Challenges
The non-profit industry is vital in providing services that improve individuals’ lives. The firms deploy volunteer activities and awareness campaigns to build a stronger society. Regardless of their enormous role in the country, they face numerous challenges. A critical example of an organization in this sector is the American Red Cross. A significant challenge likely to face the industry is a diminishing donor base. Cabral et al. (2019) affirm that the industry depends on donations to fund its operations. Several organizations, like the American Red Cross, will likely reduce their capacity to raise revenue, limiting the various operations’ efficacy.
The chief rationale for this challenge is the aging donor base, which is the organization’s largest and most consistent donor. The firm will likely need to be more expansive in replacing this base with younger generations who may need similar disposable income. In addition, public perception will likely affect the organization’s capacity to raise revenue in the future. In the past, the media has portrayed financial inaccuracies in the firm whereby the administration messed around with huge amounts meant for charitable causes. This occurrence has made multiple donors reevaluate their support for the organization (Schetgen et al., 2021). As a result, this problem will likely extend the impact of the diminishing donor base.
Another significant challenge involves limited resources. One of the contributing factors entails increased rates of unpredictable disasters. The firm depends on relief programs to respond to emergencies. The increased rates of unpredictable disasters in the future will likely affect the organization’s capacity to respond to individuals’ needs during emergencies. In addition, the limited resources may affect the utilization of technological advancements in the organization in the future. The net effect is increased strain on the existing systems, which limits the efficacy of the provision of services. The failure to upgrade the systems due to insufficient resources affects the organization’s ability to deal with emerging challenges in the coming future.
Finally, the sector will likely experience the future challenge of cyber security concerns. The industry’s reliance on modern technology is likely to subject it to modern cyber-attacks in the future. The growth of malicious activities is likely to extend to organizations in this sector, affecting their provision of services. Organizations like the Red Cross handle large amounts of data prone to attacks. Therefore, the firm must implement effective strategies to detect and respond to potential data breaches. Robust cyber security measures will help the organization curb emerging threats that may jeopardize organizational data and operations (Kshetri, 2017). Nevertheless, limited funding may affect the quality implementation of these remedies.
Opportunities for the Organization
Given the challenge, there are numerous opportunities for the organization. For instance, the organization will likely leverage technology and social media presence. This opportunity is essential for the firm to connect with potential donors. Besides, this measure increases the avenues for fostering transparency with donors, especially in redeeming the public perceptive following the alleged misuse of funds by the administration. In addition, the organization will identify technological opportunities, primarily in improved resource utilization (Maddikunta et al., 2022). This aspect is essential, especially in curbing the potential challenge of reduced donations due to the changing dynamics of the donors in the future. Optimizing the various services will enable the organization its efficacy in relief efforts.
Another significant opportunity involves advancing emergency preparedness plans. The organization will identify opportunities when faced with increased uncertainties for disasters. This aspect will lead to quality frameworks that improve the organization’s response to emerging challenges and disaster scenarios. The emergency preparedness plans will incorporate numerous elements based on the opportunities identified while dealing with the various challenges. One of the significant merits entails increasing the firm’s capacity to predict potential anomalies, which fosters quality preparation (Luna & Pennock, 2018). This benefit extends to reducing the duration of the recovery times, which is vital in boosting the public’s confidence in the organization. This opportunity enables the firm to improve its coordination during a crisis.
Another opportunity for the organization when faced with the challenge involves innovating fundraising initiatives. The organization is likely to need help in funding its various operations. Therefore, the administration will likely identify an opportunity to diversify the fundraising initiatives to increase incomes to support the various operations. Chief merit involves appealing to new donors and identifying improved approaches to maintain their support. The main opportunity is deploying innovative strategies that will lead to the development of alternative revenue streams. For instance, the organization may deploy data-driven approaches and analytics to reach the intended demographics.
Recommendations for Meeting the Challenge
The organization may enact several measures to foster its capacity to address the challenges. One of the significant preparations involves diversifying the outreach strategy. For instance, Red Cross may deploy digital platforms which offer an appropriate opportunity to attract the attention of larger audiences. The diversification may lead to other avenues like crowdfunding which is essential in enabling the organization to reach a wider pool of donors. A critical recommendation entails building relationships and connections, which are paramount in retaining existing donors and attracting new ones. Besides, the firm may tailor their approaches to provide an individualized experience. These remedies are crucial in addressing the challenge of diminishing donor base.
Another significant recommendation involves increasing partnerships. This remedy is essential in enabling the organization to address the potential challenge of limited resources in the future. The collaborative efforts, particularly with companies and entities in other sectors, is crucial in increasing its pool of potential donors. Besides, the partnership creates avenues for acquiring additional resources to run the various operations. Increasing the business networks is crucial in reaching new companies willing to donate money, services, or products to support the various operations (Luna & Pennock, 2018). One of the significant benefits of this remedy entails increasing opportunities for improving resource utilization, especially during partnerships with other non-governmental organizations. For instance, the two entities may share their expertise and resources when responding to emergencies and other societal needs.
Moreover, strengthening relationships with the media to increase public awareness and support is also a critical recommendation for meeting the challenge of limited resources. Public awareness affects the organization’s ability to raise adequate capital to support its operations. Therefore, the organization may deploy various media platforms to create awareness and enhance attention toward its mission activities. A critical approach entails incorporating inspiring stories that enhance the emotional connection to the public and encourage people to donate and volunteer for various initiatives. In addition, the media provide numerous opportunities for the organization to tailor their approaches for the various audiences essential in attracting younger generations and more people to engage in the activities.
Finally, the organization continues to deal with large amounts of data, especially due to engagement in the various initiatives and populations. This aspect increases the attention to data breaches. Thus, the firm needs to deploy numerous measures to curb this challenge likely to occur in the future. One of the crucial recommendations involves educating current and new staff about best practices for cyber security (Kshetri, 2017). Extensive training and education are essential in fostering compliance with the various regulations to avoid data breaches. Besides, the management should provide adequate information regarding the consequences of particular inaccuracies linked to cyber security.
Initial Action Steps
The organization may need to enact several steps to foster its positioning to meet the challenges. The first step will involve analyzing the current environment, which is critical in identifying trends and the potentiality of the risks. Gunasekaran et al. (2017) acknowledge the essence of this step in enabling a firm to prioritize its strategies which is pivotal in promoting the effective utilization of resources. The second step will be developing a risk management system to evaluate the current resources, structures, and processes’ capacity to address the challenges. The next step will entail establishing a comprehensive strategy that incorporates plans for eradicating these challenges and positioning the firm to better deal with them if they occur. Another initial step will involve empowering the employees to act by educating them on recognizing potential risks and handling particular situations.
Conclusion
In retrospect to the industry’s challenges, the essay provides quality insights regarding the impact of these limitations on the organization’s capacity to meet its objectives and incorporates extensive recommendations for positioning it to meet the obstacles. The paper identifies diminishing donor base and limited resources as major challenges affecting Red Cross as an organization within the non-profit industry. The various obstacles grant this organization opportunities to advance its operations and processes to foster its capacity to meet its objectives. The essay concludes with multiple remedies for positioning the organization to better deal with these challenges and others likely to appear in the coming future. The initial step will involve identifying inaccuracies and developing a risk management system essential to forming a quality response strategy.
References
Cabral, S., Mahoney, J. T., McGahan, A. M., & Potoski, M. (2019). Value creation and value appropriation in public and non-profit organizations. Strategic Management Journal, 40(4), 465-475.
Gunasekaran, A., Papadopoulos, T., Dubey, R., Wamba, S. F., Childe, S. J., Hazen, B., & Akter, S. (2017). Big data and predictive analytics for supply chain and organizational performance. Journal of Business Research, 70, 308-317.
Kshetri, N. (2017). Blockchain’s roles in strengthening cybersecurity and protecting privacy. Telecommunications Policy, 41(10), 1027-1038.
Luna, S., & Pennock, M. J. (2018). Social media applications and emergency management: A literature review and research agenda. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 28, 565-577.
Maddikunta, P. K. R., Pham, Q. V., Prabadevi, B., Deepa, N., Dev, K., Gadekallu, T. R., … & Liyanage, M. (2022). Industry 5.0: A survey on enabling technologies and potential applications. Journal of Industrial Information Integration, 26, 100257.
Schetgen, L., Bogaert, M., & Van den Poel, D. (2021). Predicting donation behavior: Acquisition modeling in the non-profit sector using Facebook data. Decision Support Systems, 141, 113446.
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