![]() Sometime after that long-ago day at hospice training, Andy Robinson gathered with a group of experts at a conference for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management. Of course, there’s a critical distinction between – on the one hand – those organizations for which shutting down is not inevitable but may be a good idea to consider and – on the other hand – those groups which, objectively, have little chance of survival. “…ust thinking about closing can be freeing: a chance to re-think” the organization and how best to redeploy the available “human and other resources.” Of course, that kind of intense evaluation may not necessarily turn things around: “… when an organization becomes a heavy burden for staff, the board, and volunteers, it’s time to look at options.” Sometimes, though, she explains, circumstances including “a lack of money or energy” force the question. In Thinking the Unthinkable: Maybe We Should Shut Down (September 15, 2008), Jan Masaoka (long-time nonprofit expert who later became the head of the California Association of Nonprofits) acknowledges that “for many nonprofit boards,” the mission and work of the organization is so important that it’s hard to view shuttering the group as anything other than “the ultimate disaster.” ![]() Or maybe it’s the can-do, all-American, competitive spirit that makes us view the end of an organization as a “failure” to be averted at all costs. Perhaps it’s because most nonprofits are set up as corporations which generally go on … well, … forever. ![]() Nonprofit Lifespanįew charity boards ever think about closing up shop as a viable option for a severely ailing organization. In Hospice Care for Nonprofits: Diagnosis and Treatment (June 28, 2019), he explains that it had never before occurred to him that the hospice analogy might be a useful tool to diagnose when a nonprofit might have to shut down – or at least be well advised to consider it. It suddenly struck him that he had recognized similar dire signs and symptoms in some of the organizations he had worked with over the years. In that setting, there are standardized guidelines and checklists to evaluate when it’s the right time for a patient’s family to help him or her make an orderly exit from life. He trained for a day as a volunteer for a local hospice. Some time ago, Andy Robinson, an experienced nonprofit consultant and author, attended a 501(c)(3) event that gave him a perspective different from his usual expert perch.
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