Washington Nonprofit Conference Roundup: Running Your Nonprofit Like a Business

Here, a few notes on the new look of business rules, presented by Tom Gaffny, principal at Tom Gaffny Consulting, and Mary Beth McIntyre, president of Win-Win Giving, in the session "Running Your Nonprofit Like a Business" at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2010 Washington Nonprofit Conference.

Old Rules — 1990s

• Big dogs own the street
• Be No. 1 or No. 2 in your market
• Shareholders rule
• Be lean and mean
• Rank your players; go with the A’s
• Hire a charismatic CEO
• Admire my might

New Rules (a bit more NFP)

• Agile is best; being big can bite you
• Find a niche; create something new
• The customer is king
• Look out, not in
• Hire passionate people
• Hire a courageous CEO
• Admire my soul