TIPS FOR SURVIVING THE GREAT RECESSION -- FROM THE CFOS AT THE FRONT LINES
Be strategic and focus exclusively on your core mission. If you have to lay off staff, do it all at once and only once.
Be more creative. Undertake more marketing to build new relationships with key constituents.
Consider merging with another nonprofit. Generate long-term financial forecasts.
These were some of the ideas presented by a roundtable of nonprofit CFOs who gave Your Part-Time Controller’s staff their first-hand experiences and recommendations for coping with the economic downturn. The roundtable, part of YPTC’s regular staff training, generated great ideas that YPTC staff will use to help nonprofit clients weather current conditions.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF THE RECESSION?
The economic downturn has been simply “horrible,” said Miriam Schaefer of the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Or, as Pat Meller of The Philadelphia Foundation said, “It’s scary for the nonprofit – really, really scary.”
Regine Metellus
Urban LeagueWhen the
Urban League of Philadelphia, like many nonprofits, experienced reduced donations and 30-40% increases in demands for services, the League had to re-engineer its program to provide additional services without adding additional staff, said Regine Metellus. Yet the League, seeing a cycle of deficits that followed several years of surpluses, took an almost Biblical view of conditions that helped them conceptualize and survive the downturn.
“Because we were already very lean to begin with and didn’t want to cut into bone, we had to be more creative and take advantage of in-kind contributions and people wanting to volunteer their time,” Metellus said. “The recession has made us be more creative with what we have."
Jeff Perkins
Franklin InstituteThe Franklin Institute also had its ups and downs, having just experienced a banner year with its King Tut exhibit breaking all attendance and revenue records, resulting in a growth in staff. Then the spike in gas prices in early 2008 severely curtailed school bus trips, which impacted the Franklin Institute’s revenue, said Jeff Perkins.
HOW ARE NONPROFITS COPING WITH THE RECESSION?
Staff cutbacks were a common theme expressed by the panelists. At St. Joseph’s University, there have been no layoffs, but instead a voluntary reduction in force, said Lou Mayer. The school has not implemented a hiring freeze but rather a hiring “frost,” and using a lot of employment temps.
Miriam Schaefer
Chemical Heritage
FoundationSeveral panelists agreed that if personnel need to be cut, the best approach is to do it all at once because the experience is so unsettling and demoralizing. “Our board of directors decided to cut staff once and not get into a death spiral,” said Schaefer, describing a 15% reduction in force.
Another common theme was the need to keep relationships strong. “Our goal this past year has been to keep donors near, dear and clear,” said Meller. “The key thing is relationships. Building new relationships at this time is a challenge, so there’s more of a need for marketing,” said Metellus. The Chemical Heritage Foundation hired a vice president for development. “If we’re ever going to get out of this, we’ll need someone to lead us out,” said Schaefer.
The Franklin Institute, as with many nonprofits, is identifying and focusing on core programs more closely. At St. Joseph’s University, “We’re taking a more business-like approach to our whole enterprise,” said Mayer, with profitability analyses and business reviews determining which programs are making money and which ones are losing.