Not too much of the inverse proportion rule – please!

Suppose that ten people can build a house in 20 days.

Does it stand to reason that if we have 20 people then it will only take ten days; and further, if we have 40 people it will be five days; and further still, if increased to 80 people, then it is two and a half days; and finally with 200 people will it only take one day?

Well, we can now observe (from experience) the almost “frantic” activity of governments, committees, observers, media, regulators, activists, ‘experts’, and many others, who having discovered the Not for Profit sector (that mind you has been in existence for many centuries!), want to contribute and be a part of it.

Let’s hope, therefore, that like the 200 people and the house built in a day, that the enormous attention now directed at the sector will see its resources and sustainability enormously increased too!

Sadly I fear that the inverse proportion rule may apply and then ‘implode’; so that just as 500 people don’t build a house in less than half a day, this greater attention on the Not for Profit sector may not deliver the resources and support that will ensure its viability and sustainability.

We need to all work together to ensure that this attention benefits the many who work in, or closely with, this fantastic sector. And that we harness this new-found enthusiasm of the government and media to ensure the long-term viability of our Not for Profit organisations.

Damien Smith
Managing Director