Well that was only one side of the ED story. Only recently have I seen the ED position as attractive and that’s because another fellow under 40 yr. old nonprofit dynamo is my current President/CEO. She has truly opened my eyes and also caused me to rethink becoming an ED. Not only that but in the past two years I’ve made a conscious effort to seek out nonprofit executives as mentors and to gain additional training like my nonprofit graduate certificate from Eastern Michigan University. During that time I had an opportunity to be taught by an American Red Cross chapter CEO, a current and past president of AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) and a nonprofit finance VP just to name a few. This gave me a chance to ask them the not so dumb questions that I had like “Look shoot it to me straight, what’s the role of an ED really like?” Because guess what, the more and more I learned and asked questions, I thought to myself “Hey that’s something I can do…I think?” Only after one of my awesome mentors, a current ED for another nonprofit, said to me “La’Leatha you would be a fabulous ED!” did I really start to believe in myself, my experience and my abilities. Don’t get me wrong I’m not going to run out and become an ED tomorrow however it is on my radar screen and in my target range before I turn 40. She took me to lunch and said “Listen here are the things you need to know and if you don’t know them learn um.” Wow what a novel idea right…someone taking the time to actually show us under 40 something’s what you really need to know about becoming a nonprofit ED… (insert sarcastic face). But let’s be honest while the nonprofit field has become more of a deliberate career path, how often do EDs really take the time to groom and show potential future EDs the ropes? That’s why many under 40 something’s leave the field because they feel there just aren’t opportunities for career growth or they go from nonprofit to nonprofit seeking that growth. I know that many nonprofits are swamped but if we truly are the next generation of nonprofit leaders, while we can certainly learn some things on our own, wouldn’t it be nice to have a deliberate career path of training much like in the business world. A young business school graduate is almost immediately taken under the wing of someone at corporation X and shown the ropes. Remember the “Management Trainee” programs from the 80’s? Why don’t nonprofits take the time to do the same?

From my experience and conversation with my fellow young nonprofiteers, I find that many fear or aren’t interested in the ED position for the same reasons I was, fear of the unknown and is that something I can really do and I don’t want to sucked away from actually touching the people I serve. Well just like one of my mentors breathed belief into me by simply sharing her experiences and knowledge, I hope that this post may do the same for someone else because there are many of us who are quite capable if we just believe in our skills and talents and know what we’re getting into and what’s expected of us. I mean a doctor, a nurse, social worker, etc. they’re trained and know what is expected of them but does anyone every do that for future potential nonprofit executives? No…so here goes. Here is what my mentor shared with me and I hope that by sharing it with you maybe, just maybe a light bulb will go off for you saying “Hey I can do that.” My personal confidence in becoming a future ED was built on my experience, continued training and because someone took me to lunch and broke it down for me.

Things you should know as an ED

1. Understand strategic planning
2. Know the difference between mission vs. vision
3. Have a handle on the org chart
4. Understand some basic HR law and practices (evaluations, hiring practices, staff issues)
5. Understand budgeting
   1. Profit and Loss statements
   2. Audits
   3. Cash flow
   4. Know how to read contracts and don’t take it lightly
      1. Full-time, part-time, contractual employment
      2. D & O insurance for agency leadership, board members (you should have it)
      3. Building and equipment insurance
      4. Learn how to build morale with your employees
         1. Raises vs. bonuses (bonuses are preferred because it’s one time)
         2. Have an Open Door policy
         3. Understand the role of the board
            1. Schedule appointments to get to know them as individuals
            2. Build them up
            3. Develop an agency culture
            4. Be a great writer. Can you tell your agency’s story?
            5. Grant writing

After I scrambled to write all this down, I did become slightly overwhelmed and I think she saw the look on my face. She said “You’re not going to be an expert in all of these areas but have some knowledge of them and have balance in all the areas. Then hire the best people on your team but you’ve got have some knowledge in these areas to be a great ED.”

© 2011 La’Leatha Ryan Spillers All Rights Reserved

Great resources for future nonprofit EDs

NGen: Moving Nonprofit Leaders from Next to Now

Young Nonprofit Professionals Network

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. – Ephesians 4:2 NIV

Over the past 2 months my husband and I experienced an unexpected surgery that kept me in the hospital for two and half weeks. Then to only be followed by complications that were also very serious and put me back in the hospital for another week. I thank God for his grace and mercy on me and my family during this whole time but I am also thankful for healing and for the lessons I learned during this time. Often times when not so good things happen to us we ask “Why?” We become frustrated and angry basically because we are no longer in control, when in all honestly we were never in control. , HE is and will always be…that’s God, the Lord, my savior – Jesus Christ. Now regardless of your religion or faith, I believe there are lessons and insight that can be gained from every life experience, particularly those that aren’t so good because that’s when you’re tested. So needless to say throughout this recent ordeal, I have learned first-hand patience and to wait on the Lord because truly his timing is always right on time.

This time has brought me closer to my husband in ways that you can’t even imagine and it has made our marriage stronger. During this time we often asked ourselves “Why did this happen? And why at this time, to us?” Well, we may never truly know the answer to that but I can say that this experience has truly enhanced my marriage, increased my already great closeness to my family and friends and quite frankly taught me patience. Trust me when you’re stuck in the hospital for weeks at a time you learn patience. During this time I couldn’t really do too much for myself, I needed assistance to do almost everything – walk, eat, shower…and if you know anything about me, I’m a very independent person who likes to plan things and be prepared. Well, this was truly a lesson in having to not only lean on others but also a wake-up call that you can’t do it all by yourself and you certainly can’t do it without God. I believe in many ways God was reaffirming to my husband and I that HE was still on the throne and in control.

Here are a few great lessons that reaffirmed me during this time from the book “The Love Dare.”

Patience…patience allows you to respond in a positive way to a negative situation.

Patience…patience helps you give your spouse, friends, family, etc. permission to be human. Patience understands that everyone fails but with patience when a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it.

Anger, frustration, yelling and getting all upset never makes anything better. These things are like poison being spread and often times anger is usually caused when the strong desire for something to happen is mixed with disappointment and grief. Those feelings are okay but adding anger to the situation never makes anything better.

Lastly, patience gives you the ability to hold on during tough times in your relationships rather than quitting under pressure or when the times get tough.

Today I am thankful for PATIENCE!

Hello from Atlanta! I’m writing to you from the BoardSource Leadership Forum, 2011 as a Judith O’Connor Memorial Scholar (JOC). BoardSource is a 501 (c)(3) organization based in Washington D.C. that provides training and support to nonprofit boards across the county. Every year BoardSource honors the legacy of former BoardSource President and CEO, the late Judith O’Connor. This year marks the sixth year that the fund has offered scholarships to emerging nonprofit leaders and this year I was honored to be selected as one of the 20 recipients.

Since arriving in Atlanta I have met some amazing folks from all over the U.S.(including fellow YNPNeers who are also JOC Scholars (see pics below) and five countries including Brazil. There is truly some amazing work taking place all for the better of communities around the world and I am thrilled to be here to listen, share and learn from all 600 attendees.

2011 JOC Scholars

There is wealth of information being shared here over the next two days and there was no way I could share it all but I did want to give you a few highlights from the sessions I attended on Day 1. So here goes. 

Opening Plenary

Linda C. Crompton, President and CEO, BoardSource

“This conference is about deepening the understanding and application of our role as board members. We’re here to also learn more about what is going in the world and our role in it. We have to ask ourselves, how are we going to reshape this sector to get the work done?”

In regards to the ever changing economic landscape for nonprofits – “The more we convince ourselves that things are hopeless, the more we make it difficult to change or accomplish anything.”

Jeff Faux, Founding President and Distinguished Fellow, Economic Policy Institute

Mr. Faux spoke to NPOs and the new economy and what we can predict about America’s future. During his talk he shared some startling facts.

-Wages and Salaries are the single most important economic statistic. Between 1946-1978 wages and salaries were steadily going up but in 1979 it flattened and between 1979 – 2001, before the crash it continued to stay flat. This means that a young college-educated 30 something professional in 2007 is making the same as a professional from 1979. YIKES!

-How is it that that time looked so prosperous during the “hey day” of consumption if our wages stayed the same? How did we make up the gap? “Well, quite frankly,” he said “It was debt. Americans from the government on down to the individuals went deeper and deeper into debt to make up the gap.”

Other interesting statistics he shared:

-America has the highest long-term (6 months) unemployment statistic since 1966 when we started collecting this stat. Ouch! But not necessarily totally surprising given what we see in this sector.

-Over the next few years there will be slow to no growth. Projections indicate that we won’t be back to pre-2007 for 15 years. “We’re not gonna go back to the good ‘ol days,” Faux said.

-The poverty rate for those who are between the ages of 16-64 years is at the highest it’s ever been since we started collecting this statistic in America and 75% of those are working people who aren’t making enough to stay out of poverty.

But it’s not all doom and gloom…the good news is our sector is needed more than ever but the bad news is the government is cutting funds to help us do it and there is more competition for resources.

Faux stressed that he was not telling us this to bring us down but wanted us in the nonprofit sector to know that “Denial is not a strategy.” He asked us if our city has 2 or 3 or 4 orgs doing the same thing. As we adjust to the changing economy some will have to merge and consolidation can be painful he stressed but whatever we do, we can’t do it alone. “We need to return to mutual self-help,” stated Faux. He concluded by stating that an ideal situation would be resetting our priorities at the national level. “ We can’t build a future for young people by striping old people of Medicare and social security…We have to sell more to the rest of the world vs. buying more from the rest of the world…then we can reinvest in success for our children…we all have a common interest in success.”

Leadership Luncheon

The leadership luncheon and Judith O’Connor lecture, where JOC Scholars were highlighted, featured a pioneer in the social entrepreneur movement and the first Echoing Green Fellow to lead the global social venture Fund, Cheryl Dorsey, President, and Echoing Green.

2011 JOC Scholars pictured with BoardSource Chair, David Nygren and BoardSource President and CEO, Linda Crompton

What is a social entrepreneur?

-They pioneer innovations that benefit the community

-They always see what is possible.

-They are outcomes-oriented and are accountable to being judged by metrics and on their impact.

-They exude resource magnetism. They can draw folks to them and rally their support.

-They see assets, strengths and opportunities when others see the glass as half empty.

-They have core identity alignment – Their head and their heart are aligned in what they are uniquely suited to do to make an impact on the world

Some early recipients of Echoing Green funds and pioneer social entrepreneurs included Wendy Kopp, Founder of Teach For America, SEED School, the first urban boarding school and Michelle (Robinson) now Obama who started the Chicago Alliance.

Money and Mission: Managing in a changing economic reality

Presented by David Greco, VP of Nonprofit Finance Fund

Adaptability to the “New Normal” requires Nonprofit Leaders to:

-          Recognize and consider new business models, platforms and financial realities for your institution.

-          Engage everyone – funders, boards, government – in the change strategy

-          Distinguish capital from revenue in organizational plans and fundraising strategies

-          Manage costs in the context of revenue and capital realities: Doing less in the short term may be critical to fulfilling your mission long term

-          Focus on outcomes and results: enterprise health and effectiveness

-          Embrace change and emerge stronger

Key Takeaways:

-Know what to look for: Having access to reliable, accurate and timely financial data over a multi-year period is a first step to understanding your financial story.

-Understand what it means: Even with good data, it is important to know what the numbers mean for your org in programmatic terms.

-Consider the implications for the future: Your financial data should be incorporated into your decision-making, both programmatically and strategically, in order to meet your goals, current and future.

I also was fortunate enough to be able to attend a session lead by Jan Masaoka, Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Blue Avocado and co-author of “Nonprofit Sustainability: Making Strategic Decisions and Financial Viability,” who also spoke to aligning your orgs business model between impact and financial viability.

WHEW! I am beat and that’s just a small snippet of what I absorbed in my 12 hour first day of the BoardSource Leadership Forum. Goodnight for now. Day 2 awaits.

Fellow YNPN member, Efrem Bycer from YNPN San Diego

Fellow YNPN member, Jessie Singer from YNPN Phoenix

BoardSource Leadership Forum 2011 ”Governing toward the Future”

When Matthew* was 7 years old his 4th Uncle was incarcerated. Matthew’s household consists of his mother, grandparents and his two younger sisters. Besides his grandfather Matthew is the only male in the home.

At the time that Matthew enrolled in the MCP Program at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit (BBBSMD) he did not have a consistent male figure in his life, his father was in and out of his life and his primary male influence was his uncle. However, his uncle was now incarcerated along with his three other uncles. His mom was concerned and did not want him to repeat the pattern of his four uncles. That’s when mom reached out to the BBBSMD – Mentoring Children of Promise/Amachi program. Amachi being a Nigerian word meaning: “Who knows but what God has brought us through this child.” This program is specifically for children who have a parent and/or family member who is incarcerated.

Children of prisoners can experience both short and long-term problems, shown over the course of the past seven years that BBBSMD has served this population.  In the short-term, problems resulting from the incarceration of a parent include shame, social stigmatization, family financial instability, difficulty in school, increased delinquency, and a greater risk of abuse or neglect.  Over the long- term, children of prisoners experience questioning of parental authority, negative perceptions of law enforcement officers, decreased coping capacity, developmental delays, and higher risks of criminal behavior.  Many prisoners are in a cycle of repeated incarceration, whereby the children experience the grief and anxiety of separation time and time again.  This is especially damaging, as adolescence are in a stage of development where parental relations are particularly important to identity formation.  Children losing mothers to prison are significantly more traumatized than those who lose fathers, in part because of child welfare and parental rights policies.  When a mother is incarcerated, her children are more likely to be uprooted from their living situations and placed into another that exposes them to a greater risk of neglect and abuse.  If there is no family member to care for the children, they are placed in foster care.

Mentoring Children of Promise – Amachi  helps meet the critical need of providing support and caring to some of the thousands of Detroit area children who have experienced the trauma of parent imprisonment.  Since 2003, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit (BBBSMD) has provided specialized programming for children with an incarcerated parent and/or significant family member through funding from the Department of Health and Human Services under the Administration of Children, Youth and Families.

Matthew’s uncle’s incarceration affected him in many ways and after his last uncle’s incarceration, Matthew began to experience low self-esteem because he was being teased at school. Prior to being matched in the Amachi program Matthew was not doing well in school. After being matched with his Big Brother, Will*, Matthew’s mom got a call from his teacher; she immediately wondered what Matthew did wrong. Instead, the teacher called to tell her that she didn’t know what happened, but Matthew had done a complete 180 – he was behaving better and his most recent report card was full of “very good grades,” his mother expressed.

Big Brother Will expressed, “Matthew is an exceptional young man who stands tough even with all he has been through. He is a ball of fire and loves to express himself. Matthew indeed has taught me a lot from our relationship and has been an inspiration to me.”

In 2009, 83,976 children in the state of Michigan had an incarcerated parent.

A Big Brother or Big Sister to a child with an incarcerated parent or family member is NOT a replacement for that missing parent or family member. However, a mentor can provide a positive influence in a child’s life. Having an adult role model there that you can communicate with makes a world of difference to a young person who just needs an outlet to express their feelings.

If you know of a child with an incarcerated parent or family member that is in need of a mentor, contact me at 313-309-0500.

*Names were changed.

Visit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Detroit

Also view Mentoring Children of Prisoners Retrospective  video from the 2011 MCP Conference in Kansas City. It’s about 11 min long but worth it. I’m at 2:35 min.

**********************************************************************************************************

In April 2011, Congress passed and the President signed into law H.R.1473 that provides full year funding for the Federal Government for FY2011. H.R. 1473 does not include a provision for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners (MCP) program and therefore, there was no funding appropriated to continue the MCP program.

However, BBBSMD will continue to serve this population of children and other at-risk youth who are in need and want a mentor.

Hello world! I’ve finally entered the world of blogging. I know this is something I was “supposed” to do a LONG time ago but I put it off because I wasn’t sure exactly what I would talk or write about. And if you know me, I am never at a loss for words (smile). Anyway, I decided to finally take the plunge when I realized that there are really no major rules and no one is going to grade this, well I will seek feedback but hey really the only judge to whether or not this blog is successful is ME!

So welcome and enjoy. I will most likely write about the following categories because this is my life – Family, friends, married life, my awesomely amazing husband, my cats a.k.a The Boys, the nonprofit world, leadership, being a Gen Xer, my alter ego “LL” and whatever else catches my eye.

Enjoy!! Oh yeah feel free to follow me (pending approval) on Twitter at your own risk LOL Me on Twitter.