Life After Restructuring - Lois Mufuka Martin

The Forbes Fund Strategic Alliance Seminar
August 30, 2011
“Life After Restructuring: Real Stories”
Lois Mufuka Martin

The Dream…1981
Residential & Supportive
Services for Homeless Women Through
Community Collaborations
Increased Capacity with Visionary Leadership, County & State Funding, Earned Income and Strong Board Fundraising

Residential & Supportive Programs
30 Shelter Beds
20 Transitional Housing Beds
16 Permanent Housing Beds
The 902 Mental Health Clinic
Project Employ
About 60+ Employees

Collaborative Partners
Health Care for the Homeless Health & Wellness Clinic
Wellsprings Mercy Behavioral Health
The Human Resource Collaborative (Bethlehem Haven, POWER, CVVC)
Allegheny County Department of Human Services

Merger with Miryam’s - 2007
20 Transitional Housing Beds
10 Permanent Housing Beds
The Day Program
Aftercare Services
Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force
Health Care for the Homeless Clinic Site
About 30 Staff

Merger with Miryam's Cont.
Combined “92” Staff in 2008
Staff Involved Committee Led Development of New Mission & Values
Natural Staff Attrition
Little Awareness of What Led to the Merger
Founding Program Directors & Long Term Staff
Program Specific Letterhead

New Post Merger
Collaborations & Programming
Services Overseen by LSW, LCSW professional
Centralized Intake & Benefits
Housing Resource Coordination
Local, State and Federal Advocacy
Duquesne University School of Pharmacy
NIH/University of Nebraska Lincoln Research Project

The Struggle…
Combining Financial Systems
Unanticipated Expense of Acquiring old Building
Change in Economy and Federal Funding Requirements
Eliminating Staff Redundancies
Maintaining Quality Programming
Managing Internal and External Expectations

Lessons Learned
Pre Merger - Legal Counsel is Key
You don’t know what it is you don’t know
Communication Starts with Board Support
Set the tone early – the CEO is Authorized by the Board
Financial Preparedness is Not Enough
Mergers Cost Money - Expect the Unexpected
Invest in Your CEO as a Change Agent
Executive Coaching, Admin Support, Capacity Building
Invest in Your Staff as Most Valuable Resource
Inform, train & retrain as often as needed!

Never Underestimate the Power of Celebration!
Celebrate Your Success With Staff!

Light Up the Night!
Celebrate Success with your Board!

Volunteer Appreciation Tea
Celebrate Success with Volunteers!

Contact Information
Lois Mufuka Martin
Executive Director
Bethlehem Haven
Fifth Avenue Commons
905 Watson Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Office: 412-391-1348 ext. 231
lmartin@bethlehemhaven.org
www.bethlehemhaven.org

Thank You!

Life After Restructuring - Lois Mufuka Martin

by GPNP on Aug 31, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics

Life After Restructuring - Lois Mufuka Martin — Presentation Transcript