Managing the External EnvironmentEssay Preview: Managing the External EnvironmentReport this essayManaging the External EnvironmentThe leaders of nonprofits organizations should anticipate the future events that may or may not affect the organization in order to achieve its mission and secure its continuity. A strong leadership can make the difference between success and failure in implementing programs and services. “A strategic nonprofit organization recruits members based on a careful needs assessment and attention to building a diverse membership with common dedication to mission” (Susie Brown, p.1). Nowadays, external environment influences and affects nonprofits and change constantly that is why Nonprofits should establish a plan to satisfactory encounters them. A nonprofit should constantly analyze the trends in their external environment such as funding, competitors, community need, etc. and effectively adapt to those trends in order to survive.
Advocacy and lobbying are crucial keys for nonprofits organizations in order to achieve sustainable change. Advocacy is an important function of most nonprofit organizations through actions and activities that seek to influence outcomes directly affecting the lives of the people served by the organization. We should differentiate advocacy from lobbying. Advocacy includes different kinds of activities designed to promote a cause or idea while Lobbying refers to specific activities intended to influence legislation. Lobbying always involves advocacy, but advocacy does not always involve lobbying. Therefore, nonprofits should collaborate and contribute to social changes movements; nonprofits have “the unique and essential role to ensuring a fully informed public dialogue” (The Jossey-Bass, p. 350) due to nonprofits have the ability to reach people and influenced them; mainly because they impact people through the delivery of their programs; they can potentially transform their organizations conversation on public policies issues.
The Seattle Day Nursery case study is a great example of how an expertise and well involved and passionate Executive director can drive a failing organization to success and achieve its mission through necessary changes. Pat Gogerty was a visionary on educational programs. He was the first one to establish after school programs and care about the child abuse. He imposed his well-developed and structured initiatives in the benefit of the organizations mission. Its organization board members did not supported him unanimously but he counted with staff the progressively were useful. He focused on deliver protection and care to the children. He had the hard mission to convince the board members through real facts that recognized him and expanded his programs, also the board showed him support adopting a new mission with the goal to cover the new program proposed by him “to break the cycle of child abuse and to reduce the incidence of abuse
;. He taught the children how to understand and respect the people of the city. He was the first to promote a special training program whereby all children would get the benefit of educational and/or social training. Since then, his organization has helped dozens of special education programs through the year for the special needs children and children-exposed communities and that has been an ongoing goal for his organization as well.
Pat’s accomplishments include:1. Reforming and revising the district’s program to provide and encourage safe and well-managed educational for kids-exposed for their physical and emotional development;2. Rewarding and revising the new training program;3. Reinstating a special training program for non-special education students(including those who have been abused).4. Changing the policy of the Special Education Department that provided a special education program to special education children for those children who were affected by the child abuse (and other children whose family members were victims);5. Reducing the need for mandatory testing and increased use of the special education and student education program to support children at the elementary school, college, university and postgraduate level in Seattle to support the needs of our communities.6. Redistributing the funds earned from the funding of his organization grants, to the Special Education Education Community Council of Seattle to provide support for our special education children as well as to the Special Education Educational Association (SEMCA), the Washington DC educational and community advocacy organization responsible for providing services and support for the special education and special education children of Seattle.
“He has taken into consideration all information concerning his role and dedication to helping the child abuse victims. His commitment to the children and to the special education community is well-deserved and well documented. As the chairman of his own Council, he is well versed in all areas of child abuse prevention, investigation, and intervention, his expertise is available to his members in Seattle in providing a unique and unique training system and system to provide programs, supports, and training in all aspects of the special education programs. His dedication to the working and caring of those children is well earned. An outstanding example of what he has been able to accomplish, is to ensure that the special education system of Seattle succeeds in its mission goals. “
Pat Gogerty joined the Seattle City Council earlier this year to become the first officer of Seattle City Council. He was appointed by Mayor Ed Murray for 4 years. He helped elect the new Council Member for Prince William County during his time as council president.Pat was instrumental in making Seattle a great place to live and work. He has the courage to go from the high school and junior high levels. We are also fortunate to have him to be a part of the growing coalition of activists across the country and across the world to take action and to push home when the world feels we are losing a child. His leadership skills and ability to engage and learn are inspiring. “She is an outstanding member of the council. While she had a reputation for her leadership skills as a community education specialist for about 8 years she was never a candidate for office and, as a registered lobbyist, never had any experience with community advocacy or special education. She has held elected roles in the Seattle City Council, Council of the North Shore, the Washington DC Special Education district, and other special education localities. She continues to educate, serve, and serve in the community. “
Pat is a proud Seattle citizen and the father and grandfather of 5 children. His leadership style and ability to learn and lead have made him a strong leader on the local, state and national level.
In fact, he began his career as the father of a few children who started at the elementary school and attended other Special Education programs before becoming a registered lobbyist as a child