Originally published on Conservation Connect, the blog of the National Forest Foundation!

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As I was presenting a joint fundraising opportunity to our local Rotary club the parallels between endangered species and non-profit organizations suddenly became clear.

A Rotarian asked me how I thought a group like the Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition (CWSC) would fare raising funds side by side with our local community cupboard.  Then he asked about how we could compete alongside an organization providing medical treatment in third-world countries.  Without missing a beat, I replied that while we weren’t a charismatic mega-charity, we had a niche of our own. 

And then I went home and started to think.

There isn’t a non-profit Executive Director or Board around that will tell you times are easy.  Foundation funding is tight and getting tighter as a result of the economy and, to certain extent, we are all in competition for the same limited resources.  Many non-profits are struggling just to survive.  You might call them threatened.  Perhaps even endangered. 

The CWSC is a collaborative focused on forest health and fire resiliency; our before and after pictures show healthy forests instead of smiling kids.   In the comparison the Rotary chair was making, we are Spalding’s Catchfly, the community cupboard is a Grizzly Bear, and the medical charity is a Bald Eagle.   I am guessing you have all heard of the Grizzly Bear and Bald Eagle.  Unless you are a western botanist, you probably thought Spalding’s Catchfly had wings! 

In the race to survive, species that are big, fluffy and adorable have a set of competitive advantages.  The have name recognition, they are further up the food chain, and they appeal to society in a way the Spalding’s Catchfly doesn’t.  But does that make the Spalding’s Catchfly less valuable or less important?  The answer, I believe, is an unequivocal “NO!”   Just like the Spalding’s Catchfly, my organization plays a role in its ecosystem. The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition has a niche.  Knowing that niche, as well as the other “species” that surround it, is incredibly important to ensuring our survival.  Knowing the competition doesn’t hurt either; it is always good to know who looks at you and thinks “food.”

Every federally listed species has a recovery plan.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service defines “recovery” as “the process by which the decline of an endangered or threatened species is arrested or reversed and threats neutralized so that its survival in the wild can be ensured.”  Non-profits need recovery plans too.  We need to analyze our threats and develop strategies to ensure our survival.  The Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition recently took the first step in this process and completed a Financial Plan which identifies our current financial challenges and opportunities.   Have we ensured our survival?  Not yet, but we are starting to think about what survival means and how to get there.

Non-profits in this economy must know their niche and develop a recovery plan, but they must also adapt.  When resources dwindle, species that survive find a way to make do by changing.   It occurs to me that change is as difficult in the wild as it is for non-profits!  So, my question to the other Spalding’s Catchflies out there is: “how has your organization adapted to survive?”  Just as we learn from the natural world, we should learn from each other.

Annie Schmidt is the Director of the (extremely charismatic micro-charity) Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition.

Spalding’s Catchfly (Silene Spaldingii) is a federally threatened perennial herb native to the western states.  It does not have wings.