Forces for Good

December 15, 2007
Crutchfield and Grant, cofounders of "Who Cares?", a national quarterly journal devoted to community service and social activism, have put together a workable list of the six best practices for nonprofits based on a thorough study of 12 high-impact organizations, from Habitat for Humanity to the National Council of La Raza. The practices they advocate are fairly straightforward (e.g., "inspire evangelists"), if a little short on specific implementations, but the book's real strength is how well it translates business practices and philosophies to the nonprofit sector, in particular by shifting the focus from competition to collaboration. The work suffers a little from a surfeit of jargon, but it's a decent read with sound ideas. Every organization can take something from it, but if your nonprofit isn't on the road to national attention, don't expect to pick up more than a couple of ideas. Recommended for larger business and leadership collections.Brian Walton, Tampa-Hillsborough P.L., FL

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2007
Crutchfield and Grant, longtime participants in the nonprofit sector, analyze the most successful nonprofits of our era to answer the question, What makes great nonprofits great? Through extensive surveys and interviews, the authors develop six practices common to high-impact nonprofits: offering advocacyefforts and service, harnessing market forces and leveraging the power and resources of business, engaging individuals from outside the organization, working with and through other organizations, learning to adapt, and sharing leadership by empowering others. We learn that nonprofits become increasingly influential as they adopt more and more of the authors practices, and the book offers step-by-step guidance for improving impact. In addition to perfecting the internal capacity to deliver programs, a nonprofit must focus upon efforts external to its operation. The authors conclude, To win at the social change game, its not about being the biggest or the fastest or even the best-managed nonprofit. The most powerful, influential and strategic organizations leverage and transform others to become forces for good.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)