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To dismiss the applicability of enlightened management to the whole nonprofit sector -- $500 billion in expenditures and employing over 10 million people as of the late 1990s -- just because many of its groups are small would be as ridiculous as doing the same for firms because more than 99 percent of them are small businesses.

The 21st century will be the century of the social sector organization. The more economy, money, and information become global, the more community will matter. And only the social sector nonprofit organization performs in the community, exploits its opportunities, mobilizes its local resources, and solves its problems. The leadership, competence, and management of the social sector nonprofit organization will thus largely determine the values, the vision, the cohesion, and the performance of the 21st century society.

Donors should recognize that gifts to effective organizations that put their money to work quickly will achieve far better results than those with strings attached. Donors who understand this are also likely to encourage endowed nonprofits to speed up disbursements. At present, many givers ask how their contributions will be put to work, but few ask when they will begin generating benefits for society.

If you focus on connecting your cause to your audience's values-rather than telling people to value your cause-and reach people when they are in the best place, time, and state of mind to act, you will get more bang for your [marketing] buck.

My mantra is, "concentrate and inundate" rather than "spray and pray"!