By Olga Heifets, SVP Director of Communications & Education
Assistance with various financial systems is often a project need for nonprofits. For InReach, Partner Judy Bicknell developed a cash flow analysis tool that captured programming income data in an easy to assess way. Partners Josh Horwitz, Jeanette Marquess and Michael Donovan dug in to see which areas were generating and losing money, and identified ways to shore up the gaps. “We now have more structure and substance to the financial part of our equation,” says Cindy. Voices for Children CASA’s Nia Wassink explains, “Partner John McCorvie brought his outside perspective and tied budgeting back to our mission and getting our 2016 goals accomplished. It pulled the Board up from the minutia and gave us a different language around our options. We passed the budget five days later.”
Leadership development is another oft-cited need. Whether through individualized coaching, leadership modelling or targeted training sessions, SVP Partners support nonprofit leaders in a myriad of way. InReach’s Cindy Divino received the benefit of both a strong model of effective meeting processes from Lead Partner Jeanette Marquess, and explored leadership strategies through individualized executive coaching from Partner Linda Gilk. Voices for Children CASA’s Lead Partners Meredith Spear has helped the organization have “tough conversations, and get to the next step, understanding and seeing strengths” reflects Nia. A Board retreat helped the group bring focus back to the organization’s mission. Since, “we’re having better, more productive conversations” say Nia.
Renewal of existing or creation of new programming in service of mission is another area Partners often focus on. For Investee Center for ReSource Conservation, “SVP was a critical partner who brought a business mindset and a highly collaborative process,” says Executive Director Neal Lurie. “We recognized we wanted to organize our community impact in a way that looked more like a business, so we could generate income and impact. With SVP’s help, we were able to shift our social enterprise activities from a small part of our business model to an essential part of the CRC brand. Bringing in additional expertise and thoughtful questions from an outside perspective helps and ultimately leads to a better result.”
