"Run more like a business"

Baby boomers heed the call to
Seek meaning in our lives.
"Make a difference" is the hope.
The entry fee seems low.
Just teach the skills from business,
and make non-profits grow.

Migrants from for-profits say
it's numbers that should matter.
Measure your impact,
count those dollars and cents.
Balance your sheets
and cover that bottom line.

Will that teach a child to read?
Glean potatoes from the field
and fill the empty belly?
Heal illness and end disease?
Give a home to a family and
love the abandoned infant?

Boomers seeks to save their souls
bring their balance sheet to rights
but what is really shifting here?
The person or the field?
A battle rages for the soul of charity,
it's profit versus love.

Balance sheets are reassuring to the brain.
But wise spending does not occasion giving.
Giving is from the heart and a sense of community.
Can a number awaken generosity of spirit?
What do we lose in pursuit of profit
in a not-for-profit realm?