Ruth.McCambridge
Forum Replies Created
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I would second Wade. Don’t make the mistake of recruiting what used to be called “MAPS” (middle aged professionals) for their financial or other professional skills. All board members should be focused on the mission above all- go to your own networks and do some leg work to find out who among you mission focused creatives and scientists also has nonprofit financial chops. I have rarely met a nonprofit accountant or CFO without creative instincts and many of us creatives have some reasonable financial skills. Recruiting on the basis of professional skills first often results in a fractured and largely dysfunctional board or one that is tightly herded by staff
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I actually have a different experience of the ability of nonprofit leaders to face complexity of their financial strategies head on – I think many do it astoundingly well but we have few ways to recognize that because we don’t keep track of the successful strategies taken so that others can learn from them, The failures – of course – are also valuable learning moments that we should not all have to repeat. They may, in fact, reflect good ideas that hit a wall we should all keep track of so we can keep innovating.
What else resonated for you yesterday? I will invite Hilda in also to hear what you are talking about as more participants sign in!
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Dick, How does that contract work with the community foundation? what are the parameters of such a contract?
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On behalf of Jeanne Larson, one of the panelists at our webinar today
In our experience, investing in the staff is always the better path. There are limits to how much the Board and ED can retool the organization. It is the staff doing the work who can make the necessary improvements to build sustainability. By investing in competitive wages, bonuses, health benefits and more—we reduce turnover, reduce stress on families and build trust among those who are implementing our mission. And, we share the data so they are well versed in the challenges and impact of their efforts. When they feel valued and have a solid team, their ability to creatively find solutions, risk trying something new and their willingness to ‘go the extra mile’ during this time of ‘quiet quitting’—pays off in more mission impact and bottom line financial gain. Our team has true ‘ownership’ that will pay off better (and longer) than any operating reserve. Just my two cents.
Jeanne
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Hi! This is Ruth chiming in!
Some people expressed concern about UBIT yesterday when we were talking about earned income. UBIT is “unrelated business income” which can create problems of a number of kinds for nonprofits BUT the key word there is “unrelated.” We’ll go back to UBIT requirements and issues later in this series but this example is great because it just exhibits another revenue producing avenue to actively enact your mission. There is much written and researched about this but are there other examples participants have for:
1, successful earned income efforts that have stood the test of time? or
2. Earned income programs that have fizzled for one reason or another?
I will also ask Hilda if she has an example or two.