I had more opportunities to tackle the issues of revenue generation and the ever present question about nonprofits behaving more like “businesses.” I have opinions about this topic but will write about it in a later correspondence.

I have worked with treatment organizations seeking to gain more insurance fees, and an arts organization hoping to become more self-sustaining by adopting a capitalization strategy. In some cases I worked with a team of consultants to analyze costs and competition, set pricing, and identify the preparedness of the organization’s billing and accountability systems.

Many people who choose nonprofit work are “turned-off” by the idea of acting like a business. I always look for the right balance of capacity and needs to determine readiness of the nonprofit. I also check that the board is in agreement with a possible culture shift for the organization.

I believe nonprofits add great value to the delivery of quality and caring services, from health care to child care that was once reserved for more traditional for-profit providers. It’s our people and their motivation to impact the lives of others that is a differentiating feature in the quality of our programs. I’m glad that large payer systems are recognizing this as well.