In the last few weeks there have been a couple of interesting articles (article 1, article 2) on how the NFP sector is either not taking advantage of certain types of investments or is not maximising its investment assets.  The latter we definitely agree with!  The facts speak for themselves, as I pointed out in my last blog. 

So why is the charity sector not up to speed on this? 

Well you could argue that over the past 10 or 12 years, before the recession kicked off in 2008, maximising resources was all a bit unnecessary, as money was flowing in, in some cases faster than we knew how to use it! Income streams were healthy and no one was thinking about what could be done to increase and maximise the sector’s potential during the good times. 

Had we thought ahead the impact that is now being felt by the sector could have been lessened. Hindsight’s a great thing isn’t it? Hmm…

Or you could take the view that it is really important just now for the sector to act conservatively to safeguard what funds there are for future use. Hmm…

Or alternatively it could be that in general the sector just “doesn’t work this way” and that its approach is to keep it simple.  Hmm…

Our view is that the sector is missing out on many opportunities because of all of the above. 

Unfortunately for a number of organisations standing still with a head-in-the-sand approach is no longer an option.  Progress is needed, and in some cases rapidly!  However, when those same organisations are struggling to meet the day to day demands when on earth do they have time to do this? (The third sector in this regard is unlike the SME sector, which frequently has the resources to employ corporate finance advisory teams.)

But there is also another consideration, and that is that the sector is not at all well served by qualified and experienced professionals able to support organisations to raise finance, maximise their assets and ensure that their investments are working hard for them. 

Why is this? Well, the reason is the same for both this and other sectors - short sight. 

So perhaps a lesson to be learned from these recent articles is that the third sector needs now to exercise some foresight.  To look further afield and ahead, not only in terms of the professionals currently serving it, but also in the way that it is being served. 

The need for more creative, specialised and professional approaches to funding, investment and collaboration is going to be absolutely critical for our sector to continue to thrive.

Oh… and if you’d like to see more clearly, we offer a very effective spectacle cleaning service!!