AdmiralCrownSeaLion17
Answer the following questions based on case study Please explain…
Answer the following questions based on case study Please explain in detail
1. Assume you are Rachael Jones and you believe, for the sustainability of the organization, FTSPC needs a better governance structure. As discussed in class, there are 3 different types of Boards – Working, Governance Only and Mixed Model. Which do you believe is the best model at this time? You must pick one of these options. Explain your response and ensure this is in own words.
2. Assume you are Rahcael Jones. You have been considering hiring a professional fundraiser to help raise money for FTSPC. Do you believe a professional fundraiser should be hired at this time? Explain your response and ensure this is in own words.
Case study
With the question of how to proceed on her mind, Rachael reached out to Farm to School supporters in the area for advice and support. They told her that fundraising as a program of the school district would not be easy because donors wanted to see a clear line from their money to the good works of Farm to School. But one supporter, a retired investment advisor, told her, “Under the right circumstances, I already know of a few donors who are eager to see you succeed.” For Farm to School to thrive, Rachael and Gail both believed that the program needed to become an independent organization. However, the IRS filing was going to take a good deal of time and work, and timeas well as moneywas running out. So they decided to enter into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with the local community foundation.
From Program to Nonprofit :-
Paul Bayer, executive director of the community foundation, was encouraging: “We engage with all sorts of local groups as a fiscal sponsor. That way, we can help them manage the flow of cash and share suggestions and advice along the way.” With this sponsorship, Farm to School could achieve semi-independence while efforts began to create the necessary structures and documentation for the 501(c)(3) application. But even to finalize the fiscal sponsorship, Paul reminded them, Farm to School needed to have certain structures already in place. They also needed to submit four important documents:
A formal understanding with the school district that Farm to School would maintain its curriculum footprint in classrooms and garden spaces
A roster of board members for the new Farm to School of Park County organization Bylaws that described how the board would govern
A business plan and budget that described the activities and goals of the new Farm to School of Park County “A business plan,” sighed Rachael. “I don’t even know what that is.” “Let’s keep it simple,” said Gail. “Can we work your network and see what others have done?” Farm to School was more than a program; it was a community. Although many Farm to School programs remained embedded in school districts, many others had launched as independent organizations. Before the end of the 2016-17 school year, Rachael had contacted other Farm to School leaders in Montana and beyond to understand what an independent Farm to School organization could look like. It quickly became apparent, however, that no two organizations had followed the same path to independence. The programs across the country operated in so many different ways that there were no best practices on which to rely. With a confidence born of ignorance and enthusiasm, Gail finally said, “Fine. We’ll create our own roadmap.” Paul’s requests for fiscal sponsorship were quite reasonable, but in practice they created a bit of a “chicken and egg” challenge. To convince people to serve on a board for the new organization, Rachael needed a business plan that described its vision and goals; however, she needed people such as board members to help her create the business plan. With guidance from the retired investment advisor, Rachael began writing a business plan that would attract board members to the organization (see Exhibit 1). Once the board was formed, one of its first priorities would be a strategic planning process to refine the organization’s strategy and goals and determine how to make decisions about pursuing them. Meanwhile, as if in answer to heartfelt prayers, a local foundation donated funds to cover Rachael’s wages for most of the 2017-18 school year. Then a community donor enthusiastically made the first contribution to the community foundation earmarked for the future Farm to School of Park County. “We haven’t even signed the fiscal sponsorship agreement yet!” exclaimed Rachael. Farm to School had time to breathe, time to organize, and time to grow.
Getting There :-
Rachael had one big concern: How would Farm to School extract the program from the school district and still maintain full access to the students, teachers, school kitchens, gardens, and greenhouses? The key to program success was the interactions with the children, in the classroom, in the garden, on field trips, and during special school events. This meant Rachael needed to be in the schools without actually belonging to the school district. “Why don’t we create a memorandum of understanding that would lay out what you will do and what the school district will do to keep Farm to School activities alive and well?” suggested Gail. During the summer of 2017, Farm to School of Park County and the Livingston Public School District negotiated a service agreement with administrators. As the agreement was being drafted, Rachael and Gail started working on the other requirements for fiscal sponsorship.
Recruiting the Board:-
Gail agreed to take on the role of founding board president. Her past experience as a consultant to the boards of many organizations would help Farm to School meet the community foundation’s requirements now and eventually would satisfy those of IRS Form 1023, the application for 501(c)(3) status. Next, Rachael and Gail needed to recruit community members to serve on the board. It was essential that they recruit board members with the right mix of expertise and style because the board likely would be asked to do some of the work during the organization’s startup period. Paul at the community foundation shared a matrix developed for Park County nonprofits (see Exhibit 2). It highlighted skills and interests particular to an increasingly tourist-focused agricultural community but also those necessary for the operation of an effective board. Naturally outgoing and with a school-aged son of her own, Rachael seemed to know people in every corner of the community. But as she considered her personal connections, she wondered, “Who should be on the board? And how do we ask them to join it?”
Into the early fall of 2017, Rachael spent much of her time identifying potential members of her founding board and inviting them to join it. All candidates were vetted not only for their skills but also for their commitment to and enthusiasm for the mission of Farm to School of Park County (F2SPC): placing healthy food on the minds and plates of Park County schoolchildren. The organization needed people with startup enthusiasm to help do the organizational work and build momentum. Rachael and Gail worked to ensure the composition of the board reflected the community and the primary stakeholders of Farm to School’s mission: children, teachers, and parents. Ultimately, the board comprised seven members: a rancher, a lawyer, a financial planner, a resort manager, an interior designer, a community health director at the local hospital, and a business consultant. Some had children in the school district, and some had fundraising experience, but all had a network and connections. Almost as soon as the board was formed, two of the members needed to drop out. One started an agricultural venture that was viewed as a conflict of interest, and one bowed out because of health concerns. When Rachael expressed disappointment in their ability to serve according to the board’s bylaws and their threeyear terms, Gail replied, “The community foundation told us that board recruitment would continue to be a top priority for us. They were right!” Once the fiscal sponsorship agreement was signed by the community foundation, Rachael was officially named executive director for Farm to School of Park County. Shortly after that, she recruited a replacement board member who was a registered dietician and the retired head of a national nutrition program aimed at obese children. Having just six board members would present a problem if a tie vote ever arose regarding a future decision, but discussions to date had been productive, friendly, and inclusive. Gail knew that as the board got larger, maintaining a collaborative board culture would need to become more purposeful.
Board Committees :-
At the first board meeting in October 2017, Gail announced, “One of our first tasks will be to hold a strategic planning meeting with the entire board. The strategic plan will help us identify our priorities, but it will also help us determine which committees we will need to create to do the work that is strategically important.” The board met for a half day to expand on the business plan and create organizational goals for the first, second, and third years of operation. It adopted the “Teach, Grow, Eat, Repeat” pillars from the business plan to organize the discussion of F2SPC’s strategic plan. Gail created four flip charts, each headed with one of the words, and the board filled in projects, programs, and other opportunities during a highly interactive meeting. After about one month of collaborative editing, the board adopted the strategic plan distilled from the flip charts (see Exhibit 1). At the December 2017 board meeting, Gail announced with a smile, “Congratulations, folks! We now have a strategic plan. Are you ready for the committees?” Board members remained enthusiastic, but Gail cautioned, “We should be selective with committees. Let’s brainstorm which of them we should form first.” A decision was made to limit the initial committees to fundraising and communications. Rachael and Gail would help coordinate the startup of each committee, but they hoped that the committees would self-manage and report to the board at its regular meetings. Jeannie, the interior designer, immediately volunteered to serve on the fundraising committee. Gregarious by nature, she had an extensive network of clients who had become friends, and she relished the idea of coordinating events and reaching out to the community for support. Two other board members also self-nominated for the fundraising committee. This group quickly scheduled its first committee meeting, to which they invited a professional fundraiser from a larger local nonprofit to help formulate their approach. Wendy, the community health director at the local hospital, offered to work on the communications committee. She had experience with outreach and understood the types of communicationincluding newsletters, social media, and progress reportsthat generated community support. A local graphic designer was invited to attend committee meetings to discuss which communications and messages optimize impact. Although she did not attend every meeting, she provided advice as needed to maintain brand consistency and answer question.
Expanding the Board :-
With the committees formed and running, Gail and Rachael met in February 2018 to discuss progress at one of their regular lunches. Rachael shared the results from a recent stakeholder survey, which included children rating their favorite foods and lessons, teachers expressing appreciation for the decrease in behavior problems in the classrooms, and parents asking for recipes and help in creating home gardens. Even the school principals and food service staff expressed support of Farm to School’s activities. Next on Rachael and Gail’s informal agenda were potential additions to the board. The women felt the optimal number of board members was nine, but currently only one man was serving on the board, so they brainstormed some potential male candidates. One was the manager of the local ranch supply store, who had connections in the ranching and farming community. They also discussed two others: a local grocery store manager and a restaurant owner. Rachael agreed to do the initial vetting; if they were interested, Gail would suggest a lunch. They would encourage other board members to nominate candidates as well. The discussion then turned to committees. The essential fundraising and communications committees were formed and had solid plans. What other committees did Farm to School need to get its work done? Two came to mind. One was an annual report committee. The fiscal year reviews required by the service agreement with the school district and the fiscal sponsorship agreement with the community foundation required some thought and formality. Gail, Rachael, and Michal DeChellis, the FoodCorps service member, would start compiling metrics and narratives that would form the basis of the report for, and eventually an annual review of, Farm to School. The local graphic designer would create the layout for the printed report. The other committee would evaluate the performance of the executive director. Gail suggested that she and Ashton, the resort manager, work on that committee because both had experience with employee review processes.
