Corporate facilities managers have a very challenging job even with more predictable, larger budgets and resources, however, as a non-profit facilities manager we constantly operate in a perpetual state of “do more with less.”
Non-profits aim to serve the public good while Not-for-Profits are similar but typically operate on a smaller scale and may be centered around member activities rather than public benefit. This is similar to some trade associations.
As a nonprofit facilities manager, the hyper visibility to donors, volunteers and board members makes every expense scrutinized. Not only are we managing buildings, we are also managing the stewardship of donated resources combined with super tight constrained budgets. All this adds layers of accountability that corporate facilities managers may not encounter. However, in the grand scheme of things it allows a non-profit facilities manager to possess additional skills.
One skill that is at the forefront is the ability to “sell” per se. The needs of the facility always have to be presented to volunteers and donors as a key aspect of the mission and or organizational strategy. In many ways this requires fundraising and many times creative and innovative financing to keep operations and maintenance of the facilities in good standing order.
Partnering with longstanding vendors and contractors is one way a non-profit facilities manager can create creative ways to assist with operating budgets.
Another significant ability of a non-profit facility manager is the ability to locally interact with local supporters as well as the opportunity to utilize professional and trade association donations of expertise, services, products and labor. This helps considerably with keeping costs at bay and ensuring that budgets are contained during major reactive periods in the lifecycle.
A significant amount of deferred maintenance truly becomes a skill that involves not only explaining why I need to do it, but why we must, at some point, stop deferring it before it threatens mission critical facilities. For example, my HVAC, consists of a supplemental system to the building we are in and has outlived its lifecycle; with that said the coils were corroding but with our preventative maintenance, always compliant, and on task I knew by talking to the vendor who knows our equipment inside and out I could possibly get a few more years from the already corroding coils but my vendor told me if we defer another year you really risk the whole system to have major issues.
Off to the buy-in board I went! The new coils became mission critical and that’s how I was able to prove that we could not wait anymore without interrupting our mission. Living with the constant deferred maintenance list becomes a constant weight. This is why many times I stress the importance of preventive maintenance and why deferred maintenance isn't actually "saving money” but accumulated risk and future costs.
The time investment of thorough vetting when you're already stretched thin many times causes bottle necks in project timelines waiting for approvals and the incessant explaining to vendors on why you can’t easily accept the first option. Always trying to negotiate rates multiple times. It becomes a challenge, but when you build strong vendor relationships, as a non-profit with mission vendors, in my experience, they end up working well allowing me to focus on building these vendor relationships with those that truly understand the non-profit constraints.
In addition, I find myself building internal relationships with our in-house teams who work closely with vendors and, or donors of materials or even donate furniture and those are very creative and resourceful ways I counter the constant non-profit realities.
Last but not least as a multi-site non-profit, upon decommissioning offices, over the years, we enlisted green vendors to ensure we maximize existing materials and even negotiate with landlords and property managers to donate a lot of furniture and furnishings. This not only assists us in the process, but upholds our stewardship to the environment and our sustainability goals all at once.
Facilities management is no easy feat and when you have the ever so tight constraints as a non profit one, small wins are an instant morale booster and those wins work in our favor. It’s strategic.
In non-profit facilities management, celebrating small wins isn't just nice—it's strategic. It's how you sustain team morale, demonstrate stewardship to donors, and maintain resilience in an environment where you'll never have enough resources but must still deliver excellent results.
The small wins are proof that mission-driven work finds a way, even when the budget says it shouldn't be possible.
Maria Ruiz is a Facilities Operations Manager at UNICEF USA with 15+ years of cross-sector expertise. Overseeing multiple national offices, she applies Lean Six Sigma methodologies to create sustainable, efficient workspaces supporting humanitarian missions. Her writing champions women in facilities management by blending technical knowledge with practical insights that empower professionals in this traditionally male-dominated field.
