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There are more than 1.7 million nonprofit organizations across the country. But that number includes everything from public organizations to private charities to your city’s Little League team, as long as it has tax-exempt status. It’s a crowded field, and nonprofits are tackling a wide range of issues — from chemicals and forever data privacy to mental health in the workplace and medical debt.
So how can a nonprofit stand out and, more importantly, succeed? For many, success means achieving the greatest possible impact on a desired audience. In order to do this, a nonprofit must have clarity about its purpose and mission.
To Robert Ashcraft, CEO of Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University, the guiding principle for the nonprofit relates to what Frances Hesselbein, former CEO of the Girl Scouts, said. Hesselbein, who died in 2022, was considered a thought leader in the nonprofit field, describing her organization as “mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven.” These parameters are key for any nonprofit — and they’re a common thread in Fast Company’s list of the Most Innovative Nonprofits of 2024.
Take USAFacts, which aims to make government data available. that it America in the Facts 2023: A data-driven report for Congress It did just that, exposing data from more than 100 government sources. Or Consumer Reports, which you want?A fair and just market for everyone— which enabled people to protect their private data from companies with a simple app. “There’s no hype,” says Ashcraft. “It’s a pretty straightforward mission.”
When it comes to values, consider the United Auto Workers, a labor union that made big gains after historic strikes against the Big Three automakers — and which has more plans to fight for workers. “It’s very clear, the value proposition of employee empowerment and equal opportunity in terms of the economy and workforce companies,” Ashcraft adds.
What about demographic factors? This does not necessarily mean being hyper-local, although it may be so, as is the case with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which uses green spaces to give tangible benefits to residents in the greater Philadelphia area. Nonprofits can be driven by demographic factors even when they work around the world, such as the Global Mosquito Program, which prevents mosquito-borne diseases by breeding insects that prevent diseases.
Another thing that connects the wide range of nonprofits on the Most Innovative Companies list has to do with how clearly they measure results, Ashcraft says. “Some might say: ‘Well, that’s not innovation, that’s just the way it’s done.’ But for some, it’s actually innovative how they measure results, how those results influence decision-making, and how they amplify a mission-focused, values-based, demographics-driven approach to achieving their purpose.
The nonprofit industry “covers every imaginable topic, every purpose, and every way people want to organize around the things they care about,” says Ashcraft. Achieving success in this bustling sector, not just surviving, requires innovation – about their mission and how they do it. For some, he adds, innovation begins with “how bold and audacious their goals are” (see the San Diego Zoo’s Wildlife Alliance work on conservation through cloning, for example).
Nonprofits face unique challenges, of course, such as how to pay their bills when they are not motivated by profit, even when expenses increase. But overcoming these challenges again comes down to mission, values, demographics, and measuring results. “Why are you here? What is your purpose? What values do you propound?” “Then when you start doing things like measuring outcomes,” says Ashcraft, “how do you know when you’ve reached the promised land?”
Explore Fast Company’s complete 2024 list of Most Innovative Companies, featuring 606 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies with the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, AI, design, sustainability, and more.
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