Introduction
Human life is precious, and many charitable organizations have been formed to alleviate people from suffering. Hungry for Life (HFL) is one of the international organizations that offer non-profit services to people around the world. The firm has partnered with various global organizations to offer the services and raise operational funds. HFL utilizes various social platforms to market and communicates its global activities. Moreover, the organization market and communicate its philanthropic activities and projects through partners. Like any other corporate body, HLF is headed by an executive director. Additionally, the board of directors helps in the routine decision-making. While HFL is a successful charity, improvements on its executive leadership and communication systems would boost its effectiveness in charitable activities.
HLF Background
Industry Type
Philanthropic activities and social well-being have saved humanity from suffering. HFL is a philanthropic and Christian non-profit organization that helps people from different parts of the world. The corporation is among the charitable organizations in Canada that significantly contribute to economic growth. Recent statistics show that the charitable and non-profit sector contributes an average of 8.1% of the Canadian GDP (Phillips & Castle, 2022). Philanthropic organizations have employed millions of Canadians, contributing to social development. Moreover, the sector indirectly supports other sectors by empowering needy individuals. As a philanthropic organization, HFL play significant role in the Canadian economy.
Products and Services
HFL operates in over ten countries, where it promotes Jesus Christ’s message of “worshipping with our lives”. HLF services are eight-fold: kingdom priority, spiritual life, the value of people, international partnerships, relief and development, direct engagement, and transparent giving (Hungry for Life, n.d.). The corporation is dependent on people with goodwill to raise donations for its activities. Additionally, the organization provides professional and trained leadership coaching to other charities. HFL, through its Fullwell Leadership wing, helps leaders of other charities overcome obstacles to a larger impact (Hungry for Life, n.d.). Therefore, HFL serves the needy through donations, and charities through leadership coaching and consulting.
Organizational Vision, Strategies, and History
HFL has a history that is consistent with its mission and vision statements. The charity has its roots in a monthly interchurch worship event, Shekinah: a ministry of Chilliwack Alliance Church, bringing together congregations from different churches and denominations (Hungry for Life, n.d.). The people who attended Shekinah had a passion for knowing the power and presence of Jesus (Hungry for Life, n.d.). As Shekinah developed, the participants began engaging in international relief projects. Further developments led to the need for a structured organization that would conglomerate the people from different denominations: HFL was formed. HFL has, therefore, Christians from various denominations, but with a similar passion.
Like any other organization, HFL developed corporate objectives that are in line with its routine activities. The corporation envisions a world that is transformed into a global compassion and justice movement, evidenced by needless suffering eradication (Hungry for Life, n.d.). Meanwhile, the charity has the mission to inspire spiritual vibrancy and facilitate opportunities of knowing Jesus through global compassion. Consequently, HFL has developed a partnership strategy aimed at achieving its vision and mission (Hungry for Life, n.d.). The organizational history has inspired its stakeholders to inspire the global community by eradicating human suffering.
HLF Analysis
Marketing and Communications
Marketing and communications are crucial activities among non-profit organizations. Although marketing is seemingly useless among charities, it is significant in inviting the public to take part in various projects. Meanwhile, communication enables non-profit organizations to gather funds and make partnerships (Campanale et al., 2021). HFL utilizes mainstream technology including social media platforms to communicate its projects. Moreover, the media is crucial for the corporation’s resource funding. Additionally, HFL communicates its activities through its partner members who spread the information in their churches. Therefore, the communication technology is crucial for HFL engagement with partners and the public.
Strengths
HFL’s marketing and communication system are efficient in various dimensions. The use of partners to market and communicate their programs and projects helps reach a specific audience. The target audience is Christians who are passionate about knowing the power and presence of Jesus. Additionally, the partners are compassionate about the organization’s mission and vision. Therefore, they effectively disseminate the information to the targeted audience. Moreover, the use of the HFL’s website helps people easily gather information about it, and support its projects. The partnership approach and use of website help HFL easily market and communicate its activities.
Weaknesses
HFL’s marketing and communication mechanisms have various weaknesses that are detrimental to the organization. HFL’s overreliance on partners to disseminate information to the interested donors limits the audience. While the organization targets Christians through its partners, many people are always willing to support charitable activities (Thomas, 2021). However, such people do not receive updates on HFL’s activities. The charity’s social media platforms are the least influential and do not hold social traffic of an organization such status. Moreover, HFL has failed to utilize its social media accounts to market and communicate its activities. Therefore, HFL’s marketing and communication approach limits the target audience.
Executive Leadership
HFL has a well-organized leadership structure that effectively executes management activities. The charity’s leadership is organized into two: staff and board members. The overall manager is the executive director who is deputized by other directors and managers (Hunger for Life, n.d.). Moreover, HFL has an executive administrator who assists the executive director and the finance department. The staff is involved in the organization’s routine activities such as project management and handling donations, among other administrative activities (Hunger for Life, n.d.). Meanwhile, the Board of Directors helps in making major organizational decisions. The Board is composed of nine members and is headed by a chairperson. The staff members work hand-in-hand with the Board of Directors toward HFL’s mission and vision.
Strengths
HFL’s executive leadership exhibits various strengths, contributing to its management success. The Board of Directors is composed of individuals with a Christian background and passionate about charity. Its staff has individuals who are specialists in their various areas of leadership. Consequently, the leadership is consistent with HFL’s mission and vision. Additionally, the leaders operate in harmony and take part in various team-building activities. The professional and efficient HFL’s executive leadership structure contributes to the charity’s success in executing its projects in various parts of the world.
Weaknesses
Although HFL’s executive leadership exhibits strengths, it has several weaknesses. The organization lacks a definitive leadership structure, making it difficult to understand the managerial levels. For instance, some of the directors are part of the staff and the Board of Directors at the same time. Moreover, the organization lacks basic departments such as human resources. The absence of basic departments makes it difficult to divide roles accordingly. Furthermore, HFL’s executive leadership has redundant positions encumbering the division of labor. For instance, it is difficult to distinguish between the roles of the executive director and executive administrator. The weak leadership structure interferes with the routine operations of HFL.
Recommendations
Capitalize on Strengths
Utilize the Partners
HFL has built a strong relationship with its partners, who play a significant role in accomplishing its projects. The partners can be utilized to maximize the charity’s operations. First, HFL can recruit partners who have established operations in other countries apart from the ones where the organization operates. They recruited partners that would help HFL expand its operations to other countries. Second, the existing partners can be utilized for resource mobilization and recruitment of more collaborators (Ghalwash & Ismail, 2022). Some of the partners have stronger financial muscles than HFL. Consequently, the organization can take advantage of the partners to impact more people. Last, the existing partners could be involved in the HFL’s strategic planning. The organization and the partners can develop an annual strategic plan with specific objectives. The strong relationship between HFL and its partners is significant for organizational success.
Recruit More Professionals
While the organization has strong executive leadership, recruiting more professionals could help the charity perform better. Professionals with technical and marketing skills can help the corporation become more effective in its operations (Robson & Fraquhar, 2021). The technicians would help the charity develop a robust website and social media platforms for funding activities. Additionally, professionals with system management knowledge would be significant in maintaining and improving HFL’s database management systems. While the existing employees have sufficient skills in their areas of specialties, HFL can help them acquire more knowledge. The training activities could be spread throughout the year, and assessments are done semi-annually. While recruitment of new professionals is a routine activity, training the staff is a year-long plan.
Improve on Weaknesses
Utilize Social Media Platforms
HFL has various social media platforms, but they are the least effective. Therefore, the platforms can be maximized to attract volunteers and donors. HFL could develop a social media marketing strategy that can take place for one year. The marketing strategy would be in various phases, each with a specific measure. For instance, HFL can attract more followers to its social media platforms by starting social media campaigns (Zhang et al., 2022). Upon reaching a specific number of followers the marketing and communication department can seek social media verification for authenticity. Additionally, HFL could involve social media influencers who are passionate about charitable activities to attract the public to transform the world. Therefore, HFL can use social media to attract the public to its activities.
Restructure the Executive Leadership
HFL’s executive leadership presents various weaknesses that can be improved through restructuring. The organization could do away with the executive administrator position, and provide another designation. For instance, the leadership structure could be headed by the executive director who should be deputized by vice executive officers. Each of the vice executive officers could head various departments within the organization. Restructuring the executive leadership could take place within two years. The first year would be used to measure the effectiveness of the new roles and identify their demerits. Meanwhile, another year could be used to measure the effectiveness of the improved and restructured positions. Reorganizing HFL’s executive leadership is significant for routine operations.
Conclusion
HFL is one of the charity organizations in Canada that help the needy. The charity offers assistance to needy people across the world through Christian moral values. While the organization utilizes partners to communicate its projects, the target audience is limited. The corporation’s social media platforms are inactive and bear little organizational significance. HFL’s executive leadership is effective but disorganized. Therefore, HFL can utilize social media platforms, maximize its partners, and restructure its executive leadership to stay afloat in the philanthropic industry.
References
Campanale, C., Cinquini, L., & Grossi, G. (2021). The role of multiple values in developing management accounting practices in hybrid organisations. The British Accounting Review, 53(6), 100999. Web.
Ghalwash, S., & Ismail, A. (2022). Resource orchestration process in the limited-resource environment: the social bricolage perspective. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 1-28. Web.
Hungry for Life. (n. d). A world transformed by global compassion, BC. Web.
Phillips, P. W. B., & Castle, D. (2022). Ideas, institutions, and interests: the drivers of Canadian provincial science, technology, and innovation policy. University Of Toronto Press.
Robson, J., & Farquhar, J. D. (2021). Recovering the corporate brand: lessons from an industry crisis. European Journal of Marketing. Web.
Thomas, D. N. (2021). Organising for Social Change: a study in the theory and practice of community work. Routledge. Web.
Zhang, Y., Dong, C., & Cheng, Y. (2022). How do nonprofit organizations (NPOs) effectively engage with the public on social media? Examining the effects of interactivity and emotion on Twitter. Internet Research, (ahead-of-print). Web.