1. 14 | AUG. 10-16, 2015 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com
NONPROFITSURVIVALGUIDE
Generate revenue
A deeper bench
Shifting roles
Don’t go it alone
Telling your story
Not just ‘an ask’
Fundraisers, grants, donations.
It can get challenging to tend to
it all.
“One of the things I think non-
profits don’t spend enough head
space on is the revenue side of
the equation,” Animal Rescue
Rhode Island board President
Douglas J. Rubenstein said.
Targeting potential pet owners
and supporters of animal causes
further from the organization’s
South County roots helped it con-
nect with new potential donors. n
Having regular conversations
about leadership is an important
way to ensure that transitions
are well managed and the or-
ganization is strong, said Anne
Nolan, former president and CEO
of Crossroads Rhode Island. Jill
Pfitzenmayer, vice president of
Rhode Island Foundation’s Initia-
tive for Nonprofit Excellence, says
concrete and conscious succes-
sion planning for both board and
staff members is key to long-term
survival. n
It’s the age-old question of
philanthropy, says Matthew
Netto, president of the Rhode
Island chapter of the Association
of Fund Raising Professionals
and state director of the non-
profit Best Buddies Rhode Island.
Which is more important, money
or mission? Nonprofits need
both, but short- and long-term
relationships with volunteers
can go just as far in ensuring the
health of an organization as the
almighty dollar, Netto says.
“I want people fully invested in
the mission, fully engaged in the
programs, actively spreading the
mission,” he said. n
Partnering with other nonprof-
its, particularly those with similar
missions, can reduce duplication
of services and be less taxing on
donors and volunteers, as well as
boards and staff. “Funders recog-
nize that when two organizations
are trying to raise the same dol-
lars, they believe their dollars go
farther” if they collaborate, said
AIDS Care Ocean State Executive
Director Paul Fitzgerald. n
The board of directors’ role
is to ask questions but not to go
around the executive director,
said Owen Heleen, a member of
several nonprofit boards, includ-
ing PACE and the Audubon Soci-
ety of Rhode Island.
“You have to have the kind of
relationship where you can ask
tough questions and the execu-
tive director can expect support
and encouragement in return,”
he said.
Yet nonprofits in transition
with leadership are having to
re-examine the board-executive
director structure, with more
broad-based staffing teams tak-
ing on management duties. n
Funders and audiences gener-
ally want to understand the hu-
man side of a nonprofit’s mission.
“[Nonprofits should] take
advantage of opportunities that
are out there: workshops and
ways to tell their story, and how
to use data effectively to tell their
story,” said Adam Greenman,
executive vice president of com-
munity investment for the United
Way of Rhode Island. n
me,” she said, suggesting her posture
had the potential to put Crossroads at
risk. “They offered very good advice
and counsel during a particularly
touchy period for Crossroads and for
me,” she added.
Still, board members are stewards,
not shareholders, and must recognize
that fact while guiding an organiza-
tion, Heleen notes.
“The people they serve believe the
organization belongs to them, and in
many ways it does,” he said. “[Board
members] represent the community.”
Staying “engaged” can make it
“hard to become businesslike, make
those hard decisions and make them in
a way that advances the mission,” he
added.
FUNDING CHALLENGES
Dealing with unchanging federal
and state funding over time as the
costs of doing business rise has chal-
lenged many nonprofits, forcing them
to develop more diverse revenue
streams.
Patti Macreading, executive direc-
tor of the Rhode Island Family Shelter,
said her nonprofit’s financial struggles
led to closing the shelter in early July,
although it is still operating apart-
ments for clients.
The nonprofit saw its overall fund-
ing drop from $500,000 to about $400,000
over a four-year period, which led to
the laying off of the shelter’s entire
11-person staff and having seven resi-
dents relocated to other facilities.
Board President Christina D. Johnk
did not immediately return calls seek-
ing comment.
The shelter’s plight is not uncom-
mon, however, said David Caprio,
president and CEO of Children’s Friend,
which has a $25 million operating
budget – about one-quarter of which is
covered by funding from state agen-
![14 | AUG. 10-16, 2015 | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | www.pbn.com
NONPROFITSURVIVALGUIDE
Generate revenue
A deeper bench
Shifting roles
Don’t go it alone
Telling your story
Not just ‘an ask’
Fundraisers, grants, donations.
It can get challenging to tend to
it all.
“One of the things I think non-
profits don’t spend enough head
space on is the revenue side of
the equation,” Animal Rescue
Rhode Island board President
Douglas J. Rubenstein said.
Targeting potential pet owners
and supporters of animal causes
further from the organization’s
South County roots helped it con-
nect with new potential donors. n
Having regular conversations
about leadership is an important
way to ensure that transitions
are well managed and the or-
ganization is strong, said Anne
Nolan, former president and CEO
of Crossroads Rhode Island. Jill
Pfitzenmayer, vice president of
Rhode Island Foundation’s Initia-
tive for Nonprofit Excellence, says
concrete and conscious succes-
sion planning for both board and
staff members is key to long-term
survival. n
It’s the age-old question of
philanthropy, says Matthew
Netto, president of the Rhode
Island chapter of the Association
of Fund Raising Professionals
and state director of the non-
profit Best Buddies Rhode Island.
Which is more important, money
or mission? Nonprofits need
both, but short- and long-term
relationships with volunteers
can go just as far in ensuring the
health of an organization as the
almighty dollar, Netto says.
“I want people fully invested in
the mission, fully engaged in the
programs, actively spreading the
mission,” he said. n
Partnering with other nonprof-
its, particularly those with similar
missions, can reduce duplication
of services and be less taxing on
donors and volunteers, as well as
boards and staff. “Funders recog-
nize that when two organizations
are trying to raise the same dol-
lars, they believe their dollars go
farther” if they collaborate, said
AIDS Care Ocean State Executive
Director Paul Fitzgerald. n
The board of directors’ role
is to ask questions but not to go
around the executive director,
said Owen Heleen, a member of
several nonprofit boards, includ-
ing PACE and the Audubon Soci-
ety of Rhode Island.
“You have to have the kind of
relationship where you can ask
tough questions and the execu-
tive director can expect support
and encouragement in return,”
he said.
Yet nonprofits in transition
with leadership are having to
re-examine the board-executive
director structure, with more
broad-based staffing teams tak-
ing on management duties. n
Funders and audiences gener-
ally want to understand the hu-
man side of a nonprofit’s mission.
“[Nonprofits should] take
advantage of opportunities that
are out there: workshops and
ways to tell their story, and how
to use data effectively to tell their
story,” said Adam Greenman,
executive vice president of com-
munity investment for the United
Way of Rhode Island. n
me,” she said, suggesting her posture
had the potential to put Crossroads at
risk. “They offered very good advice
and counsel during a particularly
touchy period for Crossroads and for
me,” she added.
Still, board members are stewards,
not shareholders, and must recognize
that fact while guiding an organiza-
tion, Heleen notes.
“The people they serve believe the
organization belongs to them, and in
many ways it does,” he said. “[Board
members] represent the community.”
Staying “engaged” can make it
“hard to become businesslike, make
those hard decisions and make them in
a way that advances the mission,” he
added.
FUNDING CHALLENGES
Dealing with unchanging federal
and state funding over time as the
costs of doing business rise has chal-
lenged many nonprofits, forcing them
to develop more diverse revenue
streams.
Patti Macreading, executive direc-
tor of the Rhode Island Family Shelter,
said her nonprofit’s financial struggles
led to closing the shelter in early July,
although it is still operating apart-
ments for clients.
The nonprofit saw its overall fund-
ing drop from $500,000 to about $400,000
over a four-year period, which led to
the laying off of the shelter’s entire
11-person staff and having seven resi-
dents relocated to other facilities.
Board President Christina D. Johnk
did not immediately return calls seek-
ing comment.
The shelter’s plight is not uncom-
mon, however, said David Caprio,
president and CEO of Children’s Friend,
which has a $25 million operating
budget – about one-quarter of which is
covered by funding from state agen-](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/2dc38b52-90ef-4a80-8d7c-4a32ab625fbd-160922140147/85/SurvivalGuide3-1-320.jpg)
