Risk is the possibility of something happening that may have a positive or negative impact. The focus
here will be on the negative risks that may threaten the ability of your organization to accomplish
its goals. It can be a risk to your people, property, income or goodwill. Risk management is the
process of:
Eliminating risk is not practical but a formalized plan may reduce its impact. A formalized plan may:
Developing and implementing an effective risk management plan involves everyone in the organization from the Director to the employees and volunteers. Employees can help identify the risks to the organization by reporting near miss accidents and hazards and identifying safer ways to do things. In order for the plan to be effective, it must be reviewed and updated regularly and/or when there are changes to your organization.
Some practical risk management steps might include:
A nonprofit will deal with many of the same risks as a for-profit. Having a risk management plan in place
is just as important for nonprofits as it is for for-profit organizations. Check out the case in the
Canadian Underwriter Aug 2007 that highlights the importance of having and following written procedures.
There are tools and information available to help you develop your risk management plan and the great thing is it doesn't all have to be done at one time; it can be broken out into sections and worked on by different people. The following websites have tools to help you formalize your plan:
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader software can be used for viewing PDF documents. Download Acrobat® Reader for free.