-----Original Message----- From: Gilbert Wilson <[email protected]> To: Matt Simmons <[email protected]> Cc: Lopsa Discussion <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, 28 Feb 2015 15:19 Subject: Re: [lopsa-discuss] Does LOPSA have a project manager?
It appears to me that LOPSA as an organization, and the board of directors, are performing substantially better without the management company. The management company created significant and unnecessary debts. It was a hard lesson in what not to do. The sentiment that we should “just hire" a project manager or an executive director shares the same inexperienced logic that led to the hiring of the management company. I understand where the thinking comes from. It seems pragmatic. Hire someone else to do the mundane stuff (accounting, updating the website, making phone calls, etc) so that the board can be freed to focus on strategic thinking and volunteers can do mission/program work. But, that’s not how it works for small nonprofits. To get staff to do the mundane work they have to believe in your mission and have an opportunity to help advance that work, too. Management companies prey on nonprofits who are struggling with questions like these. Successful nonprofits don't use management companies. Instead, if they hire staff, they hire one of two types of people: .... ------- While I agree with a lot of what you are saying (lopsa can't afford one now, it was arguably a mistake to do so -- and I share some of the blame here based upon initial projections), it's a mistake to paint with such a broad brush. There are plenty of non-profits out there that quite successfully employee management companies for: filing taxes, organizational work, event planning, project management, etc. The problem is one of committed membership. You really need more than a couple of thouusand committed members to be sulf sustaining in this model, but it is *definitely* possible and there are thousands of successful non-profits that do this quite successfully. LOPSA was not able to garner the anticipated committed membership. Our projections were wrong from the start. What can I say? They were, however, in good faith. It just didn't happen.
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