By Sabrina Hauser
The nonprofit world is filled with dedicated and passionate leaders and an organization’s CEO is no exception.
They exist and work in a demanding environment with constant challenges. The average nonprofit CEO spends between 60-70 hours of accountable time in a week, existing between the Board, directors and employees. This can be an isolated position, managing both upwards and down while driving the initiatives of the agency. Typically, the CEO lacks a right-hand person to co-manage with and often is called upon to make decisions alone, often in a vacuum. The mental load can be unnerving.
Coaching for today’s nonprofit CEO is a way for nonprofits to tap into an objective outside resource, who will guide the CEO in key administrative and strategic areas vital to the continued survival —and success—of an organization.
Finding and retaining an individual or company with expertise in the world of nonprofits is critical to the success of the coaching process. A coach will work with the CEO and her team to review and set strategies; develop action items and accountability; engage in motivating activities to support an agency’s employees, directors, board and donors; and build camaraderie between and among board members and support staff.
A coach can be a crucial resource for educating the CEO and team in best practices for attracting talent to your agency, as well as maintaining the expanding upon engagement with donors, supporters, and board members.
Business Report: Nonprofit Economic Relief During COVID-19
By Matthew Young
Generosity is the lifeblood of a nonprofit organization. Donations can often sustain a charity for generations. But among the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on local communities this year is, unfortunately, the understandable decrease in charitable donations.
This has resulted in many nonprofit organizations experiencing unanticipated financial difficulties. In such times, organizations often look to their institutional funds for support.
Institutional funds, such as an endowment fund, typically consist of donations established either through a gift agreement or estate planning document, such as a will or trust. Donors are oftentimes interested in the long-term survival of the organization and want to ensure that the charitable services will be available to their communities for years to come.
For this reason, donors often place restrictions on access to the principal (original gift amount), only allowing the organization to access the income (interest) generated by the fund. Normally, this model can sustain a charitable organization, but it can be challenging during times of financial crisis.
Fortunately, New York law provides for a procedure under the doctrine of “cy pres,” which means at or near the donor’s intentions when they cannot be precisely followed. This doctrine allows an organization to modify or release donor restrictions placed on the use of charitable gifts (including gaining access to principal) to provide greater flexibility to weather difficult financial times. Two options are available when seeking cy pres relief.
Stewart’s Shops Holiday Match Campaign Is Underway To Raise Money For Nonprofits
Stewart’s Shops is teaming up with its customers once again to raise money for local children’s charities through its Holiday Match campaign.
It kicked off on Thanksgiving Day and runs through Christmas Day at all shop locations.
“In these times, nonprofits need our help more than ever with increased strains on staffing, resources and budgets. We are proud to partner with our customers to help those who need it most”, said Stewart’s Shops President Gary Dake.
Last year, customers donated an incredible $895,000 to the program, doubling to more than $1.79 million with the Stewart’s match. The funds were able to support 1,830 local children’s organizations across the 31 counties where Stewart’s shops are located.
The program started 34 years ago.
Arrow Financial Corp. Donates $75,000 To 20 Health And Human Service Organizations
The Arrow Financial Corp. has committed $75,000 to 20 health and human service organizations in the area to show its “gratitude for their important work during these challenging times.”
As part of a Month of Thanks campaign, the Arrow group—which includes Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co. and Saratoga National Bank and Trust Co.—is reaching out to community partners from Albany to Plattsburgh with the goal of supporting their efforts around food insecurity, child care, affordable housing, emergency assistance, mental health, domestic violence prevention, workforce development and youth services, according to a news release.
“As a community bank, we recognize the important work that our nonprofits perform to lift up our neighbors and get them through hard times,” said Arrow Financial Corp. President and CEO Thomas Murphy.
‘Skidmore Cares’ Program Will Assist Those In Need In The Community For The 14th Year
For the 14th consecutive year, faculty and staff at Skidmore College are joining together through the College’s Skidmore Cares program to assist those in need in Saratoga County.
Since the community service program was begun in 2006 by Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach and Marie Glotzbach, the Skidmore community has donated more than $108,000 in monetary gifts, more than 26,000 food items and nearly 12,000 school supplies to nonprofit agencies throughout Saratoga County.
On Wednesday, approximately 125 Skidmore faculty and staff members attended a kickoff luncheon on campus to mark the beginning of the donation effort.
“What Skidmore Cares is all about is an opportunity for the Skidmore community to come together and to have a moment of good fellowship and for all of us to give – and give back – to the larger community,” Glotzbach said. “It’s a time of gathering. It’s a time of celebration of the season. And we are very happy to combine that with this opportunity for giving.”
Representatives from several Saratoga-based community service agencies attended the luncheon.
Organization Formed To Help Businesses Align With Charities Compatible To Their Mission
By Susan E. Campbell
A new internet-based service will soon bring together Capital District businesses with nonprofits whose missions align with a company’s goals for charitable giving.
Called Knitt LLC, founder Lisa Munter believes her organization will provide “a mindful and time efficient way to connect” donors and donor organizations. Its success, and future compensation, will depend on the “knitted” relationships among businesses and nonprofit organizations who did not have a prior relationship, Munter said.
Munter is an avid volunteer and wife of a businessman whose company, Munter Enterprises, is “inundated with requests for donations.”
Stewart’s Shops Partners With Rose & Kiernan To Help Nonprofits Save On Expenses
Stewart’s Shops and Rose & Kiernan have partnered to help nonprofits save money on gasoline and their operational expenses.
Rose & Kiernan, a market leader in providing insurance and risk management service to non-profits, and Stewart’s Shops, which has a long history of helping nonprofits with financial backing and guidance, have partnered to assist these community organizations in saving money on travel and other business-related expenses.
Officials said the partnership is designed to help nonprofit organizations, many of whom often have limited budgets, put more of their financial resources to use serving people and causes vitally important to our communities.
‘Skidmore Cares’ Community Program, In Its 13th Year, Donates To Nonprofit Agencies
For the 13th consecutive year, members of the Skidmore College community are joining together through the Skidmore Cares community service program.
Through the program, the Skidmore community has donated more than $90,000 in monetary gifts and more than 28,000 items to nonprofit agencies throughout Saratoga County.
The program was founded in 2006 by Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach and his wife, Marie Glotzbach, in an effort to bring staff and families together in a meaningful way during the holiday season. They reached out to the Skidmore community to raise donations of food, provisions and school supplies to assist those in need in Saratoga County.
Nearly 150 Skidmore faculty and staff members, along with representatives from 10 Saratoga-based community service agencies, attended an energetic kickoff luncheon on campus. This year, contributions will benefit Shelters of Saratoga, Franklin Community Center, Mary’s Haven, Wellspring, Corinth Central School District, The Latino Advocacy Program, Salvation Army, Saratoga Center for the Family, Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council and Saratoga Springs City School District PATHS.
New $5.2 Million Malta YMCA Offers Fitness, Child Daycare, Numerous Other Programs
By Christine Graf
The Malta YMCA opened the doors to its brand new $5.2 million facility in June. The two-story, 55,000-square-foot building is located off of Northway Exit 12.
Before relocating to the new facility, the YMCA’s fitness and childcare centers were located in two different leased spaces in Malta Commons. Both centers are now housed under one roof in the new building.
Construction of the facility received support from major donors including Stewarts, the Dake family, Adirondack Trust Co., the DeCrescente family, and Ballston Spa National Bank.
The Malta YMCA is located next door to the Malta Med Emergent Care/Saratoga Hospital Medical Group building in the 140-acre Saratoga Medical Park. It was constructed through a joint partnership between the Saratoga Regional YMCA and Saratoga Hospital. The hospital leases approximately one third of the space in the new facility. According to Regional YMCA CEO Andrew Bobbitt, the YMCA entered into a “nonprofit-friendly lease partnership with the hospital.”
Firefighter Health Researcher Gets Grant To Help Put Findings Into Practice, Save Lives
Firefighters bravely run into fires when everyone else is running out. Yet the biggest danger they face isn’t fire or smoke the group says. It’s suffering from a sudden cardiac event while on duty.
Denise L. Smith, director of the First Responder Health and Safety Laboratory at Skidmore College, has been researching firefighter heart health for more than 20 years along with colleagues. Now a $1.3 million FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) will enable Smith and her team to put their findings into practice and help save firefighters’ lives.
The grant will fund a two-year project in which Smith’s team will work with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, leading cardiologists, fire chiefs and other experts to implement a pilot program to screen more than 2,000 firefighters for cardiac risks, then develop and distribute evidence-based enhanced screening guidelines and training/education materials to fire departments nationwide.
“Firefighters put their lives on the line to serve the communities they protect,” said Smith, a Tisch Family Distinguished Professor. “This project will help ensure that they are armed with the scientific information and medical screenings they need to protect themselves.”
In a large AFG-funded study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on Sept. 5, Smith and colleagues found that the vast majority of firefighters who died from cardiac events had evidence of both enlarged heart and coronary heart disease revealed during autopsy.