Here, we will look at 3 challenges not for profit organisations are facing and how they can be overcome.

1. Property challenges

Charities are allowed to own property, but it is important to realise that any trustees listed on the registry understand they cannot benefit personally from the property. There are challenges relating to buying and disposing of a charitable property. For example, when purchasing a premise, trustees need to be aware of any restrictions which might impact the non-profits use of the property.

To avoid falling into difficulties while acquiring property, it is recommended non profit organisations consult a professional real estate firm with experience in the sector, such as Avison Young. They will be able to advise you throughout every step of the process, as well as help the organisation to find the perfect premises.

2. Lack of resources

Resources are another major challenge not for profit organisations face; particularly in today’s economic climate. However, many charities have discovered the benefits of connecting with similar organisations to pool their resources.

Finding key partnerships is key to running a successful not for profit business. Charities should ask themselves which types of partnerships they can make. Find similar organisations which share the same values and beliefs. The more not for profit organisations you can partner with, the more resources you will be able to pool.

Not for profit organisations can also reach out to local businesses. Today, businesses are focused on becoming greener and doing their part for the community. Therefore, they may be more open to partnering and contributing to local not for profit organisations.

3. Funding

Finally, funding is another key challenge faced in the not for profit sector. As governments continue to seek ways to cut costs, funding has been held back for numerous not for profit organisations. There has also been a substantial increase in the number of not for profit organisations set up. The increased competition for funding has also presented problems, particularly when it comes to attracting new donors.

The above are 3 of the most common challenges faced by not for profit organisations today. In order to ensure they are running a sustainable charity, these organisations need to be aware of the challenges, and come up with an action plan to overcome them. Pooling resources is a great way for charities to reduce costs and continue operating even during the toughest of climates.

Now that CMOs have a seat at the revenue table, there is also pressure to prove ROI. Since the only true measure of ROI is sales, it’s imperative that the marketing and sales leaders are aligned around key objectives and goals to truly prove their contributions to the bottom line. Here Rishi Dave, CMO at Dun & Bradstreet, talks Finance Monthly through the matter.

While sales and marketing teams have made great strides in recent years to better align their outreach to customers, there is still a huge disconnect between the teams and, more importantly, between sales and marketing and the customer. Our recent study showed that, despite increases in new technologies and a proliferation of data and insights, 57% of marketers still find their biggest challenge to be identifying their target customer and the average sales person spends over two hours researching a prospect before making contact. Why are those numbers not improving in lock step with the growth of sales and marketing enablement technologies?

One reason could be the lack of alignment between the sales and marketing departments. And I don’t just mean the age-old disagreement of what’s a good lead and what is considered an opportunity. While those things are important, businesses in this digital world really have to consider aligning around the most foundational element the companies have – and that’s data.

Especially in an environment like Fintech, where we’re dealing with a vast, untapped or underserved community of small businesses, it’s crucial that marketing and sales are aligned on the definition of the B2B prospect – who are our best customers, and where will we find more of them. It’s not just a lead list of businesses and locations: it’s crucial to understand the key factors that will drive a positive sales and marketing engagement, and increase the chance of sales conversion. Factors such as:

• Target profile (age, size, line of business);
• Risk / credit worthiness;
• Changes in behavior (growth, decline, event triggers, etc.);
• Business family relationships.

In the best of circumstances, using analytics, existing customer profiles based on known behaviour, and unknown behaviour from alternative data sources, all brought together to the business entity level, can be used to create advanced marketing models that will target best prospects with precision.

Businesses can also ensure alignment by implementing a master data strategy across the organisation. This may sound daunting, but all it really means is making sure the data you have is structured, cleansed and connected across the company so that insights can be surfaced to the right people at the right time in order to make better business decisions. And, you can start easily by cleaning one app, like CRM, and growing from there.

With a connected view of all customers and prospects, sales and marketing teams are able to make better holistic decisions about each account- decisions which can lead to revenue growth – the ultimate proof of ROI.