Hello All. Thanks to Kat for her idea in using a blog as a tool to exchange ideas. After our first Succession meeting, we thought it would be a good idea to have a central place where people can post thoughts and respond to others' ideas.
A couple "FAQs," (Frequently Asked Questions):
- Can this site be searched by Google or other search engines?
I have set the blog settings so that someone entering relevant text into a search engine would not receive this site as a hit.
- Can anyone view this blog?
In theory, yes. However, since it is not "searchable," my understanding is that the blog will really only be found by someone actually typing the URL into their browser's address bar. So, while this blog should not be considered "secure" by any means, it isn't the kind of thing we'll be seeing a lot of traffic on. If this is a tool we decide to use, I will install a "site meter" which will give us a sense of how much traffic we're receiving, so we'll know if we're getting an unusual number of visitors.
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The current issue at hand is our discussion of the succession planning for Wrenn's departure. Heather and Matt Keily have expressed interest in and are under consideration for the position. We have scheduled a planning meeting for Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 6:30 pm at ACT offices for all Board members who would like to attend. The primary focus of that meeting will be a discussion with Matt and Heather regarding their interest and concerns as they are considered by the Board for taking over the management of ACT.
To that end, please utilize this forum to post questions and thoughtful concerns for Matt and Heather pre-“interview.” In the same vein, Matt and Heather should also feel free to post what they want the Board to think about or answer. No decisions will be put here, just thoughtful queries to address at the meeting. No need to feel compelled to get embroiled in discussion here, either -- this is just a way for us all to prepare for what will be tossed around at the upcoming meeting.
Post your response by clicking the "Comments" link below. Please be sure to enter your name so we can all see who you are. I will administer this blog and attempt to maintain a clean and readable format.
Thanks,
Nicky
3 comments:
Thanks, Nicky! This will be great! I will post questions next log-in (I was just eager to try!)
Hello Everyone! This is Matt and Heather... We have spent a lot of time thinking about the questions that we would like answered and we're excited to gain all of your perspectives concerning them. Here they are...
What is the real number we are looking at for debt? We owe money to several different debtors… but Wrenn is also owed money...
What is the amount we owe our debtors?
What is the amount we owe Wrenn?
What is our strategy for paying our debt?
What is the strategy for paying Wrenn?
If the succession grant falls through can ACT afford to pay what essentially amounts to 3 salaried positions for the training period? (plus all other positions...admin...grant writer...bookkeeper...marketing)
We will need time to learn all aspects of running this buisness... How will we approach this?
If the succession happens as planned...
When would our training begin?
What can we anticipate our salaries will be?
What will the cost of Health Insurance be for the two of us?
What happens if ACT does not succeed?
Where does our debt go?
Who is ultimately responsible for paying it off?
Are our personal finances protected if we move to these positions and the company doesn‘t do well? (ex. Trinity's financial problems... when they were having serious financial difficulty, debtors threatened to go after the personal property of the people who ran Trinity...)
Wrenn and Heather met with Deena, ACTS accountant, to discuss the financial state of the company. When asked by Heather, Deena stated that ACT could potential become bankrupt based on the numbers. In order for this to happen, Wrenn would personally need to declare bankruptcy. This is not acceptable. What would happen if that truly became a reality?
We need to find a way to ensure we have enough funds to pay our employees. We can’t be expected to go without pay as we will be putting all our eggs in one basket. Our employees also should not go without pay. We need employee retention and some degree of financial security. How can we come up with a realistic plan to make this happen?
A sensible option to increase our stability would be for us to combine with another organization and/or look for a major foundation to fund us. Are we actively looking for options like this? Should we form a committee that is in charge of this? Who will helm this project?
Fundraisers are one of the most important ways we can save ourselves financially. Do we have a timeline of fundraisers that we plan on doing in the next fiscal year? Should we increase the number of fundraisers we do?
What are our current insurance policies? Are we secure enough if a child or employee gets severely hurt on the job?
Matt and Heather, thank you for your thoughtful inquiries. This is Kat.
The questions you ask are ones that are on all of our minds and need addressing, for sure.
Some quetions for the two of you include:
*Is your confidence in your job skills at a level that allows you to take on a whole company?(administrative problems not withstanding.)
*Wrenn Goodrum is a dynamic personality; do you think you could step into her particularly extroverted shoes? This includes presentations and pumping up parents and kids, as well as local networking.
*Do you have differnt ideas for the role of the Board? Should we better define the role of the Board during this transition?
*If we were to find a larger organization to take us on, would you still be interested in being the top employees that run the company? Would this job mean more to one of you than the other if we could only sustain one leader?
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