Prior to 2000, San Gorgonio Wilderness Association funding was mostly provided by merchandise sales, funding from the Forest Service, and a program that permitted organization camps to pay a non-profit in-lieu of paying a lease to the Forest Service.
Funding from the Forest Service was slowly reduced year to year in response to budget cuts. SGWA was able to make slight adjustments to programming with little noticeable impact.
In 2000, a regional decision determined that SGWA was ineligible for the in-lieu payments due to being so closely tied to the agency. A third of our operating funds were lost in one fell swoop.
This seemingly devastating development turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The steps SGWA took in reaction to this funding crisis made the organization much stronger and sustaining, and better prepared to satisfy its mission.
This case study examines several steps SGWA took as it may be of value to other organizations facing budget issues.
Organizational Restructure
Specific Fundraising Activities
ORGANIZATIONAL RESTRUCTURE
Prior to 2000, SGWA did not have to devote much focus on fundraising. Most expenses were for the organization’s sole employee who wore the multiple hats of Executive Director, Business Manager, and Volunteer Coordinator. Funding came primarily from the following sources:
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SGWA sold merchandise (maps, books, shirts, and other interpretive materials) in 3 Forest Ranger Stations.
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SGWA entered into Challenge Cost-Share agreements with the agency.
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Organization camps were able to donate their government land lease to SGWA in lieu of paying to the government.
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Though little effort was made to obtain public donations, a natural trickle existed.
The funding crisis in 2000 forced SGWA to make several organizational changes to meet the goal of becoming self-sustaining.
Name Change.
SGWA was previously styled San Gorgonio Volunteer Association. This name held some potential to confuse the general public – the place name San Gorgonio is used by several institutions that could include volunteers (San Gorgonio High School, San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society, San Gorgonio Search & Rescue, San Gorgonio Ballet School of Dance, Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council, San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, and others).
The Board of Directors also determined that the name could discourage contributing members who could not volunteer – would one feel like a complete member of a volunteer association if one did not volunteer?
The Board of Directors approved the name change to make our mission more clear (Wilderness) and to avoid discouraging contributing members. While there are some volunteers who continue to opine that they continue to prefer the old name, the new name has generally met with satisfaction and success.
Key Learnings:
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A name change should never be done lightly. The benefits derived from a name change must significantly outweigh the potential harm.
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Selecting an effective name initially is preferable to changing it.
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An organization’s name is spread very far – changing it requires much effort to update. Business cards, brochures, banners, email addresses, website links, licenses, Articles of Incorporation, memberships, etc.
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Following a brief transition period, begin referring to the organization using the new name only. For example, when describing SGWA history we use a consistent name, even when discussing events when we were SGVA – with the exception of describing the history of the name.
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Expanded Use of Volunteers in Leadership Roles.
The primary expense in SGWA's budget prior to 2000 was for the salary of the Executive Director/Business Manager/Volunteer Coordinator. This multi-hat individual (referred to as Volunteer Coordinator for simplicity) organized all annual training, recruited all new volunteers, provided all communications to volunteers, coordinated and scheduled all volunteer activities, and supervised volunteer efforts. The Volunteer Coordinator was "on duty" every weekend that volunteers were in the field and served as a liaison between dispatch and volunteers during emergencies or other events.
In reaction to the budget crisis, the Volunteer Coordinator's hours were greatly reduced. Unpaid Assistant Coordinators were recruited to provide supervision during the weekends. This use of volunteers to fill supervisory roles provided organizational strength as institutional knowledge was dispersed to a larger pool of people.
In addition to helping reduce costs, the Assistant Coordinators also provided new sets of eyes to look at procedures. Often new eyes will raise questions about why certain procedures are necessary, and this was the case for SGWA. Some unintended benefits of the Assistant Coordinators were process improvements, such as how Wilderness Patrols are scheduled and how volunteer hours are collected and recorded. In helping to reduce the Volunteer Coordinator’s hours, the Assistant Coordinators also helped identify process improvements.
Having volunteers report to multiple individuals does brings some inefficiencies. Some volunteers became confused on who to report to as it might be a different person each week.
Some tasks assigned to volunteers required more frequent follow-up. Some tasks were challenging to get volunteers to sign up for, and some volunteers would lose interest.
After his retirement, and after other budget pressures were improved, SGWA revamped the staff structure. The current structure includes additional staff people with tasks more widely dispersed. The paid staff now includes:
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Executive Director
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Volunteer Coordinator
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Office Manager
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Volunteer Work Camp Manager
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Interpretive Sites Coordinator
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Interpretive Program Coordinator
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Trail Crew Coordinator
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Most of these additional roles are performed by veteran volunteers and are paid by stipend rather than a regular salary.
Key Learnings:
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Retaining institutional knowledge in just one person is highly risky – even if that one person is great at what he does.
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Bringing fresh sets of eyes helps identify areas to simplify or reduce.
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Money brings accountability. Unpaid volunteers can more easily walk away from mission-critical tasks. Paying even a small stipend greatly improves the accountability dynamics.
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Fundraising Committee.
To address the needs to secure funding, the Board put greater focus on fundraising. A committee was established to investigate potential sources and make recommendations to the Board. The focus on fundraising was the source of the greatest culture shock and dissent within the Board, but was absolutely vital for SGWA's success and survival. From not having to worry about funding in the past this talent was never previously explored. Several Board Members viewed the thought of fundraising with general distaste - they had signed up to volunteer, not to fundraise. The shift in focus, while the most contentious for the organization, was instrumental in moving towards sustainability.
Initially the task of the Committee was to learn about fundraising. The Committee members had no prior fundraising experience and were starting from scratch. One advantage, as related by the Committee Chairman, was that although the Committee didn’t know what they should do, they also didn’t know what they couldn’t do. Thus, the Committee was willing to examine options that more experienced fundraisers may have not looked into.
Key Learnings:
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Most people mistakenly believe “non-profit” means an organization cannot generate a profit (non-profit means the profits cannot be paid to shareholders, but must go back into the corporation). One good way to illustrate the difference: For Profit corporations do things to make money; Non Profit corporations make money to do things.
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A fundraising committee is powerful, even if you lack the expertise.
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The most important thing to remember about fundraising: it’s amazing how much money people give you if you just ask.
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Diversify your efforts. Don’t expect all your funding to come from one source – be extremely nervous if it does, as you can lose it all in one fell swoop.
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SPECIFIC FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES
SGWA secured funding through several sources big and small that other organizations might be able to duplicate.
EarthShare California Membership.
SGWA became a member of EarthShare California. EarthShare (which includes state and regional affiliates) coordinates fundraising for member groups through workplace giving campaigns. Member organizations must provide service hours (mainly provided by performing presentations during workplace giving campaigns). These service hour requirements provided SGWA the opportunity to tell the Wilderness story to a segment of the public they previously had little contact with. Because SGWA has a large pool of volunteers to provide these presentations, a growing pool of employees selected SGWA as the non-profit to fund during their campaigns.
Our involvement with EarthShare led to unexpected sources of income - such as a local Supermarket chain that wanted to donate money to environmental groups during their reusable grocery bag campaign.
Key Learnings:
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Becoming a member of affiliations like EarthShare brings networking opportunities that can bring unexpected benefits.
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As you branch out into networking and fundraising activities be aware that you are likely to encounter segments of the public you never reached before. This is a powerful benefit to fundraising.
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Membership Program.
Prior to the funding crisis in 2000, SGWA had an extremely low-pressure membership program – if you happened to know about it and offered a membership fee it would be accepted. Very little effort was given to obtaining members, or even attempting to get existing members to renew.
The Board looked at the potential of an effective membership program. Even a small membership base that was well maintained would bring consistent funding year over year. Contributing members also bring networking potential which can expand the reach of your message.
Several attempts to ramp-up a membership program were attempted with varying degrees of success. Initial efforts were performed by people who volunteered to take on the membership program.
Several membership categories were created (including several volunteer-specific categories).
Key Learnings:
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To be successful a membership program needs to have constant maintenance. Membership submissions need to be acknowledged in a timely manner. Expiring memberships need to be solicited well before they expire.
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Life events will always trump volunteer assignments. Membership programs and other mission-critical functions require reliability.
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Don’t make the membership structure too complex – you want to make it easy for people to decide how much to give.
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Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Hosts
In 2009 SGWA became hosts of the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. This tour showcases independent films that are primarily focused on the outdoors and mountain communities. While the primary purpose for initially getting involved with the tour was to create a fundraising opportunity, a greater value has been in getting the SGWA story to a broader audience.
Key Learnings:
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Annual events, such as the Film Festival, can expand the reach of your organization.
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Subsequent years are easier to plan and prepare for than the initial year. Your first year hosting a particular event may be at an operating loss.
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Don’t forget that as a non-profit donations of equipment and services can be tax deductable. This can help defray costs while providing sponsors additional incentive to help out.
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Evening “Ranger Talk” Interpretive Programs
Public campgrounds outside the San Gorgonio Wilderness are operated by concessionaires under contract with the Forest Service. Part of their contract requires them to provide interpretive programs to the public.
In 2002, the concessionaire’s interpretive guide retired. Rather than hire a new guide they approached SGWA with the suggestion that we provide the programming for them for an annual fee.
These Ranger Talks have further expanded the reach of SGWA to a public that camps in the shadow of San Gorgonio with no concept of what Wilderness is.
Key Learnings:
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Most public campgrounds on public lands are run by concessionaires. If your organization has a logical connection to the area where these camps exist you may have an opportunity to expand your reach.
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Many Fundraising Efforts tend to Cross-Pollinate
Most of SGWA’s fundraising activities provide opportunities to feed on each other. The Film Festival provides opportunities to expand Membership. Ranger Talks provide opportunities to promote the Film Festival. Employee Giving campaigns provide opportunities to educate the public about all your services.