As Past President and Treasurer, I welcome the opportunity to work with Anne Jarvis, Ellen Richardson, Gretchen Sturm, and Lori Slaughter on the Financial Health & Sustainability Subcommittee of our Chapter’s Strategic Planning Committee.  Three years ago, Anne and I developed financial projections for the M.J. Murdock Trust Grant proposal, which resulted in a $248,000 capacity-building grant to support hiring an Executive Director and promote our future growth and expansion.

With the help of our Executive Director, we have spent much of the last two years modernizing the Chapter’s operations and implementing best-practice based management and financial systems. This gives us increased fundraising capacity, more efficient and effective workflows, and improved accuracy and accessibility of information.

Today, the Subcommittee is building on these past successes to develop a financial plan for the next three years. This plan will be growth-oriented and enable the Chapter to sustain and increase investments in our mission. In the future, our Chapter will require expansion in both membership and fundraising.

Non-Profits can fail if they don’t invest in their capacity to grow. Professionals call this, "The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle".There is also a wonderful Ted Talk Talk by Dan Palotta on this subject that I highly recommend.

In the for-profit world, it is well accepted that companies need strong financial plans. Projections and goal setting are the first steps coupled with strategic thinking on how to accomplish those goals. The same practices are essential to our Chapter’s continued success. This is particularly important today as we lay the foundation for our future.

The Strategic Planning Committee is doing important work. A strong and detailed plan for financial growth and sustainability is a “must.”

All of us look forward to sharing our work with you in the coming months.

By Elizabeth Bell
Treasurer, ARCS Foundation Oregon