Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift Business Analysis

Mission 5 4. Stakeholders and Organizational Structure 6 4. Stakeholders 6 4. The Government 6 4. Employees and Volunteers 7 4. Strengths 13 6. Tax Exemption 13 6. Limited Liability 14 6. The Use of Social Media in Marketing 15 6. Challenges 15 6. As a major non-profit entity in the U. S. Gift and Thrift is committed to offer social and economic support to the community. The organization supports the goals of Mennonite Central Committee, an agency in North America that posters, peace, relief, and other social services to the people. The Mennonite Central Committee was founded in 1920. The original location of the organization was on North Main Street in Harrisonburg and moved to 731 Mount Clinton Pike in February 2004. The organization is depended on sponsorship which includes churches, government agencies, and individuals. The organization is one of the early non-profit organizations in the U.

S. and has grown over time and has opened new outlets in various places across North America. The organisation has been in the forefront in mitigating the issue of global warming by utilising clean energy. In this case, the organisation partnered with Secure Futures to design, finance, own, and operates a solar power plant that will produce about 107 kilowatts which covers 45 percent of the energy requirements for the organisation (Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift, 2018: par. The installation of the system was done by volunteers, a step which helped to engage the community as well as reducing the costs of installation. The key goal of Mennonite Central Committee is to ensure that the needy people are taken care of and therefore Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift takes on the committee’s footsteps.

The organisation provides material support especially food and clothing to the less fortunate in the community and other humanitarian operations (Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift, 2018, par. Moreover, the shops have permits to carry out business in their various locations around the country. Non-profit organisations of various types may help the government to offer various services entire network, individuals, governments, organizations, and to different philanthropic activities. The administrations might be free or require a charge, for example, an educational cost instalment. Employees and Volunteers The organisation is highly dependent on employees and volunteers to carry out their duties and pursue their goal. The organisation employs personnel on different capacities including the leadership and support areas. This is because the organisations exist since there is a community that needs their services.

The community and the beneficiaries provide the foundation for the formation of the organisation. Gift and Thrift was founded to advance the goal of providing humanitarian aid to the needy people in the society especially those experiencing hunger and water shortage, diseases, and war victims (Salamon, 2015: 15). The relationship between Gift and Thrift and the community is symbiosis in nature; they benefit from each other. The community in which Gift and Thrift operates provides labour services to the organisation; both paid and voluntary labour services. Donors are also part of the organisation’s stakeholders. These exist in terms of those who contribute money and those who give out material things such as second hand clothes and other materials to the organisation to help the poor people.

Distinguished Professionals There are other sources of incomes which remain to be important stakeholders to the organisation. These may include auditing firms and personnel, outsourced service providers, and other professionals. These experts provide specialised services to the organisation in an effort to accomplish its mission (Harper, 2015: 853). On the same level there is the organisation’s chair of outreach and engagement and Thrift associate. The next level has managers of the various departments within the organisation. The sales department manager is supported by team leaders who are supported by team leaders in the various departments. Funding Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift has a large number of funding avenues that help to accomplish the goals and objectives set every financial year. The major sources of income to this organisation include; government incentives, grants and earnings from investments, donations, and contributions by the various sponsors and volunteers working with the organisation in different capacities.

The congregants give their contributions in terms of money and other material things such as clothes and motor vehicles to aid the organisation in accomplishing its key objectives. Donors Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift receives various donations from different people, organisations and government agencies to help in accomplishing various charity goals in the society. The organisation gives the society an opportunity to give donations in terms of money, clothing, household items, furniture, books, linens, electronics, craft supplies, and office supplies which the organisation spends in the various operations (Harrisonburg, 2018: 2). Anybody can make donations by dropping any items at the organisation’s office during the donations hours. The organisation encourages donors to give out saleable items in order to allow them to sell to make money that is used to help the needy people in the society.

The organisation benefits through the skills and knowledge of the employees who perform various duties in an effort to achieve their goals. The organisation also calls for volunteers to work for them especially during the weekend when most of the employees are on weekend holidays. The volunteers are very important to the organisation as they help to fill various posts at a minimal cost. Therefore, the investment does not incur large costs of operation which increases the profit margins at the end of the financial year. Strengths/Challenges 6. These incentives enable the organisation to carry out their operations smoothly. Limited Liability A not-for-profit organisation exists as a legal entity and independent from its founder(s). Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift is a separate entity from its owners and therefore it has the capacity to enter into contracts with other legal entities such as individuals or other organisations.

For example, the organisation may make purchases using its name and not that of the owners. In addition, the organisation can enter into supply contracts with various suppliers using its name and financial property (Kearns, Bell, Deem, and McShane. As Salamon (2015: 25) argues, this is done to maximise revenue for the smooth running of the organisation. The use of technology to market its products has brought in YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The organisation’s social media platforms provide information about various products and other important details. Moreover, the social media platforms have been useful in reaching new customers from around the world. The use of social media gives the organisation competitive advantage since it is cheap to maintain. Organization Growth Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift operates in a competitive environment just like any other business and therefore, they must invest coping with the competition.

However, the fact that the organisation sells majorly second-hand items, most of the customers may not be willing to purchase. In addition, the changing environment especially in taxation has changed how the organisation raises revenue and therefore there is a high likelihood that the organisation will have challenges in initiating growth processes (Chikoto-Schultz and Neely. The organisation will stagnate in growth unless the government looks into the taxation regulations put in place and develops a favourable regulatory framework. Revenue and Funding Taxation of various donations has changed and therefore the organisation is only able to make little profit margins. Volunteerism is the backbone of the non-profit organisation (Salamon, 2015: 19). Salamon (2015: 19) argues that many organisations in the non-profit sector have built their business along the voluntaristic impulse.

This is because getting people to work long hour is a big challenge for the organisations. Finding the right volunteers carry out various activities within the organisation is not an easy tasks and therefore the organisation must in invest in the process. In the meantime, the organisations want to remain as professional as possible. S states and federal governments should support NPOs in terms of money incentives and protection through legislations. One key area the government must look into is the tax reforms introduced by the Trump Administration. The tax reforms are gradually killing the non-profit organisations. Reviewing the tax reforms should consider the contribution of these organisations to the society and employ some leniency in the final decisions towards the favouring the non-profit sector.

It would be recommendable for non-profit organisations to push the government to amend some of the tax reforms in order to an environment conducive for their operations (Waxman, 2018: par. The government should continue to improve the infrastructure, security, and policies that empower the organisations to carry out their operations. The government, both the federal and state governments have been very instrumental in the development of the organisation through the policies that guide their operations and the extent of their operations. Reflections and Conclusion The research on Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift has been an eye opener on various aspects of non-profit organisations around the world. Clearly, the taxation framework available may be a stumbling a block or booster in the growth of the organisations.

As noted in the challenges non-profit organisations, tax reforms introduced by the Trump Administration are a challenge to the development of the non-profit sector. Crittenden, William. Book Review: Managing At The Leading Edge: New Challenges In Managing Nonprofit Organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly35(3):548-551. Garven, Sarah. Are Audit-Related Factors Associated With Financial Reporting Quality In Nonprofit Organizations?. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 44(4):852-854. Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift. About Us - Gift & Thrift. Gift & Thrift. Retrieved August 20, 2018 (http://giftandthrift. How Nonprofit Leaders Evaluate Funding Sources. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 43(1):121-143. Kim, Mirae. The Relationship Of Nonprofits’ Financial Health To Program Outcomes: Empirical Evidence From Nonprofit Arts Organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 46(3):525-548. nd ed. Washington D. C: Brookings Institution Press.

Thibodeau, Bruce D. and Charles-Clemens Rüling. Waxman, Jordan. I'm A Financial Adviser Managing $2. Billion — Here Are The 7 Most Important Things I Can Tell You About How Tax Reform Will Affect You. Business Insider. Retrieved August 20, 2018 (https://www.