Nonprofit management principles and practices

Nonprofit Management

NOT FOR PROFIT Management

The organization chosen for this current study is the Family Christian Association of America, located in Miami, Florida. This organization has managed to utilize the espoused theory in a positive way. Often organizations will state that they will do or are doing a specific task that in fact is not being completed under the necessary specifications of the organization. The FCAA website (http://www.fcaafamily.org/about.shtml) supports and affirms that this is a nonprofit organization that stands by their word and has proof of what is occurring as well as what they have to offer. The mission and vision of FCAA is clear and concise, along with the support of links, photos etc. that show how funds are being used and what services are being offered to the community serviced. The nonprofit in question manages to portray their core values in the work they do for the community. Family Christian Association of America's core values include caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.

In fact it is obvious through the available information given on the FCAA website, that this nonprofit has developed and continued to have success because they have shown that what they say they back up and prove. FCAA has an emphasis on Christian values, strong families and self-determination. By maintaining strong ties with the community that they serve and actually being held accountable for their actions and providing viable resources to the surrounding community has aided in the continual growth of the organization as well as giving necessary feedback for continued success.

The main aspect that makes FCAA similar to a for-profit organization is the similarities in pay structure and benefits provided to people employed through the nonprofit. With any business structure there will have to be a group of people that are provided with a salary for their services in order to provide a service or resource. Another commonality includes that fact that the FCAA has paid for advertising, phone service etc. just like its for-profit counterparts. In fact it is easy to see that a nonprofit and for-profit are rather similar in most aspect of business, the only difference is that the for-profit is selling a product or service in exchange for the revenue that the organization has; in contrast the nonprofit is not selling a service or product.

FCAA continues to exist due to the strong roots that it has created in Miami with the community and other affiliates. This nonprofit organization has been in existence since the 1980's and along the way the nonprofit has been able to build a relationship with the people that they serve not only with programs and services, but also by events and training to learn the best way to serve the targeted community. The same community that they serve has also contributed a substantial amount of the revenue that flows through the nonprofit to aid in paying salaries, advertisement, various initiatives etc. One of the main requirements of a nonprofit organization that has 501c3 status ("Private Foundations," 2009) is associated with the population that the organization is serving and the federal guidelines that are mandated. The organization is also able to continue to run and operate because of the affiliations that they have made with other organizations. These organizations usually have their own specifications that allow nonprofits to continue to receive or apply for support i.e. The organization must have a 501c3 status or help a particular population and provide certain services etc.

FCAA should continue to benefit from preferential tax treatment at the federal, state, and local level because they are doing everything that they have stated through their mission statement. They continue to provide visible proof that they are doing all of the things that they the nonprofit reports that they are accomplishing i.e. sports teams, after school programs, leadership training etc. Only if the organization was not providing the services that they are suppose to provide to the population they are serving should they not be allowed to continue to receive any tax benefits.

Current funding sources for FCAA are broken into the following categories: per the 990 IRS Form (Form 990 OMB No 1545-0047, 2009) for the years 2008 and 2007 show that the majority of revenue comes in the form of donations and grants, second is the revenue earned through services rendered, lastly would be the revenue obtained through investment income.

Through the information provided in the form 990, it is evident that one thing that the FCAA would have to do is continue to obtain the grants and contributions that they have been receiving for the past several years to continue to do business under the same standards that they have been able to at this point. However it is difficult to insure the contributions and grants will be the exact same amount from year to year. A small fraction of the revenue is provided from services rendered; this is a portion of the revenue that would be easier to project from year to year if the population or members as termed by the FCAA are consistent. The last source of revenue is that from investments, this is residual and can be considered most consistent out of all three sources available to FCAA.