All nonprofits have one essential product: a changed human being.
—Peter F. Drucker

Many people are surprised to find out that for thirty-five years I have been working with nonprofit institutions—hospitals, schools, charitable organizations. They ask, "What do you do for them? Advise them on fund-raising?"

I reply, "No, I don't know a thing about fund-raising. I teach them management."

Thirty years ago, many nonprofits were contemptuous not only of the word management but even of the concept. They said, "We don't need management. We don't have a bottom line." But now they all know that nonprofits need better management precisely because they don't have the discipline of the conventional bottom line to measure effectiveness.

Better management for nonprofits, such as churches, begins with several keys.

Clarify your aim

Although nonprofits don't have a conventional bottom line, they do need to know their aim. All nonprofits have one essential product: a changed human being. This is a different ...