4 Things Every Nonprofit Needs

1. A theory of change
Nonprofit organizations exist to meet some sort of social need. Unlike for-profit organizations, nonprofits can't simply use their financial bottom line as a barometer of success. Rather, a nonprofit must articulate what it exists to do.

A theory of change, or logic model, allows a nonprofit to state (to internal board and staff, and to external funders, volunteers, supporters) how it takes community resources and turn them into social change. Without a theory of change, a nonprofit cannot persuade anyone to be part of it work, let alone measure whether that work is actually resulting in anything.