In light of current economic conditions, the nonprofit sector can’t afford to continue in a “business as usual” manner. This was the message that NYU Professor Paul Light delivered at the 6th annual conference of the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits. His keynote reflected the event theme of “Sustaining Nonprofits, Strengthening Communities.”

“We’re the first to go into a recession and the last to come out,” said Light, who is also Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. To that end, he recommended the following paradigm shifts:

• Greater state support. Grant money is appreciated, but state funds also need to help cover capacity building. Nonprofits can’t be expected to fulfill their respective missions with grants that don’t support training, marketing, and other critical areas.
• Sector makeover. Many leaders in the nonprofit arena are getting older and retiring—and young people aren’t clamoring to take their places. The nonprofit world needs to shed its stodgy, ascetic image to attract innovative young minds.

As the global community prepares to tighten its belt, everyone talks about the need to “do more with less.” Light argues that it’s time that nonprofits have the opportunity to “do more with enough.”

WAKE UP CALL: What steps can we take to increase state support and to attract the fresh talent we need?