ANCHOR STORY

     In this series of blogs we examine issues common to non-profit and charitable organizations by considering a fictional charity. This is its story.

All About Students, Inc.

     All About Students, Inc. was founded in 1997 by Betty Flatstone. Betty saw that children in her neighborhood were getting into trouble after school because their parent(s) worked and the children came home to an empty house. She decided to create a program to give these children a place to go and things to do.

     At first she opened her home and worked by herself. Then she enlisted friends. The number of children involved in Betty’s program grew and it became clear to her that she needed a bigger space, money, and better organization. She sought the advice of friends and then a lawyer. She incorporated and filed an application with the IRS for the organization to be recognized as a charity. Friends served on the Board. She served as Chair of the Board and as the Executive Director. She filed grant applications, hired employees, and rented larger space.

     Board meetings were largely disorganized, with no “Board packet” or agenda distributed prior to meetings. Betty ran the board meetings and controlled matters brought before the Board. There was no planning of any kind discussed or done at any level for this organization. The Board had no independent will apart from the Executive Director.

     Over time, she saw that the children she served had other needs. She started a tutoring program. She started a nutrition program and provided meals, and food for the children to take home. She began a clothes closet for her program participants. Over time she saw that the families of these children had other needs and developed programs to address those. All About Students, Inc. opened a drug and alcohol treatment clinic, which included counseling, pharmaceutical treatments, and other medical and psychological services. The clinic provided services to program participants and members of their immediate families. Seeing that the need in the neighborhood for these services was great, the clinic expanded services over time to include anyone who came to the clinic, including folks covered by private and employer-provided insurance. The clinic generated a great positive cash flow and cash surplus.

     Over time, the clinic became the primary focus of All About Students, Inc., and many of All About Students, Inc.’s original programs lost attention and funding as the organization’s focus shifted. The Board was divided but Betty’s will always prevailed. She began to envision a string of drug and alcohol treatment clinics throughout the state and even across state lines. Board members resigned; volunteers in the original programs became angry; private donors began to withdraw support.

       A movement began in the Board to remove Betty as both a Board member and as Executive Director. Arguments broke out over who should succeed Betty, and what direction the organization should take. Emotions and tensions ran high, and the continued existence of the organization was in jeopardy. Members of the anti-Betty faction on the board have called a consultant to meet with them and help them sort out what to do.