Governance model for nonprofits gains wider attention
 | |
| Phil Acord | - Download MP3- |
By Mike Pare
Deputy Business Editor
Hot Pockets creator David Merage is interested in early childhood education, so his foundation's manager came to Chattanooga to see an initiative that's cooking up a buzz nationally.
"We may do a pilot project to test this in Denver," said Sue Renner, who runs the foundation set up by the entrepreneur who started the popular stuffed sandwiches. "We're interested in doing something innovative and systematic."
The Children's Home/Chambliss Shelter is managing the finances and operations of five other nonprofits in Chattanooga, overseeing everything from budget to payrolls to employee benefits.
Phil Acord, CEO at the Children's Home, said the individual agencies take care of programming and their boards continue to set policy and direction.
"The uniqueness is the Children's Home is the hub," Mr. Acord said. "We let all the agencies keep their independence. We don't take over. I become like the chief operating officer."
Mr. Acord said the management contract model began about 20 years ago with one agency and it has expanded over the years.
The participating groups all involve children and most are United Way of Greater Chattanooga supported agencies. The Children's Home also has administrative ties with Head Start and three partnerships with Hamilton County Schools.
"There's lots of upside to it," said Mr. Acord, adding he's thinking about expanding the idea to more groups, including for-profits. He said several downtown law firms have discussed operating child care programs for their staff.
"We're looking at it," Mr. Acord said.
He said the innovative administrative model's advantages help both the agencies and their workers. The agencies had found they couldn't keep competent people they could afford, Mr. Acord said.
"We work with them to make sure they have good policies and make good financial decisions," he said.
The Children's Home, in turn, charges a fee ranging from $15,000 to $27,000 a year on average to the five nonprofit centers, Mr. Acord said.
Other funding arrangements are made with the schools and Head Start, he said.
"Every contract has a little different arrangement," Mr. Acord said.
Eva Dillard, CEO of the United Way of Greater Chattanooga, said the administrative model takes a lot of skills and business sense on the part of the parent organization.
"It's a very efficient way of managing smaller nonprofits," said Mrs. Dillard, whose agency provides funding for some of the groups.
Ms. Renner said many early childhood groups struggle with operations and funding. Many are private, she said, but aren't sure about how to run a business.
"Is there a business model out there showing success? Is there a way for us to seed these?" Ms. Renner said, answering her own questions with the assertion the Children's Home appears to have figured it out. "He (Mr. Acord) has created an economies of scale."
John Weiser, a partner in the Branford, Conn.-based consulting firm Brody, Weiser, Burns, said he sees an opportunity to take what Mr. Acord and the Children's Home has undertaken and expand it nationally.
"We want to take the things Phil has learned and make it available," he said, adding it's important to find an anchor institution in each city, such as the Children's Home in Chattanooga.
E-mail Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com
Print
Send to a Friend
