Investing in NonProfit Skills

Nice piece in the Philanthropy Journal about the importance of developing nonprofit skills. The article highlights the benefits of training and the lack of training dollars for most NGOs:I

n 2005, the average corporation spent just over $1,000 per employee on professional development, and best-in-class businesses spent $1,435, says the State of the Industry Report by the American Society for Training & Development.

Nonprofits and governments, on the other hand, spent an average of $656 per employee.

"People see professional development as the nice-to-haves, rather than the must-haves," says Kathleen Enright, executive director of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, a coalition of about 300 grantmakers. "I would argue it is absolutely critical."

There is a growing movement among grant makers to look beyond program specifics to the total performance and skills a grant seeking agencies. This is driving an effort to increase training and skill building efforts.