The Nonprofit Paradox: From the Stanford Social Innovation Review

By Vanessa Horwell

In a brilliant article from the Stanford Social Innovation Review, nonprofit consultant and writer David La Piana examines what he calls “The Nonprofit Paradox,” a process whereby nonprofits tend to recreate within their own organizational cultures the problems they are trying to solve in society.

We first came across this nonprofit paradox phenomenon when working with an organization whose mission was to bring classical music to the masses. Only its board and management were so focused on promoting its executive director rather than its mission, that the nonprofit struggled deeply in defining its purpose, and messaging. Infighting and poor management plagued the nonprofit, making it very difficult for us (and other outside consultants) to make any impact or implement positive change. It was definitely a learning curve and eye-opener for us.

La Piana argues that the nonprofit paradox is so common that when he doesn’t find it, he is surprised. And because he knows of no research on this dynamic, he can only hypothesize where it comes from and suggest ways that nonprofits can deal with their own paradoxes

You can read the full article at Stanford Social Innovation Review.

Are you a nonprofit executive, board member volunteer or employee? Does your organization suffer from the nonprofit paradox?

We would love to hear your thoughts and views on this little talked about but very important topic.