Walking the Tight Rope
The CSR case for asking about non-profit risk management
Jul 7, 2017 9:05 AM ET
Campaign:
CR Magazine: May/June 2017 Issue
By Ted Bilich
Non-profits often don’t have processes for inquiring about the risks they face, prioritizing those risks, and how to responding to them. For most, risk management begins and ends with insurance, their only safety net.
This leaves non-profits exposed. Because they do not have significant cash reserves, because demand for services routinely outstrips capacity, and because they perceive donors as penalizing them for spending money on “infrastructure” (including training, management, and staff development), non-profits already resemble tight rope walkers on a windy night. And having no risk management program, however, means most non-profits wear blindfolds too.
