If you want your NFP to be able to reach its goals and achieve its core mission, it’s important that you work to develop a strong organisational culture. When you have a well-defined culture, it acts as a way to get everyone in your organisation on the same page. This means that everyone on your team is united by sharing your NFP’s values, and goals. When your culture is a positive, philanthropic one, your team feels motivated by a strong sense of purpose and feels that their work is part of a larger, more meaningful goal.

The following are a few tips to help you transform your nonprofit’s culture into a more inspiring one.

Define Your Values and Your Mission

If you recruit supporters that share your values and mission, it is first important to define just what you and your organisation believe in, and to clearly state the reason why your organisation exists.

What are the fundamental principles and key beliefs that you wish your organisation and its team to follow as far as how it treats others? What is your NFP’s main purpose? What do you hope to accomplish? What goals and benchmarks do you need to set to help you reach your main objective?

Walk the Talk

It is not enough for leaders to define the organisation’s values and goals. Leaders must set the tone and pace, and act as a model for their supporters to follow when it comes to actions and behaviours. Leadership should be both authentic and transparent.

How well do you abide by your own values? How focused are you on communicating the mission to others. How open is your communication style? Do you encourage creativity, spontaneity and sharing? How much leadership effort is going into the achievement of the NFP’s key mission and goals? Are you encouraging your volunteers, staff and others to keep giving their best when the going gets tough? Do you recognise exceptional efforts and outstanding performance? Are you celebrating your wins?

If you want to create a caring, supportive and mission-focused organisation, leaders must “walk their talk” and act in a way that is nurturing and inspiring to supporters.

Don’t Forget About the Impact of Environment

When many leaders first begin to think about their organisation’s culture, they focus first on behaviours and actions. While this is a key area for you to concentrate on, it’s important not to stop there. Our physical environment plays a valuable role in how we feel about ourselves and how we treat others. If you want to create a more open, caring, and creative team, take the time to make certain that your team’s physical environment supports this objective.

To show that you and your organisation truly care, and respect your team, make certain that they have all the tools that they need to perform their jobs well. In addition to up-to-date software and mobile platforms, invest in sufficient lighting, open architecture, ergonomically designed seating and work stations that encourage openness, communication, sharing and collaboration.