By James W. Shepard, Jr., Stanford Social Innovative Review

Say you hit the nonprofit jackpot: A philanthropist believes in your mission and — inspired by the evidence of impact you’ve already demonstrated — wants to see your organization grow quickly. Money has always been your most online casino pressing concern, but now that you have a big benefactor behind you, you’ve got the wind at your back. You’ve conquered the biggest challenge of growth. Haven’t you?

Maybe not. In fact, probably not. We have seen many organizations grossly underestimate the people, structure, and culture challenges that face them. As a result, they make mistakes, and the implications become visible only after they have compounded into serious problems: decreased program quality, missed growth goals, and/or loss of funders.