My organization does an annual special event; this year it's bigger and more complex than ever and has a higher goal. For the first time, we have a dedicated, skilled staff member running it, but I and our development associate are still heavily involved.

We're pretty sure it will be a monetary success and a 'friend maker' leading to ever more success in future years. We expect to exceed last year' net and achieve the goal (revenue minus expenses, but not by much.

But how do you think about staff time, especially ED time in relation to events? I'd say a third to half my time is going into it for the three months prior, our DOD is spending 80% time for four months, and our associate is spending half time.

If you compare these salaries with the expected net, we are losing money. On the other hand, we'd have some of these salaries anyway, special events do bring attention to the organization, and it IS unrestricted cash.

Does anyone have benchmarks for ED time vis a vis events? Any interesting ways to think about this topic?

Best

Deborah Strauss
Executive Director
IT Resource Center
Chicago

An earlier entry asked about Directors' meetings and concerns about increasing bureaucracy. Another aspect of organizational growth is that an ED like me, used to responsibilities that are both broad and deep, has to learn about functioning where the responsibilities are broad but not so deep.

The buck still stops here, but in my organization there are more good, experienced people managing more functions than in the past.

I'm thrilled to give up some of the work, to be able to be more of an external representative for my organization, and to step back a bit from daily responsibilities. But it's not always easy for someone who has spent years having to be immersed in details.

I'm sure that budget cuts could turn this tide; while it's a pleasant challenge to be in growth mode and change management style in this direction, it may not be so much fun to go in the other direction.

Best,

Deborah Strauss
ED
IT Resource Center
Chicago, Illinois

This one intrigued me because it involved a small agency. It's usually the big ones that face this level of fraud.

Where were the ED and the Board?

Fiscal Manager Squeezes Hefty Fraud from Small Agency Woman is charged with taking $450,000 over four years from agency with a budget of only $700,000.
http://www.wheremostneeded.org/2007/01/fiscal_manager_.html

Another interesting post from this blog.

Best,
Deborah Strauss
ED
IT Resource Center
Chicago, IL

When I first became an Executive Director, I was confused about the role of consultants. My understanding was that one used them only for specific expertise that did not exist among the staff or board (if board members gave hands-on time.) Why would I bring in a consultant for something I knew or my staff knew how to do?

Later, I began to understand that consultants can be used simply to get work done that we don't have time to do. In other words, it can be a TIME as well as an expertise issue.

I KNOW we should get more proposals out, but nobody here has time to do all the research. The same with press releases, policy reports, and project work.

How do you pay for consultants in either circumstance? You can consider the consultant fee in lieu of adding staff in general budgets, you can seek special grants, or you can build fees into project budgets.

Taking this sort of step won't necessarily happen easily, but it is worth considering, and it's definitely better than thinking you have to do everything yourself as long as you have the skills.

Best

Deborah Strauss
ED
IT Resource Center
Chicago

My organization has grown recently, and for the first time, it seems we need regular Directors' meetings. I am actually proud of this change since it reflects sophistication and growth, but I am wary of too many meetings and too many layers.

We have full staff meetings every two weeks, program delivery staff meetings every two weeks (across all programs), and small communications and/or fundraising team meetings as needed.

I'm curious about the scale and number of meetings that other organizations believe are necessary. Any comments?

Best,
Deborah Strauss
ED
IT Resource Center
Chicago