Nonprofits are Businesses

Last week I (Nicole) visited Cal Lutheran University's Center for Nonprofit Leadership to receive the 2026 Ventura County Nonprofit Sector Report. Steve Goodall, former CEO of J.D. Power and Candid Trustee, called nonprofits a "sector hiding in plain sight" as he walked us through how important the sector is to Ventura Country (very!) and how healthy it is overall (stable, despite the audience voting that it was fragile!). Health in this context was measured by the level of philanthropic engagement and capacity.

Does this feel familiar? As nonprofit leaders, it can feel like your organization is fragile: dependent on a small number of unpredictable revenue streams, carrying limited reserves, or restricted by grants that cannot flex with the organization’s actual needs. Goodall challenged nonprofit leaders to “make financial strength a mission priority” and challenged funders to invest in organizations as a whole, not just in programs, so nonprofits can come out of hiding and be seen as critical infrastructure supporting community needs.

On a panel later in the presentation, Janiet Garufis, Chairman & Ceo of Montecito Bank and Trust stated simply: "Nonprofits are businesses". She emphasized that the stability of an organization comes from executive leadership and from boards made up of leaders who have a breadth and depth of business experience.

Running a nonprofit with business discipline does not make the work less compassionate or less focused on the community; it gives leaders the clarity, confidence, and resources to keep serving well. My biggest takeaway from the report was a reframing of the importance of nonprofits. There are three sectors: Private, public and nonprofit. Nonprofits create jobs, meet needs that would otherwise go unmet and serve as essential social and community infrastructure.

You can find Fall 2026 Ventura County report here: 2026 Nonprofit Sector Report | Center for Nonprofit Leadership