By Keyron Smith

of One Eleuthera Foundation

ON Monday, I was rewatching a Ted Talk video called, “The way we think about charity is dead wrong” by Dan Pallotta. While the third sector is different in various global contexts, the video reminded me of some of the challenges we face in the non-profit sector in The Bahamas. It also demonstrated that these issues are not unique to us as a nation.

In the past few years working for One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) and Centre for Training and Innovation (CTI), I have come to understand that there are common shared misconceptions. In this article, I hope to address a few of these misunderstandings surrounding the third sector.

1 Myth #1: The “Overhead Fiction”

Some people believe that non-profits should have little to no administrative costs because they consider it to be “voluntary” and “charity” work. Darren Walker, CEO of Ford Foundation calls it the “overhead fiction”. According to Walker, “because of this fiction, foundations, governments, and donors force non-profits to submit proposals that do not include the actual costs of the projects they are funding”.

For non-profits to thrive, we must make the necessary investments in the best talent, technology, facilities, and other important resources to effectively execute our missions. The “overhead fiction” may cause unintended consequences in achieving project goals because it undermines the true cost of projects that can help address social problems in our communities. Like any other organisation, non-profits have the same utility bills and staffing expenses required to operate. Globally, grant making Foundations in the US are now rethinking how they review administrative costs for grants they award to non-profits.

2 Myth #2: Non-profits shouldn’t make profits

This is a major misconception, especially when we talk about what we mean by the term “non-profit.” Some may consider it taboo for a non-profit to generate profits. The third sector is diverse, and there are many different models. Some third sector organisations are also social enterprises. These organisations aim to earn revenues while achieving social impact.

However, these revenues must be invested into the mission and organisation and not given to shareholders like for-profit businesses.

For example, One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) and Centre for Training and Innovation (CTI) have social enterprises that facilitate training, including a farm, hotel, and restaurant.

These entities generate some revenue to help offset expenses, reinvest in the operation, and sustain ongoing student training. We also need to re-evaluate how we define profits. Social outcomes are a kind of profit not measured or logged in a spreadsheet.

Instead, a community gains new resources or new opportunities. For example, the people we train in Eleuthera through OEF and CTI can use their newly learnt skills to gain employment opportunities or start businesses to support their financial independence and families. This is an entirely different, but valuable kind of “profit.”

3 Myth #3: Working for non-profits isn’t as hard as working in the for-profit sector.

Many people believe that working for a non-profit is easier than working for a profit business. In my experience working in the sector, you must work just as hard and sometimes with decreased resources.

In many cases, non-profits are under-resourced and require employees to be innovative and adaptable. You can find yourself stretched in ways that challenge conventional thinking and approaches, but instead require innovation and collaborative solutions, all of which can enhance your skillset and inspire “out of the box” thinking. Sometimes it is passion, heart, and inner drive that fuels your progress because solving difficult social challenges is demanding work.

I recall hearing the stories of our staff who worked late nights and 24-hour shifts to support Hurricane Dorian survivors evacuated to Eleuthera immediately following the storm.

It was challenging for our staff to not only support the material needs of hundreds of survivors, but to provide empathy and emotional support to those who had endured such a great loss.

Working at OEF/CTI has also stretched and developed me in new ways as a professional and in many different areas. On a daily basis, I have to use my communication and management skills as I engage with a variety of stakeholders, including community members, government officials, grantors, and Board members.

It is a job that requires you to juggle the community’s needs along with the organisational mission and resources. Therefore, it is surely a misconception that the road is easier in the non-profit sector.

4 Myth #4: You can only support a non-profit through financial donations.

While donating to nonprofits is an essential way to contribute, there are other valuable ways to lend your support. In some ways, people lend their expertise and time which is a valuable way to donate to a local non-profit.

Volunteers and amplifiers give their time and talent to non-profits. This kind of giving is critical and helps to fill in resource gaps as well as publicise all the powerful work happening within the third sector.

Some people also lend resources to support non-profit organisations. Non-profits often need “in kind” gifts, such as technical knowledge or donation of material items like office furniture or vehicles that can help to support the groundwork needed to fulfill an organisation’s mission.

There are many more misconceptions out there, but these are some that I consider the most pervasive. The sector is an exciting space to work and it plays such a valuable role in our society. However, it is important to change our mindsets so that we can find ways to engage with this dynamic space.

Ultimately, with a clearer perspective we can focus on what Dan Pallota prompts us to do, “Change the way we think about changing the world”.

• Keyron Smith is the chief operating officer at CTI & OEF. Established in 2012, the One Eleuthera Foundation (OEF) is a non-profit organisation located in Rock Sound, Eleuthera. For more information, visit www.oneeleuthera.org or email info@oneeleuthera. org. The Centre for Training and Innovation (CTI) is the first and only postsecondary, non-profit education and training institution and social enterprise on Eleuthera. CTI operates a student training campus in Rock Sound, Eleuthera, with a 16-room training hotel, restaurant and farm. For more information about CTI’s programmes email: info@oneeleuthera.org.