Nonprofits & Horse Racing with Russ Wilson

I love sports analogies – one of which I read online this morning and adapted in this article to what I see in the nonprofit world. Here is the analogy. For journalists, the horse-race metaphor provides us with a framework for analysis of the “news game.” In a horse race, attendees judge each horse not by its own absolute speed or skill, but rather by its comparison to the speed of other horses, and especially by its wins and losses. Applying this analogy to media coverage during elections results in what media experts term as “Horse race journalism.” The “news game” plays out becoming network vs network – each trying to get the ratings lead over the competition on the “track” during this brief window of time with one goal in mind – win the ratings race at any cost! Outflank an opponent, run over anyone in the way, play at the edge of the “rules” – whatever it takes – JUST WIN!

In other words, the points of reference in a horse race are fluid according to who is in the race at the time. Observers often compare nonprofit organizations based on which ones are currently in their spotlight, a perspective most often shaped by coverage from national, regional, or local media, as well as social media commentary, together which can total several thousand potential sources.

Nonprofits & Horse Racing with Russ Wilson

Are you in a horse race against your nonprofit peers? Or do you have a full plan? A plan to, by design, look at the overall community you are committed to serve – the geographical “track” area you need to encompass – and then ask your team “what assets, programs and funding do we need in order to substantially SOLVE this problem, not just SERVICE it? Do you know how much it would cost to give every potential benefactor an opportunity to say yes to this solution?” Do you have a target list of potential donors to approach for help? Nonprofit leaders need to answer these questions. Sounds like a football team to me. More on that in just a bit.

Major donors often observe our races from the sidelines. Nonprofits should welcome them to participate with us at the track. There are many horses to bet on, some of which may be flash-in-the-pan anomalies that may or may not win one or two races on any given day – all according to the variables at play on the local track in the current season.

Some donors will go to the $2 window just to bet on a long shot for the fun of it. They could afford more, but don’t know the sport well enough to bet more. Other donors would place their bets on the proven winners that they have followed for years. But most major donors like to invest in outcomes that they believe have the greatest chance of success and where the mission aligns with their philanthropic dreams. If only there was a plan – If only they could attend practice – if only they could get to know the participants, the horses, learn about the sport, add their expertise and be meaningfully involved in creating a winner that changes and saves lives! Nonprofits need to study the inner workings of professional football. Why?

Money chases after these great dreams only when organizations back their dreams with a sound plan. Pro football coach Vince Lombardi always went back to the basics when planning the dream of a winning season. He followed this same process year after year. He began with “Gentlemen, This is a football!”

Pick a sport. Study the great teams of the past and present. Look at their plans, short term, long term and even the plan to just survive today’s current game. There is a plan, a bold plan, always a great plan.

Can you compare a sixty-minute football game to a four-minute horse race? Yes. In football, you have a single game plan for today, within a plan for the season, within a five-year plan to develop the team into a Super Bowl contender or winner. Start with the end in mind. Then you recruit to fill the team’s needs, you pay the price, you train and execute the plan to perfection. As for the horse race – it starts with a bell ringing and then the race just happens. This can be a great analogy for a nonprofit – especially if the nonprofit is in a four-minute horse race right now.

Horse Race Nonprofits need Football.

Great coaches know that money chases after a bold dream backed by a sound plan.

Russ Wilson