This is about a social enterprise on a mission to reinvent the coffee supply chain, giving farmers a bigger and more equitable piece of the action.

Aimed at growers producing specialty-grade, premium, Fair Trade certified coffee, Vega hopes to enable farmers to roast and package their beans  and connect to customers directly via an online subscription marketplace.  As a result, they can make a lot more money than they normally do.

The company, which is based in Leon, Nicaragua, is launching a Kickstartercampaign today.

Eighty percent of coffee farmers- -or  20 million people– are trapped in a cycle of subsistence farming, according to co-founder Noushin Ketabi.  Often in remote areas, they have little access to markets and tend to rely on middlemen for exporting.  (The situation is similar to peanut farmers in Haiti. I recentlywrote about a supply-chain social enterprise aimed at them).

And we’re not talking about just a few middlemen.  As many as 20 may be involved in the coffee supply chain, according to Vega. In many cases, the farmers grow the beans, then sort, grade and polish them , among other steps. Then they take the  stuff to a cooperative, which sends it to a larger entity that’s an aggregation of cooperatives. It goes next to an exporter, various certification groups, coffee traders, and labelers, among many others. It takes six months to get coffee from the farm to the consumer.

So, even though advocates of Fair Trade and organic coffee are trying their best, because they work within the usual supply chain, small-scale farmers end up with a paltry share of the pie, according to Ketabi. Each small scale farmer produces about 500 pounds of Fair Trade organic coffee  a year and gets around $1.30 a pound, or $700 a year.  The upshot: Farmers of specialty grade coffee beans earn $1 a pound for a product costing U .S. consumers maybe $20.

Vega’s aim is to cut out most of those other players. To that end, it would set up a processing, packaging  and distribution center located 20 to 30 minutes from farmers. There the coffee would be loaded in pallets, shipped overseas via a U.S. carrier, then  broken down and mailed to consumers.  Farmers would be paid when the processing is done, so it’s not contingent on supply and demand fluctuations. The  founders are still working out the details, but, ”We’ll match the Fair Trade price and pay for the value of the processing on top of that,” says Ketabi. The result would allow farmers to earn up to four times what they typically receive.

The plan also is to train the first group of farmers in how to do the roasting  using special equipment designed by Vega and engineers at a local NGO that uses 90% less fuel than the usual  roaster, according to Ketabi.  Then that first wave would train the next group.

The online site will allow consumers to drill down and get all sorts of information about the product, searching, for example, for a region or even specific farmers.  Customers can curate the coffee themselves, receiving two eight-ounce bags a month, or leave that to Vega, since two of its founders also are certified coffee roasters.

How did this all get started?  In 2005, co-founder Rob Terenzi (who is also married to Ketabi) spent two years in Nicaragua working with a women’s coffee cooperative to develop roasting capacity and build a national market for their coffee. Then he came back to the U.S. and studied law and international development at Fordham University.  There he met Ketabi, who was studying the same thing. He also started a group that took trips to Nicaragua to see the coffee world there.  Ketabi got involved  and, in 2011, won a Fulbright scholarship  to work in renewable energy policy  in Nicaragua, focusing on the lack of electricity and potential for solar energy.  After that she came back to the U .S., getting a job with the state of California in energy policy. In the meantime, Terenzi went to work for Wilson, Sonsini, the famed San Francisco law firm to startup tech stars, where he ended up gaining a lot of helpful insights into how to found a company.

All the while, the two pondered how to make an impact on coffee farming in a way that would have a  long-term  effect.  They decided, whatever the answer was, the best, most sustainable route was a for-profit, one that “could serve as a model for the whole coffee industry,” says Ketabi.  Finally, they pinpointed an overhaul of the supply chain as the key and, with their own savings and relying on their many contacts, moved to Nicaragua to start Vega early this year, also enlisting another co-founder, friend Will Deluca, to design and run the web site and technology side of the operation.

The effort is now in what Ketabi calls a “pre-pilot phase”, focused on Nicaragua, where the co-founders have deep ties; the pilot also will be in Nicaragua.  In its current ultra-early phase, the co-founders are working at 20 or so individual farms, where farmers sort the beans, then Vega packages them,  and sends out samples. The hope for the Kickstarter campaign is to raise $20,000 to buy coffee, install roasters, train farmers, and deliver a limited batch to customers—that is, test out the model  to see what works and needs to be improved in preparation for a full-fledged launch.

**The article is original from Forbes. Here is the link

4 Ways to Supercharge Your Social Enterprise Through Accountability

The social enterprise sector is hot—it may be worth well over $500 billion in the US alone. But if social business is to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, we have to make sure it has both internal and external accountability systems in place to do so. What does that mean? It means, at its heart, getting the accountability relationships right between the people who make decisions — in governments, businesses, and all other relevant organizations — in order to ensure the outcomes are fair, inclusive, and sustainable.

Think of how we can best support governments in this, for example. At theAccountability Lab we are working with the government of Liberia to improve transparency through the simple tool of chalk billboards to convey critical information to its citizens (for example, how to register a business or get a passport). We’re also helping to build more effective justice systems throughcommunity mediation programs.

If people have information they can use to ask the right questions, and appropriate feedback mechanisms are in place, this process of external accountability of the government can unleash social, political and economic change to transform societies.

Read more: http://ow.ly/2KRx5z

What should nonprofits boards expect from foundations?

I propose: very little. There's a paradigm I recall hearing about the purpose of foundations: 1) identify "issues"; identify solutions to issues; test the solutions. Three years is a norm. After all this is done: the nonprofit should get supported by the public.

So, today's reality? Except for the public support, yes, I believe this is indeed what nonprofits who think foundation money is a great source, should expect. And of course, there are differences between community foundations, family foundations and private foundations but I think it's generally true that three years is a fair grant period length.

The lesson for nonrpofit boards: don't expect long-term support from foundations. More importantly, nonprofit boards, at any stage, would do well to always be thinking "beyond the foundation grant". This means thinking about what and how well their story is told and to who their story is distributed. This means providing lots of opportunity for the community, to become supporters, be it lemonade sales to big galas. This means that the full spectrum of sustainability sources should be annually examined with a three-to-five-to-fifteen year picture in mind.

Nonprofit sustainability is not achieved overnight and certainly not through foundation giving. Foundations kick-start. This is what should be expected of them.

When it comes to a nonprofit board's taking action (aka voting), numbers often matter. Most often a board's by-laws instruct how many board members need be present and what portion of that number needs to vote positively on an item.

I'm working with a team right now to update the organization's by-laws and during this process we came upon two questions: what happens when there is no quorum and equally important, what happens when quorum is lost during or more likely, toward the end of the meeting?

In my experience, most boards do not take action on items needing action until a quorum is reached. Often enough, as members leave the meeting, thus actually changing whether there is a quorum, the board just proceeds without noting the departures but applies the same rules the bylaws specify regarding what % of those present voting yes means a decision has been reached (positively and negatively).

After research from one of our team, it turns out that basically, if practicing using Roberts Rules of Order or as otherwise specified in the bylaws,once quorum has been lost, business decisions (action/voting) can no longer be made in the meeting.

Here's one source that clarifies Roberts Rules:

present at a meeting to transact business. While there are some exceptions (see below), no motions or votes should occur unless there is a quorum. As a result, if quorum is lost in a meeting without a statute or rule to the contrary, business stops.
Robert’s Rules Quorum Steps

For organizations that follow RONR due to statute or governing documents (such as some governmental bodies, homeowner and condominium associations, and nonprofits), there are several procedural steps that can be taken even in the absence of a quorum, including:

Setting a continued meeting through the motion to Fix the Time to Which to Adjourn.
Ending the meeting through a motion to Adjourn.
Recessing the meeting, in efforts to obtain a quorum.
Taking measures to obtain a quorum, such as rounding up members in the hall or contacting members.

If some urgent matter can’t be delayed and must be acted upon, the members proceed at their own risk with the hope that a later meeting with quorum will ratify the action. There seems to be an urban legend that business at meetings can continue without a quorum so long as no one raises the issue. Not true! The general rule is that business transacted in the absence of a quorum is null and void. In fact, members who vote on motions at meetings without a quorum can at times be held personally liable for their actions. So don’t do it!

For organizations governed by state statutes (incorporated nonprofits, community associations, governmental bodies), the answer can be more complicated. For instance, the model acts for nonprofits, condominiums, community associations, and planned communities all provide that if a quorum is present at the beginning of a membership meeting, the quorum remains regardless of how many members leave. So, you could end up with only a few remaining members at the end of a meeting making decisions for the entire organization. There are both news accounts and lawsuits of such instances, with the general rule being that if you don’t want a small group of others to make decisions on your behalf, don’t leave the meeting! The rule is generally the opposite for board meetings, where a quorum must generally be present at all times during the meeting.
How to Raise the Issue of a Lost Quorum

In organizations that require a quorum at all times, what is the process for raising the issue that it has been lost? Under most parliamentary procedure manuals, the absence of a quorum is brought to the attention of the chair through a Point of Order (“I believe we no longer have a quorum”) or a question to the chair (“Do we still have a quorum?”). Even if no one raises the issue, the presiding officer has an obligation to make certain that enough members are present for a valid meeting. At the point where it is realized there is no quorum, business (other than the procedural motions discussed above) stops. A guest speaker or announcements might be allowed, but no further votes should be taken. In larger bodies, because no one knows exactly when the quorum was lost, Robert’s Rules of Order provides that prior action is still valid. However, when it can be shown that a quorum was missing for a prior vote by “clear and convincing proof” (such as the record of a roll call listing everyone present at the meeting at that moment), even past actions can be challenged. (For more details on the process, check out the “Quorum” chapter ofNotes and Comments on Robert’s Rules, Fourth Edition, or pages 96-98 of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Parliamentary Procedure Fast-Track.)

Here's an interesting set of thoughts from Dr. Eugene Fram who discusses nonprofit board roles "beyond the by-laws". I'm interesting in learning your takeaways. Also, as another thought, I propose that what's not contained in a board's by-laws might be contained in the board's governing policies. John Carver proposes that such policies be divided into those that are focused on mission (mission, purpose and values and strategic direction); those that are specific to the board; those that are the board's & exec's; and those that are the exec's. This is an acceptable framing in terms of pretty much convering indeed what is not in the by-laws and the process for deriving these ensures at least during the development stage, some consciousness of roles. The one exception I would pose to singularly using Carver's construct is his insistence on the limitations as the definers. I think these policies can be framed in the positive, for the most part.

Anyway, here's Dr. Fram's thoughts.

Beyond the Bylaws: A Clarification of Nonprofit Board Responsibilities

By: Eugene Fram

A nonprofit director’s duties may be much more difficult than those of a for-profit board member. Both types of directors have the same basic duties: fiduciary responsibilities; establishing, with staff input, mission vision and values; setting policies/strategies; over-viewing outcomes/impacts and conducting annual meetings.

I suggest nonprofit directors may not be fully addressing some duties specified in the bylaws and some which are culturally driven. This latter group might be called “latent duties.”

•Fundraising: Nonprofit bylaws can list fundraising as a board duty, but its execution is often left to the CEO and/or a development director. In a recent survey, 76% of 1,341 Nonprofit CEOs gave their boards academic grades of “C,” “D’ or “F’ for their fundraising efforts.* Depending on its status in the bylaws, fundraising can be an overt duty or a latent one. No matter which form it takes, in my opinion, fundraising has to be a partnership between the board and the CEO.

•Legal Requirements: Nonprofit directors have a set of legal requirements not incumbent on for-profit directors.
A nonprofit board is required to participate in development or review the IRS 990 form in detail before it is submitted each year. Nonprofit directors have more specific state regulation to which to adhere. In California for example, “ …a charity may sometimes be required to file a 990 with the Attorney General, even when there is no requirement that a 990 be filed with the IRS.” **

Additionally, I personally find it difficult to understand how so few nonprofit directors and managers are aware of IRS Intermediate Sanctions Act, related to excess benefits transactions. (Section 4958 – IRS Code). If directors or managers provide an excess benefit to themselves, an employee or even a volunteer, they can incur serious personal tax penalties!! Excess benefits might include providing above market salaries, selling something to a volunteer below market value.

•Board-Staff Relationships: As I have noted in other posts, most nonprofit organizations are relatively “flat organizations” and structurally the staff may only be one of two levels below the board. As a result, nonprofit staffs becomes well attuned to the actions of the board and the frequent rotations of board personnel. They know that these changes can have significant impacts on their work. In addition, unlike for-profit directors, they are well aware that board members rotate frequently, leaving the staff vulnerable to new influential directors wanting to make rapid emotionally charged changes.

As an example of what can happen, a friend reported that two new board members succeeded in initiating a board mandated bureaucratic Management by Objectives Program into a nonprofit’s operations. This resulted in staff spending hours completing and reviewing MBO forms, resulting in a disgruntled staff and a reduction in productivity.

To meet the requirements of this latent responsibility, boards need to seek greater contact with staffs at staff celebrations of success, on board-staff committees and at other appropriate occasions. This is a trust building requirement. Board members need to be aware, however, that these contacts can open the door to some staff making “end-runs” around management when a staff member is dissatisfied with a management decision. This problem can simply come with the territory in fulfilling this latent board duty. As a contingency, boards need to have a policy in a place for addressing the issue.

•Who Does The Board Represent? Nonprofit boards legally represent a community, professional or trade association. This allows them to function with tax-free status and acquire other benefits. Some directors can mistakenly assume their jobs are to represent the interests of the staff, not the groups that established the organization. In this instance, they misperceive a responsibility that does not exist.

Example: The field of “talk therapy” has been economically disrupted by the increased use of treatment via medications. The board of a nonprofit counseling organization attempted to keep the organization viable as client levels significantly declined because the board felt that the staff and board were part of a “family,” as one director described the board culture. The board finally closed the agency and transferred remaining staff and clients to a more economically viable agency.

I suggest nonprofit boards periodically need to review duties specified by the bylaws as well as current law to make certain they are in compliance. Gaps can arise because the bylaw duties are ignored or delegated. In addition boards need to be alert to latent duties, not readily overt, such as generating appropriate staff relationships.

* “Nonprofit Governance Index 2012, Data Report #1: CEO Survey of BoardSource Members.” BoardSource, Washington D.C.
**Kamla D. Harris (2008) “The New 990 and It’s Relationship to California Law,” Office of the Attorney General, State of California, Department of Justice.

A social impact bond WAVE is building. Both sides of the political aisle are exploring.  It's all about pay-for-performance funding.  Like them or not, nonprofits need to surf this billion$ experiment. http://onforb.es/1lRmStP

Which of the following tool (s) has the best prospect of making your board meeting THE EVENT of the month or quarter or whatever:

*consent agenda
*planning and choreography (including food)

*actionable agenda items

board-driven conversations

*nonve of the above

*all of the above

I believe if you checked "all of the above" you would be correct. Each of these activities can contribute to making happier and productive board meetings. Without these activities: less happier and productive meetings. Really! Try them out and let me know what if any works for you.

FISH OF GREATER NEW HAVEN, INC. – JOB POSTING
for public dissemination
July 23, 2014

Position:  Executive Director

Overview: 

FISH of Greater New Haven, Inc., is seeking a self-motivated, highly organized, and ambitious Executive Director (ED).  The ED will administer and, in most cases, actively carry out operations of the organization, including program services, finances, development and fundraising, and public relations and communications.  The ED will oversee an extensive corps of volunteers and work closely with an active Board of Directors (BOD).

FISH of Greater New Haven is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit food pantry, delivering groceries and foodstuffs to low- and no-income households in New Haven, Connecticut.  FISH is the only food pantry in the area that delivers directly to clients’ doors and is staffed almost entirely by volunteers.  Additional information can be found at www.fishgnh.org.

Responsibilities:

Program Services: Coordinate acquisition of groceries and foodstuffs via Conn. Food Bank, local vendors, and food drives.  Coordinate packing and delivery of groceries, including determination of proper foods to be included.  Coordinate and supervise volunteers.  Maintain proper records and data on all clients for the purposes of both Quality Assurance and reporting. Prepare regular reports based on these records to deliver to the BOD. 

Finances:  Keep clear and well-organized records of all cash and in-kind revenue and expenses.  Work with BOD Treasurer to affect proper accounting, including a projected and year-to-date budget, updated monthly.  Administer all facilities-, utilities-, and service-related accounts. 

Development & Fundraising: Develop a clear plan-of-action for revenue, annually. Administer, manage, and execute all grant applications and grant reports. Organize and execute regular fundraising efforts and events (with BOD assistance). Solicit and cultivate relationships with individual donors (with BOD assistance). 

Public Relations & Communications: Administer and oversee production of quarterly newsletter/e-newsletter (with BOD assistance).  Communicate with the FISH network of volunteers, donors, etc., via social media, email, direct mail, and telephone, including maintenance of a network database.  Cultivate relationships with community partners (e.g., service organizations and religious congregations) and sister-organizations (e.g., Community Soup Kitchen, Loaves and Fishes). Represent FISH in the City’s Food Policy Council.  Conduct regular community outreach efforts (with BOD assistance) via speaking engagements, etc.

Qualifications: 

Bachelor’s degree plus at least 3 years of relevant experience in a nonprofit and/or human services setting.  Master’s degree in social services, social work, nutrition/health, public administration/policy or other related field preferred. 

Must possess excellent organizational skills.  Must possess strong communication skills, both written and verbal, including interpersonal skills and a basic knowledge of client and donor confidentiality and privacy practices.  Must be able to work both individually and collaboratively, as well as in a managerial capacity.  Experience overseeing volunteers and knowledge of nutritional standards are pluses.  Must possess excellent computer skills, including Microsoft Office suite, Adobe suite, web-based reporting programs, file management, social media, and mass-email communications.  Past experience working with low- or no-income households and/or food assistance is a plus.  Spanish proficiency is preferred.  Must have a valid Connecticut driver’s license.

Supervisory Relationships:  Reports to the Board of Directors.  Supervises all volunteers.

Salary Range:  $45,000 - $60,000 (commensurate with experience)

Schedule: 40 hours per week, regularly scheduled (TBD); occasional nights and weekends.

Application: Please submit a cover letter, résumé, and three references via email to Patrick Pearson (ppearson@fishofgreaternewhaven.org).

FISH of Greater New Haven, Inc., is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or unfavorable discharge from military service.

An editorial in today's New York Times discussed state and federal government crackdowns on private for-profit colleges and in particular, Corinthian College.

In the editorial, the paper notes:

Last year, the California attorney general, Kamala Harris, sued Corinthian, charging that it had lied to students and investors about job placement rates for its graduates. The company advertised job placement rates as high as 100 percent for certain programs, when, in some cases, there was no evidence that even a single student had secured a job within the prescribed period of time, according to the lawsuit, which is still pending. Furthermore, it charged that Corinthian deliberately singled out low-income single parents who lived near the poverty line, urging recruiters to focus on “isolated” people who had “low self-esteem.” It also asserted that the company advertised programs that it did not offer.

What I miss most from this editorial: what's the difference between these for-profits and their nonprofit and public sector counterparts. I think the difference important as a lesson for the future. That difference, two actually, is that nonprofit and public sector governance and ownership. Nonprofits and public sector colleges have for their oversight and direction, volunteer leaders committed to the goals of their institution and accountable with fiduciary responsibilities including a high bar in the area of care -- for mission and assets. And, these institutions are in effect, owned by the public, at least through the tax structure for the nonprofits and actual ownership for the public colleges. To me, both of these facts mean that the only reason at all to be engaged in education is for outcomes. Now, they may not always get this right and produce perfect outcomes, but the overseers are not personally profiting from the work and the mission inherently drives an intention to "do no harm".

For the for-profits, neither of these two fundamentals are present. Governance matters.

Happy July 4th To All,

I received a note from a friend of mine and I would like to share the message with all:

IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an immediate opening for the full-time position of Operations Manager. IRIS helps refugees and asylees— people fleeing persecution in their home countries who are invited to the US by the federal government—to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their communities. IRIS currently serves clients from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, Eritrea, and Sudan.

General Description

The Operations Manager is responsible for organizing and directing IRIS’s daily office operations.  The goal of this position is to ensure a smooth operation of the day-to-day business of IRIS, making it possible for clients to be served effectively; for staff members to function efficiently; and for IRIS to comply with government requirements.  The Operations Manager provides administrative and case management support to all staff, but works most closely with the Deputy Director, Executive Director, and Manager of Case Management.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Serve as receptionist in front office, including answering phones, greeting dozens of refugee clients and visitors each day, and triaging client requests
• Help staff members troubleshoot IT issues, and serve as liaison with IT consultant
• Process invoices and mail payments  
• Compile and submit biweekly payroll
• Maintain office files, including payroll, grantor documentation, and client finance reports; help prepare for annual financial audit
• Compile program and financial statistics and information for reports, as necessary
• Order office supplies and maintain office equipment; communicate and negotiate with vendors
• Maintain and update IRIS website
• Provide human resources support, including liaising with IRIS’s insurance company
• Provide basic administrative support to all staff and departments
• Maintain a neat, secure, and orderly office by preparing hospitality section (coffee & tea) each morning, and supervising the office cleaner
• Oversee Diaper Bank and Food Bank distributions
• Supervise volunteers and interns assigned to administrative and operations tasks
• Assist with fundraising tasks including appeal letters, thank you letters, and donor database maintenance.
• Other related tasks as necessary

Requirements

The successful candidate will have a minimum of 3-5 years of experience in an administrative position, non-profit experience preferred; excellent writing, communication, and organizational skills; and the ability to handle multiple demands and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment. Candidate must be fluent in English. Ability to speak a second language is preferred. Candidate must have a demonstrated commitment to the mission of IRIS and awareness and sensitivity to multicultural issues.  Candidate must be proficient with MS Windows and MS Office, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.  Experience with Quickbooks, GiftWorks, Salesforce, MS Access or other databases, website maintenance, IT trouble shooting, and social media a plus.  

To apply, send an email to Deputy Director Kelly Hebrank, at humanresources@irisct.org by July 14^th with the following:

• A subject line that says “OPERATIONS MANAGER: [your first and last name]”
• A Cover Letter describing your relevant skills and experience, and why you are interested in this position
• An attached resume

IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an immediate opening for the full-time position of Reception & Placement (R&P) Case Manager. IRIS helps refugees and asylees— people fleeing persecution in their home countries who are invited to the US by the federal government—to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their communities. IRIS currently serves clients from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, Eritrea, and Sudan.

General Description

Operating under the Reception & Placement (R&P) requirements of the federal refugee resettlement program, the Case Manager will join a dedicated team in providing case management services to hundreds of refugees and asylees each year.  The R&P Case Manager will ensure that clients’ basic needs are met during their first 90 days in the US; that they learn about US culture and norms and feel comfortable navigating their new communities; and that they make progress towards becoming self-sufficient.  The R&P Case Manager will supervise a part-time assistant, and a team of interns and volunteers.

This job is primarily direct service with refugee clients, along with administrative work required by funders. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Prepare for and welcome newly arriving refugee families and individuals
• Ensure refugees’ basic needs (housing, food, clothing, etc.) are addressed
• Provide community and cultural orientation
• Assist clients in accessing appropriate external services and public benefits, including from Social Security Administration and Department of Social Services
• Communicate and coordinate closely with other IRIS staff who provide services such as English class, childcare, education, health care, employment, and immigration legal services
• Help refugees develop a resettlement plan and household budget, and encourage clients to work towards self-sufficiency and early employment
• Identify and address barriers and challenges to successful resettlement
• Operate as a cultural broker between refugees, volunteers, and service providers
• Working with the IRIS Volunteer Coordinator, ensure that proper language interpretation and translation are provided for all meetings with clients and for important documents
• Maintain and complete case files and documentation for each case, including financial expenditures, reports of client outcomes, and evidence of client self-sufficiency
• Maintain regular contact with cases, including home visits
• Other related tasks as assigned

Requirements

Candidates must have at least three years of relevant experience; strong writing, communication and organizational skills; computer skills including Microsoft Word and Excel; and ability to handle multiple demands and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment.  Ideal candidates will have experience supervising others.  Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to the mission of IRIS and awareness and sensitivity to multicultural issues.  Candidates must be fluent in English. Proficiency in another language is desirable, especially Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Swahili, Tigrinya, French, or Spanish.  Candidates must be able to work occasional evenings.  Candidates must have US driver’s license and be willing to drive clients to appointments. 

To apply, send an email to Deputy Director Kelly Hebrank, at humanresources@irisct.org by July 14^th with the following:

• A subject line that says “R&P CASE MANAGER: [Candidate first and last name]”
• A cover letter describing your relevant skills and experience, and why you are interested in this position
• An attached resume

Every Sunday night, West Haven family child care provider Yanerys Aziz strategizes for the coming week. She thinks about the materials she’ll lay out for children on her theme table, the arrangement of her child care space, and the activities she’ll propose in the days to come. The children she cares for will arrive early the next morning, and Yanerys wants to be prepared to offer them experiences that nurture their curiosity and help them grow and learn. Since 2007, when she opened the doors to her family child care program, Yanerys has exemplified the creativity, perseverance, and commitment to continuous learning that so many of All Our Kin’s providers share.

Continue reading on All Our Kin's blog, All Our Words.

It is pretty much the practice of nonprofits to establish board term limits. Most common among these practices is the 2-3 year term and 1 year off rule recognizing that for large organizations, 3-3 year terms takes into account the learning curve that may be needed to create effective boards. Admittedly, there are quite a number of nonprofit boards that I have encountered that do not implement their term limits for all kinds of lame reasons: we don't want to lose our invaluable member (what, once they aren't a board member they will never talk to the organization again?) and, it's too hard to find qualified and capable members (how well have you looked?). But pretty much it is understood that terms and term limits. when practiced, produces better outcomes for the board and organization.

But what about execs? I have been and will continue to maintain that the "habit" of many nonprofits to not establish a "term limit" on the exec can produce its own negative results. A recent Conference Board report illustrates what for-profits are doing around this issue. And one statement is particularly noteworthy to me:

With longevity, the CEO can cultivate closer ties with directors, which may hinder the independence of board oversight and weaken the objectivity of the performance evaluation process. When adequately used, policies on CEO retirement based on age or term limits may offer an additional safeguard to existing governance practices and serve as an integral component of CEO succession planning.

I think the lessons from this report apply equally to nonprofits and nonprofit boards should consider the question of ceo term limits which can in the end, compliment and be a sound part of succession planning. Note, I'm not needing to see all nonprofit execs retire, I'm just, saying that staying forever is not in the long range best interest of the nonprofit.

It's finally here a fun loving fitness facility that is dedicated to the entire family. Not only do we provide affordable classes but we also have FREE Zumba®  classes for both adults and kids.

Take a look: BEyond FITness

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Every Tuesday 6:15pm Zumba®  (adults class)

Session 2- June 3- June 24th: 5:30pm Zumba®  Kids (ages 4-11yrs) Parents/Guardians are encouraged to participate.

Share away ;)

A recent shake-up in a nonprofit dependent on its credibility and adherence to high ethical standards can serve to remind nonprofit board and staff that conflicts of interest are not specific to board members alone.

"The CFA Institute (Chartered Financial Analyst Institute) is best known for administering the Chartered Financial Analyst exams, a rigorous test of financial analysis and ethics. This year, nearly 150,000 candidates from 179 countries registered to take one of the exams, often after years of study, on June 7. The organization has 119,000 members. CFA has an annual budget of $231 million. Its executive was paid $1.4 million in fiscal year 2013.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the executive "stepped down" after a board review that followed its learning about the executive's relationship with a senior staff member. The Journal notes that "While the organization's code of conduct doesn't prohibit relationships between staff, a concern on the board was that potential conflicts from the relationship could open CFA Institute to litigation or public criticism, people familiar with the situation said."

Whew! I understand rigor and all and the duty by the board to ensure that its biggest asset, rigor to high standards, is preserved but I for one wonder that this action doesn't stretch the meanings. I however do recognize that when an inner office relationship between a supervisor and supervisee shifts to something of an amorous nature, power dynamics can also change and perhaps in turn, risks to outcomes. At the same time I would expect that an organization like the CFA would have instituted enough checks and balances that inner-office dynamics would not directly affect the quality of its product. Might word of a relationship affect perceptions of quality by members? This of course becomes the basis for the board's action. I would expect though that the board must adjust its code of conduct to reflect its own sense of the impact of inner-office relationships.

At this point, based on its action, I'm led to wonder whether the board didn't have previous issues with its exec to reach this end result. This for me would be the only reason to take an action that did not otherwise have institutional documentation. Food for thought.

IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an immediate opening for the full-time position of Health & Wellness Program Coordinator. IRIS helps refugees and asylees— people fleeing persecution in their home countries who are invited to the US by the federal government—to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their communities. IRIS currently serves clients from countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Cuba, Congo, and Sudan.

The goal of IRIS's Health & Wellness Program is for refugees to have prompt access to high quality, culturally and linguistically competent medical care.  Refugees' health needs will be addressed and they will receive health education, to enable them to become healthy, productive members of the community.

The Health and Wellness Program Coordinator (HWPC) will coordinate healthcare and health education for newly-arrived refugees (approximately 200/year) and other IRIS clients.  The HWPC will provide refugees and asylees with medical case management, and will orient them to New Haven and the healthcare system.  The HWPC will also advocate on behalf of clients and engage with the medical community on issues related to refugee and immigrant health and health care.  The HWPC will coordinate with other IRIS staff members to help clients overcome health-related barriers to employment or education, and to help them achieve self-sufficiency soon after arriving in the US.

This job is a mix of direct service and administrative work. 

Candidates must have relevant experience; strong writing, communication and organizational skills; and ability to handle multiple demands and shifting priorities in a fast-paced environment.  Candidates must have a demonstrated commitment to the mission of IRIS and awareness and sensitivity to multicultural issues.  Candidates must be fluent in English. Proficiency in another language is desirable, especially Arabic, Spanish, French, Swahili, or Tigrinya.  Candidates must be able to work occasional evenings.  Ideally, candidates would have driver’s license and be willing to drive clients in personal vehicle to appointments in the area. 

To apply, send an email to Kelly Hebrank, Deputy Director, at humanresources@irisct.org by June 27^th with the following:

• Subject line MUST say “HEALTH & WELLNESS PROGRAM COORDINATOR: [Candidate first and last name]”
• Cover letter describing your relevant skills and experience, and why you are interested in this position
• Attached resume