How Can Nonprofits Avoid the Stages of Decay?

Chapter Leadership Brief 10.31.25

By David Langton 
President, Langton Creative Group, Ltd.

In his new book, Cory Doctorow describes the decay of social platforms in three stages:

1. We work for the people
2. We work for our backers
3. We work for ourselves.

What if we applied these stages to nonprofits?

Nonprofits are often founded by people who want to do good by addressing a cause and meeting the needs of their beneficiaries. Many nonprofits start with the beneficiary in mind. Then funding is needed. In stage two, they start focusing on the backers. It’s about the galas, it’s about the fundraising campaigns, it’s about attracting prestigious board members. By stage three, it’s about legacy, heritage, and the survival of the organization itself. Sometimes, founders and their subsequent leadership teams lose sight of the organization’s purpose. As Maria Lilly, a strategic communications consultant, offers, “It becomes tragic when nonprofits focus more on reputational issues than finding smarter solutions to the issues they are chartered to address.”

Does this sound familiar?

Tech Giants are susceptible to decay.

Doctorow documents how Google, Facebook, Amazon, and tech leaders have all followed this path to making the online experience worse with each iteration. Let’s look at Amazon as an example.

Amazon started as a service that sold books and delivered them with guaranteed next-day delivery. It was all about customer focus. Then, Amazon expanded to sell nearly everything imaginable. In this second stage, the company became more manufacturer and supplier-focused, selling consumer data to build a marketplace for sellers.

In the third stage, Amazon now pits sellers against each other. When customers search for “Duracell batteries,” they are likely to list other brands first because “batteries,” as a search term, has been sold to the highest bidder. Amazon is no longer in the business of delivering to the consumer exactly what they want or supporting the sellers of the products; they are in the business of making money for Amazon.

How can nonprofits avoid the same fate?

Doctorow’s cure for the tech giants involves government regulations, breaking up monopolies, and renewing the importance of privacy rights. Admittedly, these are not the issues causing decay at nonprofits.

Instead, the issues that need to be addressed focus on defining or reaffirming a nonprofit’s mission and purpose. This is essential to never losing sight of their cause and the needs of the beneficiaries they serve. It’s also about clearly delineating what needs to be done and the activities pursued to achieve that mission.

This is by no means a suggestion that a nonprofit should not pivot if situations change. For example, March of Dimes was founded to address polio in children. When that disease was eradicated, they shifted their focus and now fight for the health of all children. GMHC was founded as the Gay Men’s Health Crisis when anyone afflicted with AIDS was likely to die. When drug regimens curtailed the disease, GMHC shifted its focus to “living” with AIDS.

There are also rare cases when a nonprofit will close once it has accomplished what it set out to do. Bill Gates has announced that the Gates Foundation will cease in 2045. He intends to accelerate its work and spend all of its funds, as he is not interested in building a future foundation that will lose its current focus.

What can you do to re-focus your nonprofit?

Strong leadership demands accountability to the non-profit’s purpose and is essential to meet the goals of its core mission. We advocate that nonprofits undertake genuine visioning exercises that create common goals and responsibility. Everyone at the organization — not just the marketing and development teams — must be on board. This is not about developing clever campaigns or marketing taglines, but rather core messaging that defines the vision and values of the organization. As Maria Lilly adds, “Core messaging that reflects the DNA of a nonprofit can help create a blueprint from which to operate and stay true to goals.”

Start by answering these questions about your nonprofit:

• Why does this organization exist? What and who do we serve? This is foundational to all activities – from operations to development.
• What are the measurable goals of success? And why NOW? Details matter. Do persona studies on the people you serve.
• Who is missing? Why? This exercise can serve to heighten focus or expand opportunistically.
• What are the barriers that prevent you –and your beneficiaries from succeeding? Be honest. Tackle weaknesses and challenges head-on. That’s strong leadership.

After addressing these issues, share the results with the entire organization. Everyone should be able to articulate the nonprofit's core vision, key target audiences, and commitment to deliver on a clear mission. This is key to avoiding nonprofit decay, building towards sustainability, and ultimately serving the greater good.

David Langton - Branding your nonprofit organization and building the right website are more critical today in the age of AI. I believe in harnessing the power of design to promote, educate, entertain, and inform — especially in the nonprofit sector, where a clear need for effective communication exists. We’ve worked with leading advocacy and cause-related organizations, including Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, Children's Aid, The International Rescue Committee, and The Legal Aid Society.  I am on the Board of the NYC AFP Chapter and spoke about understanding your audience and building a better communication program at the AFP ICON Global Conference in Toronto. I am the president of Langton Creative Group, a New York design and branding firm, and author of Visual Marketing (Wiley). For over 15 years, I have taught communication design and media studies courses at Hostos College/CUNY in the Bronx.