Discussion Questions: DiscussNatalie’s concerns and their impact on the Council. How would you weigh their importance to the Council’s operation and mission?  1. Walking the talk: diversity as an in-house issue. In the Case Study, “Mission or Money” Natalie is faced with an issue that she cannot solve on her own. While Fallsville Economic Council is developing a new mission, she is finding that Frank is not fully committed with neither the new mission nor with trying to understand it. Frank is successful at raising funds for the organization but at the cost of misleading donors on the true missions of the organization.  Changing the mission of a nonprofit organization has become something frequent, especially due to the increase of nonprofit and the competitive nature that it brings along as a result. Worth explains that it is inevitable that an organization evolves as it grows, and it expands its capabilities, noting that an organization should not “mission creep” (176-177). Jerry Kitzi also suggests that new ideas can be assessed on three dimensions: social value potential, market potential, and sustainability potential (Tschirhart and Bielefel 43). Nonprofits are funded by donors and government grants, and in order to maintain many of those donations, market potential is essential. If you do not communicate changes with the public and they are not perceived well, then you risk losing those funds; hence the importance of receiving community alliance.    The Fallsville Academic Council holds an important responsibility to not only the donors that have contributed funds, but also the community it serves. When they decided to change their mission, the Council put forth new expectations. As mentioned by Worth, “the governing board of a nonprofit organization holds ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the organization serves its mission,” (75). While positive results are appreciated, they are not what the Council is being held accountable for. Frank and the rest of the Council seem to be content with not truly pursuing their new mission because they are complacent with the work they’ve already accomplished. MISSION OR MONEY?MISSION OR MONEY? Natalie Chen, chair of the Fallsville Economic Council, was preparing for the next board meeting. The Council had recently broadened its mission from training and placing disadvantaged workers (primarily minorities) to facilitating their movement into management positions. Natalie was excited about the potential community benefit of the Council’s new mission and the opportunity to set a national example. The Council’s executive director, Frank Baxter, had been a major factor in achieving program results and corporate support. Over the past few months, however, Natalie not only began to doubt Frank’s commitment and support of the new mission, but also his understanding. Natalie was, in fact, convinced that Frank was only giving lip service to the new mission. Moreover, Frank had continued to.

1. Discussion Questions:
DiscussNatalie’s concerns and their impact on the Council. How
would you weigh their importance to the Council’s operation
and mission?
1. Walking the talk: diversity as an in-house issue.
In the Case Study, “Mission or Money” Natalie is faced with an
issue that she cannot solve on her own. While Fallsville
Economic Council is developing a new mission, she is finding
that Frank is not fully committed with neither the new mission
nor with trying to understand it. Frank is successful at raising
funds for the organization but at the cost of misleading donors
on the true missions of the organization.
Changing the mission of a nonprofit organization has become
something frequent, especially due to the increase of nonprofit
and the competitive nature that it brings along as a result.
Worth explains that it is inevitable that an organization evolves
as it grows, and it expands its capabilities, noting that an
organization should not “mission creep” (176-177). Jerry Kitzi
also suggests that new ideas can be assessed on three
dimensions: social value potential, market potential, and
sustainability potential (Tschirhart and Bielefel 43). Nonprofits
are funded by donors and government grants, and in order to
maintain many of those donations, market potential is essential.
If you do not communicate changes with the public and they are
not perceived well, then you risk losing those funds; hence the
importance of receiving community alliance.
The Fallsville Academic Council holds an important
responsibility to not only the donors that have contributed
funds, but also the community it serves. When they decided to
change their mission, the Council put forth new expectations.
As mentioned by Worth, “the governing board of a nonprofit
organization holds ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the
organization serves its mission,” (75). While positive results are

2. appreciated, they are not what the Council is being held
accountable for. Frank and the rest of the Council seem to be
content with not truly pursuing their new mission because they
are complacent with the work they’ve already accomplished.
MISSION OR MONEY?MISSION OR MONEY?
Natalie Chen, chair of the Fallsville Economic Council, was
preparing for the next board
meeting. The Council had recently broadened its mission from
training and placing
disadvantaged workers (primarily minorities) to facilitating
their movement into management
positions. Natalie was excited about the potential community
benefit of the Council’s new
mission and the opportunity to set a national example.
The Council’s executive director, Frank Baxter, had been a
major factor in achieving
program results and corporate support. Over the past few
months, however, Natalie not only
began to doubt Frank’s commitment and support of the new
mission, but also his
understanding. Natalie was, in fact, convinced that Frank was
only giving lip service to the
new mission. Moreover, Frank had continued to raise funds for
the new initiative in much the
same way as he had for the training and placement programs,
which were now self-sustaining.
His approach assured the Council’s financial security but could
conflict with the Council’s new
mission if corporations felt their new donations bought them
positive images while

3. maintaining the status quo.
Natalie felt strongly that the way to achieving the mission was,
first and foremost, to
live the mission. After all, how could you work for Pepsi, but
drink Coke? Secondly, the
board, because of its mission, also had a responsibility to be a
catalyst for change. Now that
she was chair, she felt an enormous sense of responsibility for
the Council’s future. Just as the
anti-smoking groups had taken on the tobacco companies for the
sake of Americans’ health,
Natalie believed that the Council must be a strong advocate of
change.
The Council had been established six years ago to increase the
job skills of
disadvantaged citizens, largely racial minorities, and to place
trained candidates in productive
positions. Given its successful track record in training, the
Council sought new challenges.
After diversity training and raising its own awareness through a
series of carefully planned
sessions, the Council had examined the changing demographics
of the city. Their research
highlighted obvious examples of economic disparity between
the majority and the minority
populations. As a result, the board adopted a new mission that
focused on promoting positive
corporate environments that embraced diversity, and facilitating
the upward mobility of
minorities (primarily African Americans and Hispanics) into
middle and upper management
positions.
The board recognized diversity as a key element to the

4. community’s continuing
economic success. Natalie felt she had the board’s commitment
and support to move forward
on the new mission. As the Council’s first Asian American and
first female chair, she felt a
personal commitment to empowering the minority population.
Natalie sighed, and said aloud, “I have to develop a workable
strategy for this situation
by the time the board meets. How can I help the board
understand that it is compromising its
mission in order not to rock the boat, and for the sake of
financial security?”
Natalie again reviewed the three specific issues that were
particularly troublesome to
Mission or Money? − Page 2
1. Walk ing th e talk : d ive rsity as an in-h o use issue .
In her close review of the Council’s internal records, Natalie
noted the unusually high
staff turnover of African American and Hispanic employees.
The numbers looked quite stark:
out of a staff of nine, four minorities had left in the last three
years. Even the training director,
Marcus Kennedy, an African American manager with an
impressive corporate history, had
come to Natalie expressing his tremendous frustration and his
intention to leave the Council
(after a scant nine months) if changes were not forthcoming.
Natalie shuddered as she

5. remembered how much the executive search for Marcus had cost
the Council.
When Marcus called last week, Natalie detected his
dissatisfaction. She suggested
coffee at the Grille after the Rotary Club meeting. Marcus was
not known for mincing his
words.
“Natalie, did it ever occur to you that the Council needs to get
its own house in order
before it can clean anybody else’s house?”
Natalie leaned forward. “Meaning. . . ?"
Marcus sighed. “Look, I am only the third African-American
staff member at the
Council in its entire existence. The other two only lasted six
months, and both of them were
clerical employees. Maria, my executive assistant, has given
notice. Maria is the only Hispanic
on staff. Don’t you think the Council has internal diversity
issues that it needs to address?”
Natalie remembered when she was recruited for the board. The
Council took great
pride in always having a racially diverse board. Lately, the
definition of diversity had
expanded to include gender and socio-economic levels. But she
had to admit that diversity on
the staff was lacking. “What do you think is the real problem,
Marcus?”
“There seems to be no genuine commitment to develop
minorities and utilize them to
their full potential,” Marcus replied. “I have two degrees from

6. highly-regarded educational
institutions and a successful corporate career in two Fortune
500 companies that includes
extensive diversity training and strategic planning experience.
Yet I have been here almost a
year, toiling in the trenches of facilitating workshops.
“I want to set up leadership development programs for
minorities in mid-management.
And, I want to develop a strategic marketing plan for the
Council’s future in Fallsville. There
are some critical demographic changes that must be addressed
to position the Council as a
leader in diversity and economic development, if it is to be true
to its mission.
the corporate executives
or the board. I know how to make this new mission happen.
For example, we need to develop
mentoring and career pathing programs for our corporate clients
to place minority candidates
on a faster track. I need the Council to take the moat out of its
own eye.”
Natalie nodded. “I wondered why we always seemed to have a
search underway for
“qualified” minority candidates.”
Mission or Money? − Page 3
Marcus shook his head. “I moved here for my wife, not for me.
I took early retirement at
Jessup Corporation just to get away from messes like this. If

7. the Council means what it says,
then I will work hard to make it happen. But if you are not
serious, then say so, and I’ll resign
and get on with my life.”
“Is Maria feeling similar frustrations?” Natalie asked.
“Maria is a very sharp woman. She read between the lines of an
annual review that says
she is a capable office administrator with good management and
organizational skills, but lacks
the managerial potential to move into training.”
Natalie asked herself if Marcus’s comments were sour grapes or
paranoia. No, clearly
Marcus’s concern was appropriate. As board members, should
they not be sensitive to both the
appearance and the reality of the staff’s diversity? If not, how
could the Council ever embrace its
mission?
2. Fund ing th e status q uo o r a culture ch ange ?
Frank Baxter raised over $10 million in private funds to run the
job readiness program
and had solicited pledges from the business community for an
additional $2.5 million to fund the
new economic thrust. But Frank seemed to be raising money
from old contacts in the same old
ways. By not clearly defining the organization’s new mission to
corporate donors, Frank allowed
them to believe that the Council was only in the training and
placement business. Would
corporations continue to give if they were challenged to change
their culture? Something had to
be done about his approach, but it would be difficult. The

8. board viewed him as an effective
administrator and fundraiser, and he was well liked.
At every board meeting, members were satisfied with Frank’s
reports announcing the
amount of money raised, and the number of companies signing
up for diversity training. Board
members slapped Frank on the back and beamed. Natalie could
hear Harry Hastings once again
saying, “No need to say more, Frank. You’re doing a great job
for us!” While financial
commitments and program participation were important, had the
board overlooked the issue of
changing corporate culture?
Natalie remembered the joint call with Frank at the Garrett
Corporation. “The good
news, Roger,” she said, “is that the Fallsville Economic Council
has the staff, the tools, and the
support services to help you move your company from a vision
of pluralistic management to a
reality of inclusive management, one which will take you
comfortably and profitably into the
next century.”
Roger Wright, the CEO, looked at her, and then turned to Frank.
“We don’t need more
tools, just support in finding qualified minority candidates.”
Frank said, “Yes, the Council is very aware of the difficulty in
making progress and
encouraging change without the right material.”
Natalie said, “ It could be difficult for some corporations, but
the Garrett organization has
a few minorities at mid-management levels. We could assist

9. you in strengthening your career
Mission or Money? − Page 4
assessment process and support systems. A successful
partnership between the Council
and your company to develop more minority managers would
make your structure all the
stronger. It would also be a model for the entire community.”
Frank then said, “Still, we understand the need for the Garrett
Corporation to flatten its
pyramid, rather than add more management types.
Roger jumped on that quickly. “Exactly, Frank. You know
what I mean.” Roger pulled
out the pledge form. “What are you looking for?”
“How about stepping up a bit this time, Roger? We would like
a three-year commitment
from you: $100,000 per year. This would make you the lead in
this new effort and bring some
special benefits that I can outline for you later.” At Roger’s
nod, Frank stood. Roger had simply
buzzed his assistant with the news, and asked Natalie and Frank
to inform the senior vice-
president of human resources of the Council’s diversity training
schedule for their senior
managers.
Natalie did not believe the Garrett call was unique. She was
concerned about an ethical
issue: Could an organization deliberately subvert its own
mission? Clearly, challenging the

10. corporation to change was a much harder sale. Natalie knew
corporations would be happy
merely to give, but no pain would mean no ultimate economic
gain for Fallsville. It was
impossible to achieve a socially noble mission without any
social cost. The board had more than
a fiscal responsibility; it had a social responsibility as well.
3. Mino rity co m m unity sup p o rt.
Frank seemed unwilling or unable to reach out to the growing
African American and
Hispanic business communities in raising funds for the new
programs. Minority businesses
were small, with limited financial resources. But they had to be
approached to solicit their
philosophical buy-in as well as their contributions. Frank
would be hard pressed to manage
these solicitations if he could not articulate the new mission,
much less believe in it. As a
publicly-supported organization, Natalie felt the Council had an
obligation to reach out.
Natalie had seen James Hawkins, the president of the African
American-owned insurance
company, at a recent cocktail party. The president had
commented that he heard about the
Council’s new focus and was pleased about the direction.
Hawkins mentioned that when he saw
Frank at a Chamber-sponsored program two months ago, he had
commended Frank on the
diversity effort. He also had invited Frank for a visit to discuss
the Council’s program,
indicating that he was interested in participating. Frank had not
called him. “I know,” Hawkins
had said to Natalie, “that all your funds are coming from the

11. white community.”
Natalie wanted the board to understand the implications of such
negative goodwill.
Could the Council be a publicly-supported organization and not
seek genuine, equal
partnerships with all of its constituencies?
When Natalie approached Frank yesterday about her concerns,
he seemed genuinely
surprised, even incredulous. Despite her careful explanation of
the issues, Frank quickly became
sarcastic.
Mission or Money? − Page 5
“Let me get this straight,” he said, using his fingers to tick off
each point. “I keep the
office running smoothly, with the majority of the staff still on
board after six years at
substandard pay, but I am not a good manager. I need to spend
more solicitation time with non-
contributors and simply ask for their blessings. And instead of
forming strong relationships
with those who do give, I should be more confrontational and
point out all their organizational
faults. In short, you don’t like how I do my job.”
Since she had not made headway with a one-on-one
conversation with Frank, how could
Natalie expect the largely white male board to understand?
With his affable personality and his
stellar fundraising record, most board members only wanted to
clone Frank for all of their other

12. community organizations. Still, raising money while losing a
sense of the organization’s mission
gave Natalie some serious problems. Should an organization
stay with its mission and risk
alienating potential contributors? What was survival worth?