| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Click here to report this email as spam.
This message has been scanned for malware by Websense. www.websense.com
Showing posts with label Merger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Merger. Show all posts
Friday, March 6, 2015
Upcoming Events & Webinars
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Economy forcing changes at Sheltered Workshop in Binghamton
The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that the agency exploring partnerships with other local organizations.
Times are tough, and the Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled Inc. in Binghamton, a nonprofit that has offered services and employment to those with special needs since 1942, has been walloped by financial challenges, too.
It appears big changes are in the works.
For much of its history, the two large buildings and another, much smaller one flanking Court Street in Binghamton have been bustling with supervised workers fulfilling job contracts that constituted a major revenue stream.
More than three-quarters of the 131 people who work at SWS are "consumers" with developmental and/or physical disabilities, said Human Resources Director Tammy Worden. SWS also held contracts with the state of New York to supply services to those consumers to the tune of about $1.3 million annually in recent years.
Eighty-five special-needs individuals are in directly supervised SWS programs, with about 100 more in supported employment in the community. About 30 or 35 other employees are involved in administration or support positions, said Lou Harasymczuk, chief financial officer and general manager.
The SWS contract-manufacturing business buoyed the overhead of the operation. Utility costs for its 250,000 combined square feet of space averaged $200,000 annually, he said
Early last year, a longstanding SWS contract with Alstom Transportation in Hornell -- representing $6 million of a $10.2 million revenue stream in 2009 -- ended, with no replacement in sight.
Contracts with the state reliably added over $1 million to the SWS budget of $13 million to $14 million, Harasymczuk said. But since 2008, those amounts have been under constant threat and have been reduced, with the possibility of more belt-tightening coming from Albany.
And with a $6 million drop in outside contract-manufacturing revenue in 2010, SWS found itself in trouble.
The board of directors scrutinized every angle of the operation. Getting more contracts was the impossible dream, so they looked to provide more services.
"We realized the only way to grow would be to go after a population that's already being taken care of by other agencies," Lake said.
That would mean trying to lure consumers away from Achieve, Catholic Charities, Community Options or the Southern Tier Independence Center, for example, but SWS determined that such wrestling within the agencies could only harm the community as a whole.
In January, SWS sold off its contract-manufacturing business, which has historically included medical, transportation and military clients, to VMR Electronics in Binghamton for an undisclosed amount.
Twenty-eight workers made that initial transition, said Mark Kelly, who owns VMR with his wife, Vanessa, and 25 are still employed there.
"We're set up to handle disabilities, but we're not a disabled business like SWS was," he said. "Our focus is really hiring people with the experience to do the job, and if they can do the job and happen to have disabilities, great."
Fifty workers -- not all with disabilities -- were affected by that sale, said Worden, and some ended up unemployed.
Even that financial transaction didn't change the essential, painful equation for SWS: It was no longer sustainable, as it had been for decades.
Read more here.
Times are tough, and the Sheltered Workshop for the Disabled Inc. in Binghamton, a nonprofit that has offered services and employment to those with special needs since 1942, has been walloped by financial challenges, too.
It appears big changes are in the works.
For much of its history, the two large buildings and another, much smaller one flanking Court Street in Binghamton have been bustling with supervised workers fulfilling job contracts that constituted a major revenue stream.
More than three-quarters of the 131 people who work at SWS are "consumers" with developmental and/or physical disabilities, said Human Resources Director Tammy Worden. SWS also held contracts with the state of New York to supply services to those consumers to the tune of about $1.3 million annually in recent years.
Eighty-five special-needs individuals are in directly supervised SWS programs, with about 100 more in supported employment in the community. About 30 or 35 other employees are involved in administration or support positions, said Lou Harasymczuk, chief financial officer and general manager.
The SWS contract-manufacturing business buoyed the overhead of the operation. Utility costs for its 250,000 combined square feet of space averaged $200,000 annually, he said
Early last year, a longstanding SWS contract with Alstom Transportation in Hornell -- representing $6 million of a $10.2 million revenue stream in 2009 -- ended, with no replacement in sight.
Contracts with the state reliably added over $1 million to the SWS budget of $13 million to $14 million, Harasymczuk said. But since 2008, those amounts have been under constant threat and have been reduced, with the possibility of more belt-tightening coming from Albany.
And with a $6 million drop in outside contract-manufacturing revenue in 2010, SWS found itself in trouble.
The board of directors scrutinized every angle of the operation. Getting more contracts was the impossible dream, so they looked to provide more services.
"We realized the only way to grow would be to go after a population that's already being taken care of by other agencies," Lake said.
That would mean trying to lure consumers away from Achieve, Catholic Charities, Community Options or the Southern Tier Independence Center, for example, but SWS determined that such wrestling within the agencies could only harm the community as a whole.
In January, SWS sold off its contract-manufacturing business, which has historically included medical, transportation and military clients, to VMR Electronics in Binghamton for an undisclosed amount.
Twenty-eight workers made that initial transition, said Mark Kelly, who owns VMR with his wife, Vanessa, and 25 are still employed there.
"We're set up to handle disabilities, but we're not a disabled business like SWS was," he said. "Our focus is really hiring people with the experience to do the job, and if they can do the job and happen to have disabilities, great."
Fifty workers -- not all with disabilities -- were affected by that sale, said Worden, and some ended up unemployed.
Even that financial transaction didn't change the essential, painful equation for SWS: It was no longer sustainable, as it had been for decades.
Read more here.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
See What You Missed at the September 14th Program on Partnerships, Mergers and Acquisitions
If you missed the September 14th discussion, here is the presentation, offered by NYCON CEO Doug Sauer, for your information.
The information gives an overview of partnerships, mergers and acquisitions as solutions and ideas for nonprofits during these challenging times.
E-mail for the link to the presentation.
The information gives an overview of partnerships, mergers and acquisitions as solutions and ideas for nonprofits during these challenging times.
E-mail for the link to the presentation.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Recap and Handouts for June 8th Collaboration: A Step by Step Guide
On June 8th Denise Dyer, Regional Youth Development Coordinator, NYS Office of Children & Family Services presented on the topic Collaboration: a Step by Step Guide to the South Central NY Executive Directors’ Forum. Denise started the program with a discussion of our worst experiences with collaboration (encouraging the participants to be careful to not name names). She has attached the list so readers might be able to find experiences to which they can relate.
After eliciting from the group the value of collaboration Denise went on to provide several definition and then provide and discuss handouts about what leads to a successful collaboration. Throughout the discussion Denise tied these factors to what had gone awry in our experiences.
Denise has been kind enough to share her handouts with the Forum members. Please see the attachments.
Have your own thoughts or feedback? Share it here.
After eliciting from the group the value of collaboration Denise went on to provide several definition and then provide and discuss handouts about what leads to a successful collaboration. Throughout the discussion Denise tied these factors to what had gone awry in our experiences.
Denise has been kind enough to share her handouts with the Forum members. Please see the attachments.
Have your own thoughts or feedback? Share it here.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Forum Recap featuring NYS Comptroller and Panel on Strategic Alliances & Partnerships
The blog, Done by People, by Joe Brown, Principal and Founder of Slope Resources, LLC, offered the following recap of the "A Conversation with NYS Comptroller Thomas P. Di Napoli and Panel Discussion on Strategic Alliances & Partnerships."
On Monday, I had the opportunity to attend a highly informative and engaging forum which brought together government and nonprofit representatives to discuss the topic of strategic alliances and partnerships among nonprofit organizations. While the discussion focused on New York State’s nonprofit sector, the challenges, considerations, and ideas discussed are applicable to organizations nationwide. In the absence of a video or audio recording of the session, I wanted to share this detailed recap and my impressions of the session.
The event was sponsored by the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region and the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and held at the headquarters of New York State United Teachers (very nice digs, by the way) in Latham, New York, a few miles northeast of Albany.
Karen Bilowith, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, presided over the session. The approximately 75 attendees included representatives of various nonprofits, including arts, cultural, health, and human services organizations, as well as a number of funders and consultants (including yours truly). Following Ms. Bilowith’s welcoming comments, New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez provided brief opening remarks. Ms. Cortés-Vázquez assured the attendees that “most in government” recognize the importance of the nonprofit sector and rules and regulations pertaining to the sector should not be so onerous as to provide disincentives for staff, board members, and volunteers to participate.
I’m from the government, and…
Ms. Cortés-Vázquez then introduced the session’s keynote speaker, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The Office of the State Comptroller has responsibility for the review, approval, and payment of the state’s contracts with nonprofit organizations. Mr. DiNapoli noted the importance of the nonprofit sector to the state and its economy, citing 2006 statistics that the state’s approximately 24,000 nonprofits reported revenue of $133 billion and employed nearly 1.2 million people, or 17% of the state’s workforce. He quantified the state’s contractual bonds with the sector as consisting of nearly 31,000 active contracts totaling $14.6 billion, as of June 2009. Read more here.
The balance of the session was devoted to presentations and discussion by a panel consisting of:
■Doug Sauer, who has served as Chief Executive Officer of New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) since 1980. NYCON’s membership represents approximately 1,600 charitable nonprofit organizations across New York State.
■Cristine Cioffi, who is a partner in the law firm of Cioffi • Slezak • Wildgrube P.C., but spoke primarily in her role as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Ellis Medicine, an organization which resulted from the recent merger of three nonprofit hospitals in Schenectady County.
■David W. Palmquist, who as Manager of the New York State Museum’s Chartering Program, oversees the chartering of museums, historical societies, and similar cultural organizations with educational purposes across the state.
The panelists responded to questions posed by Ms. Bilowith, as well as several questions from audience members.
Doug Sauer
While all three of the panelists presented interesting perspectives on the potential of various collaborative models for nonprofit organizations, I was particularly impressed by Mr. Sauer’s insight and candor on a number of fronts. Early in his presentation, he discussed the recent proliferation of nonprofits, describing the creation of thousands of new organizations each year, many of which are not active, and the resultant saturated environment. (I was reminded of a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which noted that the number of nonprofit organizations nationwide has increased by 90% to 1.2 million since 1996). Read more here.
On Monday, I had the opportunity to attend a highly informative and engaging forum which brought together government and nonprofit representatives to discuss the topic of strategic alliances and partnerships among nonprofit organizations. While the discussion focused on New York State’s nonprofit sector, the challenges, considerations, and ideas discussed are applicable to organizations nationwide. In the absence of a video or audio recording of the session, I wanted to share this detailed recap and my impressions of the session.
The event was sponsored by the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region and the New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) and held at the headquarters of New York State United Teachers (very nice digs, by the way) in Latham, New York, a few miles northeast of Albany.
Karen Bilowith, President and CEO of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, presided over the session. The approximately 75 attendees included representatives of various nonprofits, including arts, cultural, health, and human services organizations, as well as a number of funders and consultants (including yours truly). Following Ms. Bilowith’s welcoming comments, New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez provided brief opening remarks. Ms. Cortés-Vázquez assured the attendees that “most in government” recognize the importance of the nonprofit sector and rules and regulations pertaining to the sector should not be so onerous as to provide disincentives for staff, board members, and volunteers to participate.
I’m from the government, and…
Ms. Cortés-Vázquez then introduced the session’s keynote speaker, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. The Office of the State Comptroller has responsibility for the review, approval, and payment of the state’s contracts with nonprofit organizations. Mr. DiNapoli noted the importance of the nonprofit sector to the state and its economy, citing 2006 statistics that the state’s approximately 24,000 nonprofits reported revenue of $133 billion and employed nearly 1.2 million people, or 17% of the state’s workforce. He quantified the state’s contractual bonds with the sector as consisting of nearly 31,000 active contracts totaling $14.6 billion, as of June 2009. Read more here.
The balance of the session was devoted to presentations and discussion by a panel consisting of:
■Doug Sauer, who has served as Chief Executive Officer of New York Council of Nonprofits (NYCON) since 1980. NYCON’s membership represents approximately 1,600 charitable nonprofit organizations across New York State.
■Cristine Cioffi, who is a partner in the law firm of Cioffi • Slezak • Wildgrube P.C., but spoke primarily in her role as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Ellis Medicine, an organization which resulted from the recent merger of three nonprofit hospitals in Schenectady County.
■David W. Palmquist, who as Manager of the New York State Museum’s Chartering Program, oversees the chartering of museums, historical societies, and similar cultural organizations with educational purposes across the state.
The panelists responded to questions posed by Ms. Bilowith, as well as several questions from audience members.
Doug Sauer
While all three of the panelists presented interesting perspectives on the potential of various collaborative models for nonprofit organizations, I was particularly impressed by Mr. Sauer’s insight and candor on a number of fronts. Early in his presentation, he discussed the recent proliferation of nonprofits, describing the creation of thousands of new organizations each year, many of which are not active, and the resultant saturated environment. (I was reminded of a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which noted that the number of nonprofit organizations nationwide has increased by 90% to 1.2 million since 1996). Read more here.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
NON-PROFITS MUST EXPLORE RESTRUCTURING AND OTHER FORMS OF COST-EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION
Gerald Archibald, from The Bonadio Group, offered the following viewpoint:
When you are asked to contribute to this year’s United Way Campaign, please dig deep and be as generous as possible with your pledge. After 35 years as a volunteer and contributor to our United Way, I continue to believe that the United Way Campaign provides the life blood for continuation of critical programs and services to those who are less fortunate in our community.
In last month’s column, (“There’s a lot of room to operate between autonomy and takeover,” April 1), I referenced a question posed to me by a board member who asked whether her non-profit agency should merge with another.
Coincidentally, the week that article ran, I had an opportunity to hear United Way’s President Peter Carpino make the case to me, and other members of an Executive Committee on which I serve, why non-profits need to do business differently.
United Way takes this subject very seriously… so seriously, in fact, that its Board has made a five-year commitment to a “Non-profit Sustainability Initiative.” United Way also has assembled a 12-member consortium with representatives from organizations that are interested in and committed to this issue as well.
The consortium’s membership is impressive and includes the Simon School, RIT’s Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, SUNY Brockport, the Council of Agency Executives, the New York Council of Non-Profits, the Rochester Business Alliance, The Community Foundation, the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, the Greater Rochester Quality Council, the Center for Governmental Research, and Grantmakers Forum of New York.
There’s no question in my mind that United Way is the right organization to assume leadership on this issue and that the time is right for them to do so.
Consider this:
New York State is facing a projected $27.5 billion deficit over the next three years;
Rochester’s United Way has raised $7.5 million less in the past four years, including $3.5 million less last year alone;
Given the impact that last year’s market downturn had on foundations’ endowments, grant making was reduced significantly.
The concept of sustainability is not new to United Way. Over the past 15 years, through its Synergy Fund, United Way has invested nearly $1 million to support increased efficiencies among not-for-profits through organizational re-engineerings ranging from co-locations to mergers. Recent successes include the Ibero-PRYD merger and AIDS Rochester-AIDS Community Health Center merger (now called AIDS Care).
Carpino noted that, given current economic realities, conditions are ripe for non-profits to explore restructuring and other forms of cost-effective collaboration more intentionally and to assess what is the right level of competition (given that too much competition can lead to service duplication).
And, he said, public and private funders no longer have the capacity (or, in some cases, the willingness) to support all the programs they’ve supported in the past. Therefore, non-profits should seek out and take advantage of opportunities to sharpen their focus or modify their priorities in light of changing community priorities. Read more here.
When you are asked to contribute to this year’s United Way Campaign, please dig deep and be as generous as possible with your pledge. After 35 years as a volunteer and contributor to our United Way, I continue to believe that the United Way Campaign provides the life blood for continuation of critical programs and services to those who are less fortunate in our community.
In last month’s column, (“There’s a lot of room to operate between autonomy and takeover,” April 1), I referenced a question posed to me by a board member who asked whether her non-profit agency should merge with another.
Coincidentally, the week that article ran, I had an opportunity to hear United Way’s President Peter Carpino make the case to me, and other members of an Executive Committee on which I serve, why non-profits need to do business differently.
United Way takes this subject very seriously… so seriously, in fact, that its Board has made a five-year commitment to a “Non-profit Sustainability Initiative.” United Way also has assembled a 12-member consortium with representatives from organizations that are interested in and committed to this issue as well.
The consortium’s membership is impressive and includes the Simon School, RIT’s Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, SUNY Brockport, the Council of Agency Executives, the New York Council of Non-Profits, the Rochester Business Alliance, The Community Foundation, the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, the Greater Rochester Quality Council, the Center for Governmental Research, and Grantmakers Forum of New York.
There’s no question in my mind that United Way is the right organization to assume leadership on this issue and that the time is right for them to do so.
Consider this:
New York State is facing a projected $27.5 billion deficit over the next three years;
Rochester’s United Way has raised $7.5 million less in the past four years, including $3.5 million less last year alone;
Given the impact that last year’s market downturn had on foundations’ endowments, grant making was reduced significantly.
The concept of sustainability is not new to United Way. Over the past 15 years, through its Synergy Fund, United Way has invested nearly $1 million to support increased efficiencies among not-for-profits through organizational re-engineerings ranging from co-locations to mergers. Recent successes include the Ibero-PRYD merger and AIDS Rochester-AIDS Community Health Center merger (now called AIDS Care).
Carpino noted that, given current economic realities, conditions are ripe for non-profits to explore restructuring and other forms of cost-effective collaboration more intentionally and to assess what is the right level of competition (given that too much competition can lead to service duplication).
And, he said, public and private funders no longer have the capacity (or, in some cases, the willingness) to support all the programs they’ve supported in the past. Therefore, non-profits should seek out and take advantage of opportunities to sharpen their focus or modify their priorities in light of changing community priorities. Read more here.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
June 8th SCNY ED Program Topic is Collaboration: a Step by Step Guide
Presented by Denise Dyer, Regional Youth Development Coordinator, NYS Office of Children & Family Services
Today's complex problems require collaborative solutions and can result in improved outcomes for those that we serve. However, collaboration is not a quick fix. It requires resources and commitment, which is especially challenging at a time when resources are scarce. What are the characteristics of effective collaborations? How can we work collaboratively, avoid common pitfalls, and achieve success?
REGISTER HERE
Date: Tuesday, June 8th
Time:
8:30 am- General meeting
9:00am to 10:30pm- Program
Cost: FREE to nonprofit directors
Location: AVRE
174 Court Street
Binghamton, NY 13901
BIO:
Denise Dyer is Regional Youth Development Coordinator for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services' Office of Youth Development who brings over 30 years of experience in youth services to her position. She is a graduate of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Administration, and an adjunct professor for LeMoyne College. Prior to teaching at LeMoyne, she taught for a number of years for the State University system at Binghamton University, SUNY Cortland and Oswego State.
Denise is responsible for working with communities and agencies to develop the opportunities, services and supports that allow young people to become healthy, competent adults. She is a skilled facilitator assisting counties and community coalitions in planning efforts to meet the needs of young people, providing services and supports to prevent risky behavior and avoid systems involvement.
Denise provides training and technical assistance, as well as state aid for youth development and delinquency prevention programs, to a number of counties in Central New York. She has conducted workshops and training sessions at the local, state, and national level on a wide range of subjects including leadership, planning, outcomes and youth development.
Today's complex problems require collaborative solutions and can result in improved outcomes for those that we serve. However, collaboration is not a quick fix. It requires resources and commitment, which is especially challenging at a time when resources are scarce. What are the characteristics of effective collaborations? How can we work collaboratively, avoid common pitfalls, and achieve success?
REGISTER HERE
Date: Tuesday, June 8th
Time:
8:30 am- General meeting
9:00am to 10:30pm- Program
Cost: FREE to nonprofit directors
Location: AVRE
174 Court Street
Binghamton, NY 13901
BIO:
Denise Dyer is Regional Youth Development Coordinator for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services' Office of Youth Development who brings over 30 years of experience in youth services to her position. She is a graduate of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Public Administration, and an adjunct professor for LeMoyne College. Prior to teaching at LeMoyne, she taught for a number of years for the State University system at Binghamton University, SUNY Cortland and Oswego State.
Denise is responsible for working with communities and agencies to develop the opportunities, services and supports that allow young people to become healthy, competent adults. She is a skilled facilitator assisting counties and community coalitions in planning efforts to meet the needs of young people, providing services and supports to prevent risky behavior and avoid systems involvement.
Denise provides training and technical assistance, as well as state aid for youth development and delinquency prevention programs, to a number of counties in Central New York. She has conducted workshops and training sessions at the local, state, and national level on a wide range of subjects including leadership, planning, outcomes and youth development.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Regional Community Foundations Offer Perspectives: Video Interview
Colgate University offered the following funders' conversation:
Dunn says that Central New York has a modest foundation community, with only $400 million in assets and $20 million in annual grants. With those funds, how can we have the most impact. He has seen many encouraging conversations about sustainability in not for profit organizations in the community, and discussions about merging, sharing objectives, and regionalization. OShea says that, as the largest funder in their area, several smaller foundations have come under their umbrella as donor advised or designated funds. This enables them to have a conversation about their interests and the impact of their charitable dollars. She also stresses the importance of the indicator study as a way to articulate the needs of the community to themselves and the community. Brown does the same thing by relying on other agencies to give them this information. They are concerned with the power differential and remind themselves to remain sensitive about this. She shares an example of a cultural organization that has systemic issues. They also discuss the definition of philanthropy and the creation of the Center for Philanthropy by the Central New York Community Foundation.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways Announces New Board of Directors
New Channel 34 reported that July 1 marks the first day for the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways. The council, made up of legacy councils, Girl Scouts – Foothills Council, Inc.; Girl Scout Council of Central New York, Inc.; Girl Scouts – Indian Hills Council, Inc.; Girl Scouts – Seven Lakes Council, Inc.; and the Thousand Islands Girl Scout Council, Inc. is announcing its new Board of Directors. Read about the new board here.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
More nonprofits merging to stay in business
Experts say recession-driven cuts in donations and funding are fueling an acceleration of nonprofit mergers, the Boston Globe reported April 15 (see nonprofit mergers story). The Boston Foundation has been encouraging nonprofits to look at partnering as a strategy for surviving the recession, and some officials say too many nonprofits operate in Massachusetts to survive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
