and try to convince them of the urgency of your situation. They are sympathetic but cannot change their processes just for you. You frantically search for other funding sources at the federal and state level.  There are a few options but the timing is not good and the competition fierce. It is a long shot for you. You call current and past donors to convince them of your urgent situation but their resources are limited and they are not much help, if help at all. You meet with big businesses and corporations to try and get support but they too are strapped. This is your new reality.

The fact of the matter is today’s new reality means less money for all. It also means you must operate your nonprofit with maximum efficiency by cutting costs, reducing services, using more volunteers and, if necessary, downsizing your operation. This is not good news but it is the truth. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions for today’s nonprofit leaders. One thing is clear though, business as usual is a recipe for failure. You must be creative, strategic and malleable if you want to survive today. This goes for small and large nonprofits. Better times may lie ahead but you have to get to those better times to be able to benefit from them.

Today’s new reality is not the end of the world. It is seeing the world in another way and figuring out how to utilize your skills and the tools available to you to find better ways to be successful. Anything is possible if you can find your niche and focus your efforts differently. Be willing to try new things and create new relationships. Nonprofit leaders are resilient and they are warriors. Go fight the tough battles of today’s new reality and come back a winner. After all, that is why we are in this business in the first place; to fight for the benefit of others in need, even if we have to reinvent ourselves to get there.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina