Running head: ARE WE UNITED?
“It’s
not how much we give but how much love we put into giving”: A Consultation Report for the
Jason R. Daniel
Northeastern
918-781-2967
Abstract
This is a consultation
report for the Lake Area United Way., Inc. located in
“It’s
not how much we give but how much love we put into giving”: A Consultation Report for the
Introduction
The
LAUW is located in downtown
This consultation report will look at five key areas of the organization to determine strengths and weaknesses. The five key areas are the board, personnel policies and management, marketing, fundraising and strategic planning. Through observation, interviews and research I was able to put together a grouping of information under these five key areas. This information should help the organization in its continuous developing process to become a better organization that serves its customers.
The first area of focus is the board of directors. The governing body of the organization should be the first place to look to see how the organization is ran. I will use information from board meetings and interviews to put together a summary of the information. Second, I will look deeper into the organization at its personnel policies and management issues. The third section will be the marketing of the organization and how well the LAUW markets itself? The fourth section of the consultation is fundraising. And last I will discuss the LAUW’s strategic plan or lack thereof. Utilizing interview material, I was able to obtain information from the organizational staff and put it together drafting a preliminary strategic plan.
The
The Board
First
we will discuss the board. The board is
the policy making, planning, and fiscal control group that directs the
organization’s processes. Their first
responsibility is the policy making for the LAUW. An example is the Articles of Incorporation
that was signed by Oklahoma Secretary of the State on
Another
duty of the board’s policymaking is to set the bylaws for the
organization. The LAUW’s bylaws are in place;
they were revised in March of 2007 and approved by the board of directors (
Currently,
there is not a responsibilities section in the bylaws. There should be a section on responsibilities
that describes meeting attendance, personal contribution levels, and
participation in events. Under the
committee’s section, the bylaws do not have the personnel committee. This section needs to be updated to include
the personnel committee because it is a vital role of the board. A clarification in Article XIV titled
“Amendments” needs occur where it states, “the delegation of board power may be
revoked by a two-thirds vote of the members” (
Planning
is another integral part of the LAUW board.
According to
For
the medium range planning, Busch expressed an interest in board planning
retreats. Robert Swanson states, “it is
incumbent upon a non-profit to provide orientation, education and training to
board members. Skills obtained in their
profession do not always transfer into the world of non-profits” (pg. 33).
I believe this holds true, Busch would like to incorporate the
During the discussion, Busch also mentioned what activities she would like to see in the community. Busch would like to do a “day of caring”, which is an annual event designed to promote giving and also find grant opportunities with educational departments or organizations like Muskogee Community Care. As far as the long term planning, new employees to recruit agencies and volunteers would be very beneficial according to Busch. My input would be to increase the overall funding for longevity of organization through the annual campaign and also starting a calendar of events for better planning.
The third aspect of the board is fiscal responsibilities or general oversight. The board is in charge of developing budgets, which must be approved annually in December. The board is also responsible for monitoring and approving monthly budgets. In doing so, the board approves the monthly statements to ensure that revenue and expenses are on target. They are closely monitored by the treasurer and given to the board president by the treasurer for review.
Other
fiscal controls include check signing, which according to the Bylaws Article
VI, “the funds of the corporation shall be disbursed by checks which shall be
signed by the treasurer and in the treasurer’s absence by the president or
other officer of the board as authorized to sign checks. All checks must be countersigned by the
executive director or staff member delegated by the executive director as
approved by the board of directors” (pg.
6). According to Busch, she approves
invoices and signs the checks (personal communication,
To protect the organization, the treasurer is bonded because he is a CPA through his own activity, but Busch doesn’t know if he’s bonded by LAUW. Busch also doesn’t know if the administrative assistant is bonded or not or should be. The position requires that person filling should be bondable. A check into proper protocol is needed.
Other monetary issues include a small petty cash account, which is reconciled like a monthly checking account. Also, the organization does allow first person checks that are not counter-signed, but only for things that are pre-approved. Examples of pre-approved first person checks include; salaries and expense checks with set amounts, such as cell phone and insurance reimbursement. Busch has sought a second signature on travel reimbursement because it is not a set amount each month. There is an expense report that must be filled out and attached so the check isn’t countersigned, but is approved by the board.
The
auditing system “has not changed from year to year,” said Busch (personal
communication,
The
board has never been set the amount expected for each board member to give
annually. Busch feels like the board
should take fiscal responsibility. “They
should be expected to support not only in volunteerism but in a financial sort,”
Busch stated, “I’m a firm believer in that” (personal communication,
Recently, the board was responsible for hiring a new executive director. Westphal and Zajac did a study on demographic similarity and new director selection and found that, “Psychological and sociopolitical factors lead CEOs and boards to favor new directors who are demographically similar to them and that the relative influence of CEO’s and boards predicts which party is more likely to realize his or her preferences in the new-director selection process” (pg. 77). I personally believe that the group took it upon themselves to hire the person they wanted. Regardless of other potential candidates, the decision to hire the new director was in place before the process began. With that being said, Busch is the correct person for the position, but protocol was not followed.
During the hiring process, expectations for director’s position were given to the board. The expectations of the director are outlined in the bylaws, “The executive director, with the advice and counsel of the president, the executive committee and the board, shall be in charge of the operation of the LAUW and shall employ all employees, subject to the approval of the executive committee or the board, and shall be responsible for and shall have the power to carry out details of the operations of the LAUW along the lines and policies and according to the regulations specified or indicated by the board or the executive committee” (Lake Area United Way [LAUW], 2007).
The
board is also responsible for performance evaluations for all employees. A new performance evaluation process was
implemented by the board on
Personnel
policies are another responsibility of the board. A Summary Plan Description (SPD) has been
implemented to show the various reimbursement levels for health care, cell
phone and automobile and was approved by the board of directors on
When
it comes to communication by the board, Busch says the LAUW must be visible, “Some
organizations do a marketing campaign, when you’re a non-profit it’s not an
option” (personal communication,
Board responsibility encompasses the membership, terms of office and committees. Robert Swanson states in his article on why a board becomes disgruntled is that, “members will grow weary of their role unless they have received an accurate job description” (pg. 32). The control of the LAUW is vested in the board. The board is composed of an odd number of members, the total number to be not less than eleven (11) or more than twenty-one (21). The number of directors is subject to change by the board, within the limits fixed by law and the articles of incorporation. Detailed job descriptions are given to the board during the required board orientation each January.
The
board composition is made up of mostly accounting (banking) and human resources
representatives. The board is older with
mostly 50 year olds and some 40 year olds, only two are younger than 30. In his article on board greatness, Sonnenfeld
states, “my research on executives over the past two decades has shown that, to
the contrary, age is often an asset..” (pg. 108). As well as the old, Taylor points out that
youth is extremely important as well when she states, “there are some
compelling reasons to include young members on non-profit boards, including:
new views and experiences, succession planning and special technical
knowledge. It has been said that
organizational decisions that are based on broad experiences and perspectives
will be better decisions” (pg. 4). There
are seven men and six women who are all Caucasian and from the
The board elects officers, run the meetings of the board and establishes committees for items such as nominating new members, allocation, which sets the amount to give to agencies under the LAUW umbrella and publicity to name a few. The publicity committee needs to be active, which currently it is not. I think the board would be served well with internal and external feedback on the board itself. In a discussion on board evaluations, Sonnenfeld states “Lack of feedback is self-destructive…people and organizations cannot learn without feedback” (pg. 113).
As far as meetings, there is an annual membership meeting to approve the budget and vote on incoming board members and additional meetings as needed. There is not a policy on meeting attendance for the LAUW board. Robert Swanson states, “Percentage policies can actually serve to alienate board members” (pg. 33). I believe that meeting attendance should be a policy.
Personnel Policy and Management
At the top of the LAUW organization chart is the contributing members and participating agencies and can be seen in Appendix B. The board is second in the organizational chart with a subgroup for the executive committee. Under the executive committee resides each board committee and 2nd to last is the director and last is the administrative assistant. The authority of the LAUW is governed by the board on behalf of the agencies and members.
The LAUW office is currently comprised of two staff members, the director and the administrative assistant. The job descriptions for the director and the administrative assistant can be located in the bylaws. The director is responsible for leading the LAUW office in all endeavors ensuring the vision and mission of the organization are met through marketing and the annual campaign. The administrative assistant is responsible for assisting the director in all endeavors and is also responsible for the fiscal aspect of the organization. The director reports to the president of the board of directors. The administrative assistant reports to the director.
The compensation levels are defined by the personnel policies of the organization. The compensation for both the director’s position and the administrative assistant’s position were changed during the hiring of the new director in the summer of ‘07. The 2007 budget allowed for $43,000 for the director’s position and $26,000 for the administrative assistant’s position. During the hiring of the director’s position, a personnel committee was assigned to review the salary for the assistant’s position and set the salary range for the director’s position. The personnel committee changed the director’s salary from the previous $43,000 to $52,000 an increase of $9,000 per year. The assistant’s position was granted an increase of $6,000 up to $32,000. With an increase of such proportion, a direct increase in revenue or improvement in the organization should be realized within three years.
We must ask ourselves how much is necessary for non-personnel related costs? According to financial reports, rent and insurance has an $3,500 annual budget, through August ’07 $1,656 was spent on rent and $471 on insurance. This is $677 under budget year to date (YTD). The phone budget is $2,900 annually and to date is at $2038, which is over budget $104. These are a few examples of the total non-personnel costs. In all, the total budget is $31 under budget. The only shortcoming is in the office supply category, which is $806 over budget.
The next question is, ‘is there enough left over for the organization to carry out its programs and activities or is the ratio of administrative costs to total budget too high?’ Currently the ratio is too high. The budget is over by $6500 year to date due mostly to salary increases. The 2007 budget was not prepared prior to the salary changes. The payroll equated to 13% of the total pledges raised in the 2006 campaign and was 67.3% of the operating budget. In 2008, the salaries will total $92,050 after taxes. The percent of total pledges will be around 15% if the campaign does not increase funding. It drops 1% per 50k. A problem will arise if there is a lack of funding because the payroll will total 70% of the operating budget for 2008.
The personnel
policy is responsible for setting policies and procedures on items such as;
employment and pay procedures, staff evaluation process, conflict of interest
policies, termination and grievance procedures, sexual harassment policies and
general office practices and procedures.
Employees are hired and there is a formal process with public notice
required. When employees for the
There is not an affirmative action process in place, there is an arbitration agreement that must be signed prior to working that states, “any controversy, dispute, or question arising out of or in connection with compensation, employment, or cessation of employment by the employer shall be submitted solely to and resolved in an arbitration proceeding before the American Arbitration Association” (Lake Area United Way [LAUW], 2007).
Is hiring done
solely on the basis of competence and qualifications? According to the
I believe every prospective employee allowed to see a job description. I would imagine that once an individual was brought in to interview the job description list would be a topic of conversation. If it isn’t, it should be. It should be part of a new hire process that should be a written process.
On the topic of
pay, employees are paid via check twice monthly on the 15th and last
day of the month unless that day is a regular day off, such as a weekend or
holiday. A system has been put into
place starting in 2008 to review annually the cost of living increase and merit
pay based on performance. Using data
from the US Department of Labor, Muskogee Market data from Workforce
The big issue for most employees is the staff evaluation process. This topic was discussed briefly in the board section but more detail is provided here. At the LAUW, supervisors and employees are strongly encouraged to discuss job performance and goals on an informal, day-to-day basis. A formal written performance evaluation will be conducted at the end of the employee's 90 day initial period of hire, otherwise known as the introductory or probationary period. Additional formal performance evaluations are conducted to provide both supervisors and employees the opportunity to discuss job tasks, encourage and recognize strengths, identify areas for improvement and personal development, and discuss positive, purposeful approaches for meeting goals.
Performance evaluations are scheduled each June, with merit-based pay adjustments. These are awarded by the LAUW in an effort to recognize employee performance. The decision to award such an adjustment is dependent upon numerous factors, including the information documented by the formal performance evaluation process.
There is an
annual review to be conducted each June.
The goals of each position will use the TRE to set responsibilities for
each calendar year and those must be approved by July 1 of that year. June of the year following a performance
evaluation period will be conducted and any compensation increases will go into
effect by August 1 of that same calendar year.
Under this new philosophy, the director will set the goals and
objectives of the administrative assistant and is also responsible for conducting
the annual performance review. The
president of the LAUW board is responsible for setting goals with the Director
and also conducting the review process for the Director. (
To protect the interests of the organization, the LAUW has conflict of interest policy and expects the primary interest of staff members to be the customers served by the organization. A conflict of interest occurs when the interests of a staff member or another outside party actually or potentially affect the LAUW in a negative manner. Employees may have outside business interests and outside employment so long as these do not interfere with job performance. Employees are not to accept gifts, gratuities, free trips, personal property or other items from an outside person or organization as an inducement to provide services. The LAUW recognizes its employees may hold a wide range of personal beliefs, values and commitments. These present a conflict of interest only when they prevent employees from fulfilling job responsibilities, use LAUW time and facilities to further these beliefs, values and commitments. Employees are urged to resolve any potential areas through a memorandum of understanding with the board.
When discussing the sexual harassment policy in place, the LAUW prohibits any form of, “Unlawful verbal, physical, visual, or sexual harassment based on race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran, or any other basis prohibited by applicable local, state, or federal law” (Lake Area United Way [LAUW], 2007). Improper interference with the ability of LAUW employees to perform their expected job duties is not tolerated. The LAUW prohibits unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and all other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual or otherwise offensive nature. This includes submission or such conduct that has the purpose of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. The sexual harassment policy also protects employees from offensive comment, jokes, innuendoes, and other sexually oriented statements.
The Complaint procedure for the LAUW harassment policy asks that each employee is responsible for creating an atmosphere free of discrimination and harassment, sexual or otherwise, and for respecting the rights of co-workers. Any job-related harassment, or mistreatment in an unlawful, discriminatory manner will be investigated and action taken. All complaints are kept confidential to the maximum extent possible. If it is determined that a LAUW employee is harassing another employee, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the offending employee, up to and including termination of employment. The LAUW prohibits any form of retaliation against an employee for filing a complaint or for assisting in a complaint investigation. Rules for false claims are also covered and can result in termination.
General office practices and procedures include specific rules on how the staff is to purchase materials. There is a joint discussion between the director and administrative assistant with direction from director when a purchase is initiated. Some instances purchases are made with cash and reimbursed to the administrative assistant. There is not a purchase order system in place, but there is approval of board needed for major purchases. The director has a credit card for purchases where an account is not set up. A P.O. system should be created and a credit card log should be submitted each month for tracking purposes.
Travel is covered in the general office guidelines as well. The LAUW will reimburse employees for reasonable business travel expenses incurred while on assignments away from the normal work location. All business travel must be approved in advance by the board president for the director and by the director for the administrative assistant. When approved, the actual costs of travel, meals, lodging, and other expenses directly related to accomplishing business travel objectives are reimbursed. Employees are expected to limit expenses to reasonable amounts. Mileage reimbursement is calculated at the IRS Standard rate, which is currently at 48.5 cents per mile.
Personal use of the telephone is permitted, but personal telephone calls are to be kept to a minimum. Personal long distance phone calls may not be charged to the LAUW phones. There is also a policy for use and care of office equipment, by which the computers, electronic media and services provided by LAUW are primarily for business use to assist employees in the performance of their jobs. Limited, occasional, or incidental use of electronic media (sending or receiving) for personal, non-business purposes is understandable and acceptable, and all such use is done in a manner that does not negatively affect the systems' use for business purposes.
The last subject I will discuss under the
general office guidelines is the working hours and conditions. Office hours are from
Marketing
Marketing
is a function of the LAUW that is important to the survival of the organization. In a conversation with the director and
administrative assistant, I learned that much of what is done in the way of
marketing is completed without any planning.
The LAUW has been given the label of a handout organization according to
my discussion with Busch and Edwards.
Director, Busch stated, “I have a different approach, I am trying to
help the community understand the connection and relevance of community
development as agencies that reflect aspects of community development”
(personal communication,
In my discussion
with Busch I learned that the community development approach is a big theme
from
While continuing
our discussion Busch elaborated on a point that the local companies are about
human capital and that, “companies value human capital almost more than they
value bricks and mortar infrastructure” (personal communication,
Making such a shift would require that the image of the organization be willing to change. Busch wants the LAUW to be the go to place for human service needs. In their article on Attitudes of Donors and Non Donors, Riecken and Yavas found “Most donors are college educated, married, 65 and older, have at least two children and make $50,000 or more” (pg. 576). They also found, “Most donors give for four reasons; family or friends will benefit from the organization in the future, to feel that they are making a difference, the organization works for causes I believe in and family or friends have benefited from the organizations work” (pg. 577). This confirms that Busch’s image campaign may be on target. I would like to see a bigger push on what the LAUW can do to help the community, not just help those in need.
To create this
self image, we must look at the marketing mix.
I believe that a good use of free media would be very beneficial. Utilize business organizations such as the
Chamber of Commerce and the Muskogee Development Corporation to communicate
what the LAUW is doing. Create a
relationship with these organizations that will allow for communication to
their constituents. The product of the
LAUW is the service it provides, not what it hands out. The service is providing funding to local
agencies that help those less fortunate.
Promotion of those services needs to be increased to maximize education
within the community. Currently, news
releases are being used, but very seldom.
It would be good to create “good news” releases about what agencies are
doing. There is also not a newsletter
being published. There was a newsletter
six years ago and was published twice a year.
Busch commented on how she wants to start another newsletter process and
I agree with that initiative. Another
key part of the marketing mix according to Busch is to “meet with newspaper
editorial board to try and educate public on what community development is and
why it’s important, responsibility of citizens” (personal communication,
To round out the
mix, price is different for each donor so it is difficult to place a fixed
price on what it costs to participate.
The place currently occupied by the LAUW is not very visable. I believe that a better office location along
with signage will help accentuate that the LAUW is alive and well in
To date, there has not been any market research conducted for the LAUW office. Director Busch wants to do it though. The only idea of how the LAUW is working is through word of mouth and how many clients are currently being served. Some type of data analysis needs to be created to help further the mission of the LAUW.
Current trends may be the answer in a nonprofit organization. Greer states in her article about online fundraising, “Younger generations are also less likely to respond to tradition mail or phone solicitations. They have readily adopted internet use and have greater demands on their time than ever” (pg. 26). Being a part of that next generation myself, I would have to believe that an internet campaign started slow and over a couple of years would eventually lead to a technology driven organization. Utilizing technology will help drive the marketing strategy of the organization.
What does the
S.W.O.T. look like? There are over 300
nonprofit organizations currently seeking funding in the
As far as opportunities, I think that a web based fundraiser may do well with the increasing use of the internet. There is also a potential opportunity to recruit more young professionals for volunteerism, board and committee membership. Greer states, “they (youth) are a prime audience for nonprofits, as many have not yet established regular charitable giving practices but may be open to doing so if spoken to in their language: technology” (pg. 26). The LAUW could also have a better fundraising campaign if some of the big businesses in the area not currently participating allow the new director in the door. There are several untapped piggy banks.
Strengths and weaknesses also play a key role. The rising cost of traditional marketing limits nonprofits on how much they can spend or how much time can be consumed by employees to do research and campaigns. To offset this weakness, a website could be a potential strength utilized by the LAUW. Reis states, “web sites need to be interactive, informative, communicative and create a support structure from the international to local chapter level. All this has to be done before you can begin to expect the internet to significantly increase fundraising efforts” (pg. 22). Although hard to analyze, there are current strengths of the LAUW that must be mentioned. The employees at the LAUW take great pride in doing a job well done, believe in what they are doing and are doing a good job. Other strengths include recent board participation in events and the connections the board has in such a small community.
Fundraising
Fundraising is the most important part of the LAUW’s scope of work. The organization is almost entirely funded by the annual campaign that takes place each fall. Mentesti states that, “there are several key elements that are usually a part of any successful fundraising strategy. They include; know your mission, become an effective player in the economic development arena, build from within your board of directors, remember who benefits from your efforts, make the most of your operating environment, give members a good return on their investment and keep things simple” (pg. 45).
The LAUW board currently has 100 percent board giving. In years past, this has not been the case. The current bylaws do not reflect a necessity for 100 percent board giving, my feeling is it should. Robert Swanson states, “it should also be the expectation that every board member give a gift to any capital campaign starting in their tenure” (pg. 33).
Currently,
approximately $7,000 is raised by the board’s annual donations. As far as how active the board is in
soliciting funds, it is my opinion that the board is not very good at all. Other than collecting money for their
respective businesses on some occasion, I would venture to say less than half;
the board has remained out of the light.
The
There are 2,483 donors that gave to the 2007 LAUW annual campaign. In their article on Identity Salience, Arnett, German and Hunt found “Managers who are trying to encourage supportive behaviors from donors should do so by encouraging them to develop salient identities related to the nonprofit organization” (pg. 100). Annually donors who give generally donate about $150 per person.
In all, the LAUW campaign
has fared extremely well. There is only
one annual event that coincides with the annual fundraiser by way of a golf
tournament. There is not a huge direct
mail campaign, but there is a small one.
Donors are sent communication about the upcoming campaigns and asked to
give again. There is not a phone script
for soliciting donations and there are no large gifts which are
restricted. On the local scene, the
The business
sector is the largest portion of the LAUW campaign. Even with the large support by many
businesses, Director Busch believes that almost all corporations are owned and
operated by outside entities and it makes it more difficult to reach them and
ultimate decision makers. She states, “I
think they are as generous as they should be as corporate citizens with
exception of a few” (personal communication,
Strategic Planning
A strategic plan has never been done for the LAUW. I was interested in asking specific questions about what the director and administrative assistant, Christy Edwards thought would be part of a plan if one was completed. Using this information, a sample strategic plan was compiled. This information could be used by the organization to start a comprehensive strategic plan.
The first area of discussion was the parameters and boundaries of a strategic plan. The initial step is to review the mission statement. The director wants to connect community resources with responsive and accountable health and human service organizations that have been established to improve the economic well-bring, education, health, treatment, support, and care for those individuals in need in east central Oklahoma. A review of the current mission statement would be needed and a vision statement needs to be created to align the organizational focus to the mission and vision of the organization.
A look at the
needs of the organization lead the director to believe that technology (software and hardware) would be
the most important initial need. Office
furniture was seen as a need as well as the continuing education of the board
and potential volunteers. I believe that
a huge need lies within finding a volunteer coordinator and a volunteer base to
help with events and fundraising.
What is the evaluation of present services? There is a wide variety of human services met through 21 local agencies but the organization needs to be more community impact focused. The administrative assistant believes that the organization is seen as a fundraising and referral agency. The staff believes that it provides a good funding base for the organizations covered under their umbrella. The problem lies with creating an image of community development rather than a place to go for a handout.
There are a number
of limiting conditions that impede the progress of the LAUW. As far as fiscal matters, the LAUW is restricted to fund raising monies. This causes a need to find other funding
sources. The budget also does not
allow the office to be as technologically advanced as needed. “There is a lot of lost time struggling with
old or inadequate equipment (folders, printers, postage machines, computers,
etc.),” according to Edwards, (personal communication,
Other limiting
conditions include government regulations.
Currently the organization has to follow all nonprofit regulations. There is also guidelines the organization
must follow under the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). The CFC is the campaign that encompasses the
donations of all federal employees in the city of
Now we know what the limitations are, what are the wishes of the LAUW staff? Busch would prefer a larger depth of understanding and a more comprehensive view of what the LAUW can be within its communities. This would allow the LAUW to benefit from strategic planning which would hopefully increase involvement and dedication. Edwards would like to see the board get more involved, whether it is with special events, during the campaign, or just getting involved in committees. It seems that we have very few board members that do anything other than attend meetings.
The LAUW staff would also like to see improvements in the membership. Busch would especially like to see that happen in the community at large. She believes that the entire region would benefit from a public understanding of community development and its ability to enhance economic outcomes. Edwards would like it if the LAUW agencies would be more supportive of the organization. She feels that a policy should be put into place so that agencies do not become complacent with their partnership with the LAUW.
Societal trends
and competition also play a key role in the plan. According to Busch, a review of demographics indicates a slight
downward economic spiral; racial division; drug and alcohol problems,
educationally challenged and southern rural viewpoints that tend to hurt the
organization. Competition includes the
300 nonprofits we discussed earlier that are in the area taking up financial
funding. Edwards discussed the
The LAUW as we discussed in the marketing section of the paper doesn’t necessarily have a bad or negative public image. Busch did note that the organization is viewed as funding organization for the ‘down and out’ or as a ‘hand-out or hand-up’ organization. Edwards feels that in the past some employers made giving to LAUW mandatory by their employees. She now feels that this has made some employees reluctant to give to the LAUW, and in some way feel that the LAUW pushed the employers to enforce the mandatory giving.
The last limiting condition discussed was the size of the staff. There are two employees. One is the director and the other the administrative assistant. There is not time or money for either to do half of the jobs required of them. There needs to be a push by the organization to create enough funding or find enough grant money to hire additional staff members for the organization. This would allow the staff to plan and execute strategies.
Now that the organization knows what it’s up
against what is the plan of action?
First a review and possible change of the current mission and
establishing a vision is what the director foresees. Busch also would like a better structure of
the LAUW office and its services. She
intends to get the administrative assistant more involved in the community to
put more of a face on the LAUW office.
There is also potential
to reshape the spring agenda. There is
downtime that can be taken advantage of by the staff to do planning, media
awareness and make speaking engagements in the community. I personally believe that both the director
and administrative assistant need to tackle this together and share the
responsibility. Together they can accomplish
more.
Another topic of
discussion was a potential day of caring.
Another idea was to incorporate a spring fundraiser where the
organization sells a playhouse or jungle gym to raise money. The organization could figure out a
specific plan to strengthen volunteerism from
What outcomes does the organization
want? First, Busch would like the
organization to be seen as a community development leader. She would like to see a strategic planning session
conducted in the Spring of 2008 that includes a 5 year timeline with yearly obtainable
incremental steps. Busch would also like
to revise the agency application process.
She wants to completely review all agencies for relevance and connectivity
to goals and objectives to the LAUW.
The strategies timeline starts with a
director orientation in the spring of 2008.
This is followed by possible strategic planning in early summer, more directors’
training in the middle of the summer and a strategic review and retreat for the
board in 2009.
To do this strategic planning, an educational campaign will have to take place according to Busch. This will have to be done through an increase in funding, grants and partnering initiatives to make it obtainable. I believe that Busch and Edwards are on target and are ready to go after carrying out the plan of action, or at least the outline of the plan. The first step is going to be getting the board’s buy-in of the plan and strong leadership to execute it.
Conclusion
The organization looks to be maintained with a great deal of care. Board members are very good about laying the foundation for the staff and the operations of the office. Policies and procedures are in place and should allow the internal combustion of the organization to have a great run of success.
There are problem areas within the organization. The board is lacking the motivation to help in the fundraising efforts like they should. More emphasis should be placed on what is required of each board member. The biggest portion of the LAUW income is made up of fundraising that occurs during a three month period each fall. The board should play a key role in the success of the campaign, with hands on exposure year ‘round.
Another area that needs addressed is the marketing of the organization. A committee of board members and community leaders needs to be put together to figure out how to utilize media outlets more effectively. Communication vehicles need to be improved and a constant flow of communication needs to be established. This will allow the director the opportunity to make the switch in image she discussed.
The final and perhaps most crucial piece of the puzzle left is the strategic planning of the organization. It seems there has been no strategic planning other than by word of mouth and from agenda to agenda. It has not been a practice for the board to prepare anything for much longer than a year and even in this case the planning is very methodical planning from year to year. The strategic plan would take care of the issues facing the LAUW and should tie up the loose ends. I believe the organization is on the right track and with careful, well thought out planning could be at a million dollars raised within 5 – 10 years with a strategic plan.
References
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Appendix
A. Service Learning Hours_______________________________________________
|
DATE |
HOURS |
Service Learning |
|
|
0.5 |
First discussion on |
|
|
1.0 |
Meeting with NSU representatives and Christy Edwards on donations from Tahlequah businesses |
|
|
1.0 |
Attended United Way Kickoff luncheon |
|
|
1.0 |
Prepared communication about golf tournament via email |
|
|
3.0 |
Discussion and draft of golf brochure to mail to individuals and attended a personnel committee meeting discussing employee handbook changes |
|
|
2.0 |
Discussion and draft list of donors for golf tournament and board setup |
|
|
1.5 |
Attended board meeting |
|
|
2.5 |
Golf meeting with Christy Edwards and review of the Employee Handbook |
|
|
1.5 |
Meeting with Christy Edwards on golf tournament progress and volunteer participation |
|
|
2.5 |
Meeting on golf tournament finalizing volunteer efforts, hole signage, donations, food, event coordination and team placement |
|
|
8.0 |
Volunteer for |
|
TOTAL |
24.5 |
|
Appendix B. United Way Organization Chart_________________________________________
Note: the Executive Director is now Debi Busch. The file pictured above reflects the past director.