rising from the ashes: a case study in organizational transformation network for social work...
TRANSCRIPT
Rising from the Ashes:A Case Study in
Organizational Transformation
Network for Social Work Management ConferenceJune 5, 2015
Workshop Objectives
1. Present a case study highlighting significant organizational change over the course of 24 months.
2. Field questions about the change efforts we facilitated.
3. Share some of the tools we used to achieve this level of success.
Jeremiah’s Inn
Jeremiah’s Hospice, Inc. (aka Jeremiah’s Inn) is a residential, Social Model substance abuse recovery program in Worcester, MA. It serves between 100-110 men per year.
They also run a Food Pantry, which serves more than 12,250 low-income South Worcester residents each year.
The Challenge The new Executive Director of Jeremiah’s Inn (hired in December,
2012) retained our services in March, 2013 to help them raise money. The Inn had been running a deficit for several years. In 2012, they ran a deficit of just under $5,000.
The Inn’s funding came primarily from a MA Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Abuse Services contract, which covered approximately 66% of their costs.
In 2012, they raised only $45,500 in grant funds & $5,685 through their appeal. There were no other fundraising strategies in place except a special event, which brought in less than $2,000/year.
Our Assessment
When we arrived, the reputation of Jeremiah’s Inn was sagging & there was talk at the local community foundation that they might be better off merging with another agency. What we determined was that a lack of leadership & lack of investment in fundraising had left Jeremiah’s Inn in a position where they suffered from: * Chronic underfunding * A weak board
* A weak staff * Outdated technology
* Deferred maintenance
Our Recommendations
We recommended to their new Executive Director that we focus on two tasks: 1. Fundraising – grants, appeals & other
strategies
2. Strategic planning – through which we could identify & address myriad issues, with the support & participation of the board & staff
Our Results - Fundraising
By the end of 2013, Jeremiah’s Inn posted a surplus of $112,340.
At the end of 2014, they posted a surplus of $78,367.
Our Results – Grants
Grants: in 2013, we brought in $219,643 (in nine months!)
In 2014, we raised $294,762 in grant funds
How did we raise so much grant money?
1. Conducted research to create a well-vetted list of potential funders. We used two online grants databases & guidestar.org, conducted online research & did some “back door” research, as well. We conducted our initial round of research in March, 2013 & conducted a 2nd round in early 2015.
2. Wrote a new “boilerplate” grant for the social model program, which included statistics about addiction & its impact on families & communities, as well as quotes & one of the guy’s stories. We are the only of the 29 food pantries in Worcester that seeks grant funds.
3. Wrote a new “boilerplate” grant for the food pantry, which included statistics about the prevalence, scope & impact of chronic hunger & food insecurity, current food pantry data & quotes & one of the client’s stories.
How many grant applications do we submit?
We now submit between 40-5o grant applications per year.
This does not include Food Drive sponsor requests. We have a success rate of 60%, with nearly every
funder providing us with 100% of the amount we ask for.
One funder even called the Inn to ask if it was ok to double the amount they sent (from $5,000 to $10,000)!
The 2013 vs. 2014 Fall Appeal
One letter sent to entire database (approximately 3,800).
No segmentation or suggested gift amount.
65 donors contributed $5,210
1.7% response rate
Range of gifts: $5.00 - $1,000
Average gift size: $80.15
Segmented the database.
Letters sent to 557 people:
1) 461 existing donors (anyone who gave in 2011, 2012 or 2013) – personalized via mail merge, made note of last gift, asked to increase gift by $25.
2) 96 lapsed donors (gave in 2010, but not since)
123 donors contributed $17,938.55
22% overall response rate
Range of gifts: $5.00 - $2,000
Average gift size: $116.48
11 donors (9%) increased their gifts: 7 by 100%, 1 by 50%, 1 by 33%, 2 by 25%
7 lapsed donors came back in to the fold, donating a total of $548.40
7.3% response rate
Range of lapsed gifts: $25 – $238.40
Changes from 2013 to 2014
Nearly doubled our donors & more than tripled our revenue.
The average gift size in 2014 was nearly 1 ½ times that in 2013.
“Lost” 27 donors -- 27 donors who made a gift in 2013 did not make a gift in 2014.
Gained 81 donors -- 81 donors who did not make a gift in 2013 made a gift in 2014.
The Food Drive
Each July, Jeremiah’s Inn runs a week-long food drive to collect contributions of cash & non-perishable food items for their pantry. This is because donations tend to run low over the summer, when people are on vacation or otherwise distracted. In 2012, the Inn brought in $2,630 & 2,608 pounds of food. In 2013, we raised $2,850 & brought in 2,319 pounds of food. In 2014, we raise $5,450 & brought in 2,682 pounds of food. As of May 22, we have raised $3,850 in sponsorships. The
appeal letter has not even gone out yet!
The Food Drive - What We Changed What we noticed was that the Inn was sending one generic letter in June to area
businesses, with a sponsorship form that really didn’t offer any visibility benefits & included relatively low ask amounts. They sent a postcard out to their entire database in June, but it was hard to evaluate its impact.
In 2014, we changed the sponsorship form to include opportunities for visibility & increased the sponsorship levels. We adopted a two-phase approach: from Jan. - March, we sent out a bunch of applications to local corporate foundations, then followed that with a personalized letter to local businesses in May. We also created a rigorous media, social media & email campaign, which alternated statistics & facts with stories from people who had used the pantry. We sent the postcard out, as per usual, but with a new design.
In 2015, we’re also sending a letter to all existing donors, asking them to contribute to the Drive. We’re curious to see how that goes!
Summary of Funds Raised
Grants Appeal Food Drive Total Assets
2012$45,500 $5,685 $2,630 $497,791
2013$219,643 $5,210 $2,850$621,350
2014$294,762 $17,938 $5,450$705,977
What did the Inn use all this $ for?
Increased staff salaries Upgraded all technology Purchased new office furniture Painted the interior of the building Installed new flooring in staff offices Replaced the roof.
Over the course of the summer, the Inn will: Replace all the windows & exterior doors Repave the parking lot & Make repairs to the exterior of the
building.
Future plans: Replace the heating
system Replace the phone system Purchase a van Paint the outside of the
building Purchase generators Install electronic key pads
Strategic Planning
Started in October, 2013 – distributed surveys to staff, board & key stakeholders (donors, volunteers & a handful of others).
Held a retreat in November, 2013 with all board & staff. During this retreat, we reviewed the survey results, crafted a vision for the organization, then assessed the organization’s performance in 5 key areas, using an evaluation tool designed by New Era for this purpose.
The group used the outcomes of this exercise to identify goals in each of 4 areas: fundraising, board, program/personnel & organizational development. Because this was the Inn’s first-ever strategic plan, we limited our planning to the scope of one year & limited the # of goals in each area.
Strategic Planning (2)
We formulated work teams – comprised of both board & staff – for each of the 4 areas. Each team was charged with the task of fleshing out a detailed, one-year plan, including goals, objectives, timeline, people assigned & anticipated outcomes. The teams met from January – May, with New Era guiding the process.
The resulting plans were presented to & adopted by the board.
Board GoalGoal #1: Strengthen the board of directors
Objectives
1. Put together comprehensive board manual so all existing & future board members receive the same information. Review draft board manual, identify changes that need to be made. Finalize, review & adopt board manual. Be sure each existing & new board member receives one.
2. Have board members sign Conflict of Interest statements on an annual basis.
3. Check in with existing board members about their experience & to gauge the level of their commitment.
4. Establish a Board Development Committee to oversee the "care & feeding" of the board.
5. Look at by-laws to see how many people are required to be on the board. If the # is not sustainable, discuss this at a board meeting & change the by-laws language if needed.
6. Use the recruitment matrix & VIP exercise to identify potential board members.
Board Results1. Board manual – done
2. Conflict of Interest Statements – nearly every board member has signed one.
3. Check-ins completed by Board President.
4. Board Development Committee not yet established.
5. We are in the process of reviewing & updating the by-laws.
6. We identified, recruited & added 2 new board members.
Other:
100% of Board made a gift in 2014.
Board attendance is MUCH better – people are attending by phone if needed.
Most board members have signed Statements of Commitment, as well (this was part of the board manual)
Fundraising GoalGoal #1: Create a development plan with board participation in its development & execution
Objectives:
1. Identify program & capital needs for next 3 years
2. Identify all sources of funding for past 3 years
3. Review funding needs, identify funding gaps, brainstorm ways to fill gaps
4. Conduct research to identify potential funders
5. Draft Annual Fund Development Plan (AFDP)
6. Have board adopt AFDP
7. Review development plan @ board meeting, identify board roles in executing it
Fundraising Results
Annual fund development plan was written & adopted. As a result: 100% of all board members made a gift in 2014. Nearly all board members have signed a Conflict of Interest Statement Nearly all board members have completed an Individual Board Member
Fundraising Plan We held an Open House in October We resurrected the Phone-a-thon, which was highly successful We’ve resurrected the Adopt-a-Room program We’re discussing fundraising at every board meeting We sent out the 1st newsletter since 2006 We sent out the first annual report ever to donors & funders
Program/Personnel GoalsGoal #1: Create goals, objectives & an evaluation system for the Social Model Program
Objectives:
1. Take a closer look @ ETO & ESM to see what’s possible with the existing systems
2. Review data from ESM to establish baseline
3. Look @ data from other programs to create realistic outcomes
4. Conduct additional research (if needed)
5. Set realistic goals & projected outcomes for 2015
6. Develop tools to capture data we need to collect
7. Train staff to use new approach & tools
8. Monitor progress on quarterly basis
Program/Personnel Goals (2)Goal #2: Create system for managing staff performance
Objectives
1. Ensure that all job descriptions are clear & up to date; define & clarify expectations
2. Develop program & individualized work plans to serve as guide for staff & basis for evaluation
3. Continue conducting annual personnel evaluations
4. Evaluate current tool being used to conduct evaluations, change as needed
5. Continue providing clinical case management group supervision
6. Continue holding monthly meetings with full staff
7. Continue holding weekly meetings with operations team
8. Create a policies/procedures manual
Program/Personnel GoalsGoal #2: Create system for managing staff performance (cont’d.)
9. Have Trish & Sharon review employee manual
10. Be more rigorous & consistent about following our own rules!
11. Identify staff training needs on an annual basis
12. Provide ongoing staff training -- particularly in the area of conflict resolution & crisis prevention intervention, time management & assertiveness
13. Provide consistent orientation to new staff -- to organization, to job, consider providing them with mentor, do 3 month review. Consider developing PPT presentations or videos about each section/item.
Program/Personnel ResultsWe have achieved very few of our objectives in this area. However, the objectives we have implemented have made a world of difference. We started by reviewing & updating all job descriptions so they were clear & up-to-date
with well-defined expectations. This was enough to send some staff out the door – they could see the writing on the wall & decided to find a new job before we suggested they do so.
We then changed the evaluation tool we were using so that it included feedback from residents & co-workers, as well as supervisory staff. The outcome of this was that several case managers were put on a path for remediation. After their evaluation, a few others decided to find work elsewhere.
At this point, the Executive Director has replaced nearly every one of the 10 full-time & 5 part-time staff at the agency – even though it was not her intent to “clean house.” The current staff is excellent & there is a new Clinical Director in place. We are hopeful that in the coming year, we will be able to focus our attention on the other tasks.
Organizational Development
Goal #1: Update mission statement, create vision statement New mission statement:
Jeremiah’s Inn uses a Social Model to provide residents with a safe environment in which to begin recovery. We foster a sense of community & mutual aid through partnerships, volunteerism & our Food Pantry. Vision statement:
Our vision is to help people better their lives in order to better the community.
What’s Next?
As you can see, we’ve made a significant number of changes at Jeremiah’s Inn in the past two years. The organization is stronger than ever before & we have every reason to believe it will continue to thrive.
What’s next? Strategic planning retreat this fall to chart a plan for 2016 A donor database Rebranding A new website
Tools & Samples
We’ll be emailing you the following tools & sample materials: Food Drive letter Food Drive sponsor form Board recruitment matrix Board VIA exercise Individual Board Member Fundraising Plan Annual Fund Development Plan
The material contained within these pages is propriety. While I am happy to provide permission for you to share this with people at your organization, I ask that you not
reproduce or disseminate it to others without my express written permission. Thanks for respecting my intellectual property!
Contact Information
Sarah Lange, MSW Principal & Founder5 Edgewood Street
Worcester, MA 01602Phone : 508.733.5114