Hybrid Organizations Need More Study

An interesting piece from the HBR on Hybrids. I particularly like the fact that the authors noted the risk of mission drift.

In dealing with customers and beneficiaries, hybrids face difficult tradeoffs in determining the best ways to price goods. Often there is a mismatch between the people who would most benefit from the product or service and those who are able to pay. Hybrids thus risk mission drift, as they may over time start targeting wealthier and more profitable market segments.

Read the article.

Frumkin part two

A little while ago I posted a supplementary article about Frumkin's Diamond. Recently, a student wondered if Frumkin's Diamond related to other aspects of a development office or was more exclusive to the fundraiser-donor relationship. The answer is simple - the Diamond has a major impact on the development office as it requires a high-level of donor stewardship.

If, for example, a donor makes a gift using a blend of positivistic and normative measures, and those measures were supplied in part or in whole by your development office, then it falls to your organization to ensure that some sort of follow-up occurs to demonstrate impact and effectiveness. You and your stewardship staff (assuming you are lucky enough to have stewardship staff) need to not simply document who or what was impacted by the gift, but you need to demonstrate what effect the gift had. Presenting that information in an unbiased and honest way allows the fundraiser and organization to maintain a close relationship with the donor, and if the numbers are good, provides a good chance of future gifts.

Remember, though, that this level of stewardship requires a great deal of time and energy. Smaller, less well-resourced NPO's, need to be cautious that they don't over-promise or neglect other donors.