One of the most interesting aspects of the book is Drucker’s use of expert interviews. Throughout the book, he features interviews with non-profit executives from a variety of organizations, including the American Red Cross and the Girl Scouts of America. The interviews act as case studies relevant to each segment, and offer new perspectives to supplement Drucker’s approaches. For instance, the National Executive Director of the Girl Scouts of America discusses how assessing changing needs of girls and women led to the introduction of the Daisy Scouts, and how she organized individuals within the non-profit to bring about that change (31). Using interviews, Drucker provides dynamic real-world examples in a conversational tone.
Drucker’s analysis of marketing in the non-profit sector is highly relevant to any public information strategy course. Drucker states that marketing is crucial to non-profit success, and that it is a top-management job (54). In this, he stresses the importance of a non-profit knowing its “customers,” such as potential clients, volunteers and donors. Drucker outlines the marketing process including goals, specific plans for each target audience, communication, logistics and a timetable (63). Public relations students will find it interesting to draw parallels between these strategies and for-profit public relations strategies.
Despite the parallels between managing non-profits and other large organizations, Drucker also effectively highlights the distinctions of the non-profit sector. Drucker discusses the importance of focusing on donor values and satisfactions, rather than imposing the organization’s views on the community (103). In this, he demonstrates the importance of targeting and creating individual relationships with donors. Drucker presents an innovative view on volunteers by describing them as unpaid colleagues. Finally, he states that although there is no monetary bottom line in non-profit management, good intentions must turn into measurable performance areas (142).
One issue with the book is that it was written more than two decades ago. The world of communication has changed since then, and technological advances such as telemarketing are a bit outdated. However, Drucker focuses mainly on overall management strategy rather than specific tactics, and thus his approaches remain relevant today. Another quirk is that Drucker spends a chunk of the book discussing churches and other religious organizations. While this is certainly interesting, it may not be what readers expect when they pick up a book on non-profit management.
Overall, I recommend Managing the Non-Profit Organization as reading for any public information strategy course. Drucker effectively presents a mission-focused non-profit management strategy that focuses both on results and core values. His targeted marketing approaches resonate with any public relations course. In total, Drucker’s strategic focus creates a solid resource for aspiring non-profit professionals.