OL 665 Milestone Three Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

Not-for-profit organizations mostly rely on private donations and public grants to fund their operations. Therefore, it is crucial that these organizations spend their money wisely. Not-for-profit organizations also need to avoid misusing money. Strong financial management and a commitment to ethics are necessary for a well-managed not-for-profit organization.

Complete the SWOT Analysis Worksheet to help you evaluate the financial management practices and ethical considerations of your chosen not-for-profit organization. Use this information to prepare your analysis, but do not submit the worksheet as part of the milestone assignment.

Prompt

Analyze the financial management and ethical practices of the not-for-profit organization you chose for your strategic analysis.

Specifically, address the following critical elements:

Introduction: Introduce your chosen organization. Include background information relevant to communicating your strategic analysis. Consider when, where, and how the organization was founded.Analysis:Finances:Discuss the organization’s current budgetary resources, structure, and responsibilities.Discuss the organization’s current fundraising campaigns, grant possibilities, and planned giving opportunities and their impact on the overall budget.Determine potential challenges to the organization’s financial operation based on your analysis of its overall financial management.Ethics:Discuss the organization’s handling of budget and fundraising transparency, specifically regarding its adherence to established codes, principles, and ethics of the industry.Discuss ethical considerations the organization faces related to conflict of interest, privacy, and compensation.Evaluate the impact of the organization’s ethical practices on its public image.Conclusion: Write a conclusion to your paper that summarizes the organization’s finances and ethics.

What to Submit

Submit a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document (not including the title page or references) with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA formatting.

Milestone Three Rubric

CriteriaExemplary (100%)Proficient (90%)Needs Improvement (70%)Not Evident (0%)ValueIntroductionMeets “Proficient” criteria, uses organizational information and anecdotes to create a hook, and introduces a controlling idea (thesis) to alert the reader to what to expect from the discussion of finances and ethicsIntroduces chosen organization, including all necessary background information relevant to communicating the strategic analysisIntroduces chosen organization, including all necessary background information relevant to communicating the strategic analysis, but introduction is cursoryDoes not introduce chosen organization15Finances: Budgetary Resources, Structure, and ResponsibilitiesMeets “Proficient” criteria, and discussion demonstrates nuanced understanding of budgetary resources, structure, and responsibilitiesDiscusses the organization’s current budgetary resources, structure, and responsibilitiesDiscusses the organization’s current budgetary resources, structure, and responsibilities, but discussion is cursory or includes inaccuraciesDoes not discuss the organization’s current budgetary resources, structure, and responsibilities10Finances: Fundraising Campaigns, Grant Possibilities, and Planned Giving OpportunitiesMeets “Proficient” criteria, and discussion demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of the impact of fundraising on the organization’s budgetDiscusses the organization’s current fundraising campaigns, grant possibilities, and planned giving opportunities and their impact on the overall budgetDiscusses the organization’s current fundraising campaigns, grant possibilities, and planned giving opportunities and their impact on the overall budget, but discussion is cursory or includes inaccuraciesDoes not discuss the organization’s current fundraising campaigns, grant possibilities, and planned giving opportunities or their impact on the overall budget10Finances: Financial ManagementMeets “Proficient” criteria, and determination demonstrates nuanced understanding of financial management and fiduciary responsibilitiesDetermines potential challenges to the organization’s financial operation based on the analysis of its overall financial managementDetermines potential challenges to the organization’s financial operation based on the analysis of its overall financial management, but determinations are cursory or illogicalDoes not determine potential challenges to the organization’s financial operation based on the analysis of its overall financial management10Ethics: Budget and Fundraising TransparencyMeets “Proficient” criteria, and discussion demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of transparency and industry-wide ethical standardsDiscusses the organization’s handling of budget and fundraising transparency, specifically regarding adherence to established codes, principles, and ethics of the industryDiscusses the organization’s handling of budget and fundraising transparency, specifically regarding adherence to established codes, principles, and ethics of the industry, but discussion is cursory or includes inaccuraciesDoes not discuss the organization’s handling of budget and fundraising transparency, specifically regarding adherence to established codes, principles, and ethics of the industry10Ethics: Ethical ConsiderationsMeets “Proficient” criteria, and discussion demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of ethical considerations related to a not-for-profit organizationDiscusses ethical considerations the organization faces related to conflict of interest, privacy, and compensationDiscusses ethical considerations the organization faces related to conflict of interest, privacy, and compensation, but discussion is cursory or overlooks key concernsDoes not discuss additional ethical considerations related to conflict of interest, privacy, and compensation10Ethics: Public ImageMeets “Proficient” criteria, and evaluation demonstrates nuanced understanding of ethical considerationsEvaluates the impact of the organization’s ethical practices on its public imageEvaluates the impact of the organization’s ethical practices on its public image, but evaluation is cursoryDoes not evaluate how the ethical operation of the organization has impacted its public image10ConclusionMeets “Proficient” criteria, and rationale demonstrates an insightful analysis of the organization’s leadership strategies and communication practicesSummarizes the organization’s finances and ethicsSummarizes the organization’s finances and ethics, but summary is cursory and lacks reflection on the effectiveness of the strategies and practices usedDoes not summarize the organization’s finances and ethics15Articulation of ResponseSubmission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read formatSubmission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organizationSubmission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideasSubmission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas10Total:100%