The More The Need The Less The Means
Catch-22
So you wondering what a book from 1961 has to do with economics and not-for-profits. Fair enough.
Joseph Heller’s 1961 literary classic revolves around the concept of circular logic built mutually exclusive desirable outcomes.
In the Case of the Not-For-Profit:
The worse the economy gets the more the most vulnerable of our clients need us. The more they need us the more resources we need to serve them.
The worse the economy gets the fewer resources our traditional financial supporters have available. The less supporters have they less they support our efforts.
So the more the most vulnerable need, the fewer resources we have to meet those needs.
The Conundrum
If our resources are less, then do we provide less to those who need more or do we try to do more with less?
I contend that it is our responsibility, our duty, to do more with less!
The Pressure
Many of the institutions we do business with have not yet come to grips with the reality of our conundrum.
The Decision
Help or Hinder?