Managing Nonprofit Risk

A Review of Ted Bilich’s Resilience Guide

I’ve written quite a bit about the role a strong vision plays in drawing a nonprofit forward, offering guidance as it fulfills its purpose. That vision gives us hope—but achieving it requires more than optimism. It also requires a clear-eyed understanding of risk.

Managing Your Nonprofit for Resilience by Ted Bilich outlines a clear process for associations and other organizations to understand and manage the risks inherent in their work. Nonprofits often focus on the positive and avoid the negative—but ignoring risk can quietly hamper or even cripple an organization.

The good news is that devoting time and energy to risk management can lead to dramatic improvements for an organization. Identifying and managing risk can lead to greater engagement by staff and volunteers.

Addressing risks early is like maintaining good equipment—it lasts longer and performs better when you don’t wait for a breakdown. That’s why the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” doesn’t apply to nonprofit systems. In today’s fast-changing environment, every system deserves regular attention—not to find what’s broken, but to discover how it can be improved.

Managing Your Nonprofit for Resilience is a guidebook that walks the reader through a risk management process. It makes the effective case that not all risks can be eliminated but all of them can be addressed if identified. It explains how to identify, prioritize, respond, assess, and improve risk. It is incredibly clear and simple, and proposes a realistic timeline for full implementation.

Is your organization ready for the next crisis—global, national, or local? What if you lost a key staff member or volunteer tomorrow? Managing Your Nonprofit for Resilience can help you prepare for the unexpected—and strengthen your organization in the process. I highly recommend it. It’s a practical and empowering read for any board or executive team ready to lead with courage.