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A Metafilter member discusses her nonprofit employer’s descent into chaos and wonders what to do.
I’m working for a nonprofit that’s just barely able to patch itself together. Nine months ago, I started off as the communications manager, but as of today I’m covering everything from booking plane tickets to washing dishes. Should I tell my boss that I’m unhappy in the midst of chaos, or just wait it out until I find a better job?
There’s more, but you can read it at the link provided. What I find interesting is the larger issue: why do smart, capable people stay at dysfunctional nonprofits? Nonprofit work in our culture is equated with “meaning” and “good,” but these nightmare situations come up all too often–and people stay and sweep things under the rug. A healthy dose of pragmatism seems in order. If your job is making you miserable, find another one. There’s nothing essentially good about nonprofit work, which in my mind exists to fill gaps that should not even exist.
Some good Monday morning reading here:
Trying to appear moderate is not always the best strategy for capturing votes during an election, reveals a new study. Extreme positions can build trust among an electorate, who value ideological commitment in times of uncertainty.
“The current political advantage of the Republican Party stems from the ability of its candidates to develop ‘signature ideas.’ This strategy is rewarded even when the electorate has ideological reservations,” says University of Southern California economist Juan Carrillo, adding that this poses a challenge for the Democrats.
Er, yes. And a bit more…
Carrillo and Castanheira’s paper is an important challenge to the widely accepted median voter theorem. In the median voter theorem, voters who are fully informed will use their understanding when casting a ballot, choosing the platform that is closest to their own beliefs. Thus, it stands to reason that to attract the majority of votes, parties should try to appeal to the majority of voters.
But, as the researchers point out, it is rare for a voter to be fully informed in real life. More likely, voters will have incomplete and sometimes inaccurate information about how left-leaning or right-leaning stances actually translate into high quality proposals for, say, withdrawing troops safely or reforms.
Source: a eurekalert.org discussion of research findings published in The Economic Journal.
Indigo Traders, a family business owned by Karla Bean and Samir Naser, is one of my very favorite shops in Portland. The selection of soaps, textiles, and ceramics makes for a wonderful sensory experience, and on First Friday, their open house includes a veritable feast of Middle Eastern cuisine.
They recently opened an outpost across the street from the original location, Indigo Bath. We dropped by to replenish our soap stock and take some pictures a few weeks back; the new space is needed, as they outgrew Indigo Traders quite some time ago.
For what it’s worth, I would post some pictures of Indigo Traders too, but there was quite a crowd, and I am not too happy with any of the pictures I took there.
This olive lavender soap is my favorite ever; the scent is wonderful and clean, and the olive oil makes it very soothing and moisturizing without being oily.
Turkish bath towels…certainly not what you get at Macy’s. They come in a rainbow of colors, dry super fast, and as Samir told us, need less washing than their “standard” towel counterparts because they are not damp all the time.
Indigo Traders (and Indigo Bath) are both full of beautiful displays of the products for sale. There’s a lot of attention to color and texture, especially in the displays of soaps. Even when I don’t necessarily need anything, I love stopping in and gawking. Trust me, it’s fun.
Info:
7881 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, OR 97219
503.780.2422 | website
Mia’s is tucked away on SW 35th Ave off of Multnomah Boulevard in the Village. Despite a recent change in ownership, the shop continues to offer the kind of apparel I had come to expect after a few months of shopping there: classy, funky separates and well-chosen accessories.
Hearing that the new incarnation was going to include some home goods, I felt a little concerned, as Multnomah Village already has some very strong contenders in that area that an upstart could not hope to compete with (Indigo Traders, for example.) Based on our recent First Friday visit, Mia’s home goods seem restricted to just one little shelf of soaps and frames, and the clothes are still the bulk of the business. Fine by me! Plus, their oatmeal soap really is quite nice.
I was experimenting with my new camera and avoiding use of the flash, so many of these photos are less than perfect, and as is usual with my pictures, focus on the details. Or maybe sort-of-focus on the details. Sigh. Flash is not always bad!
Try the oatmeal soap. I did, and I love it.
The prevalence of black and “neutral” colors remind me of the old Mia’s. Personally, I think it’s great.
The dresses at Mia’s have been and continue to be charming. I look forward to seeing what they have to offer for the summer, whenever summer finally happens here in Portland. Plus, the staff there are friendly and awesome–awesome enough that I even let one of them try on my new shoes from Switch on First Friday.
Info:
7824 SW 35th Ave
Portland, OR 97219
(503) 244-7727
I’ve been frequenting the marvelous, locally-owned Switch Shoes for quite some time. For one, it’s easy walking distance from my house. Even if it weren’t, though, they have lovely shoes, and the owners are even more enthusiastic about footwear than I. On First Friday this month, my wonderful roommate and I were in for a while, bought some shoes, and appreciated once again the eclectic selection and perfect combination of shoes, live music, and wine that makes Switch one our favorite First Friday destinations.
I snapped a few pictures with their permission. These don’t begin to do justice to the array of cool things they have, and indeed seem more calculated to show off the spring-like colors and their liberal use of cut flowers in the shop. See the shop for yourself.
One of the things I love about Switch, besides the shoes, are the lime green shelves and the rows and rows of color that great you when you walk in.
They carry a variety of accessories, including both a few locally-made products and hard-to-find pieces by some very unique designers. We were thrilled to see that they are now carrying Espe accessories–from our neighbor to the north.
I hope that they are in business for a long, long time, so do check them out.
7871 SW Capitol Hwy Portland, Oregon, 97219
Phone: (503)445-4585 | website
I’m beginning a new category of postings on this site, Living in Portland. I’m reasonably engaged in the community I live in, whether that means being politically active or shopping locally as often as possible. While not really nonprofit in nature, these activities reflect my values both ethical and aesthetic. In this new series, I’ll be posting about local events, businesses, etc. that are part of my life. I hope you enjoy the content.
This is not turning into a nonprofit employment blog, but since I did recently write about the Neighborhood Partnership Fund and the awesome work they are doing with IDAs in Oregon, I thought I’d pass this along.
The Neighborhood Partnership Fund, an OR nonprofit, is seeking a full time Asset Building Manager to focus on asset building for individuals and families . Must be detail oriented, have strong written/verbal communication skills and experience in program analysis and evaluation. Requires demonstrated organizational development, research/ analytical skills and proficiency in Microsoft Word and Access. Three or more years in asset building or a closely related field required. Experience with resident services or employment a plus.
Full job description and application packet available at http://www.tnpf.org/news/ab_manager.php.
Salary based on experience. Good benefits and retirement plan provided. E-mail cover letter, resume, application, and responses to questions by 4:30 PM 06-17-08 tocwinter@tnpf.org. Equal Opportunity Employer.
It’s old news for me, as I first wrote about this last August, but hey…nice to see the Oregonian has taken an interest in these farmworker happenings. My own September 07 interview with John Wilson, one of the family owners of Beef Northwest, is here. I remain agnostic on the issue, but I can say that United Farm Worker’s overt smear tactics on every possible avenue left a bad taste in my mouth–and eventually got me to unsubscribe from their email list. I was unclear: do they want to unionize the workers, or do they want to destroy the business so unionizing elsewhere will be easier? Anywhooooo.
Well, here’s some news. In Oregon, thanks to the Individual Development Account (IDA) Initiative, you can. If helping low-income people improve their lives by saving toward home ownership, education, and entrepreneurship goals sounds like something you wish your tax dollars did, this is your chance. You can decide. And you can even get a credit on your state taxes for 75% of your contribution.*
What is an IDA? It’s a savings plan for low income people. The Oregon legislature defines what kind of goals people can save toward, and it also sets a limit on how much money can be raised from donors. Contributions come from Oregonians like you and me. Low-income Oregonians enroll in the program and start saving to buy a home, or start a small business, or further their education, or other goals. Once they reach their financial goal, their savings are matched three to one, up to a maximum of $3,000. Along the way, they go to workshops to build financial savvy.
How many peoples’ lives are better because of this program? Cynthia Winters at The Neighborhood Partnership Fund, the nonprofit that oversees the program, informs me that there are currently over 1,100 low-income Oregonians enrolled. Last year, over 500 Oregonians completed the program. This year, even more will be able to enroll.
Then there’s the donors. Last year, this group of Oregonians at the other end of the economic spectrum from the participants also benefited from the program through the tax credit for donations. Here’s how the credit works:
The IDA Tax Credit begins with your contribution to the Neighborhood Partnership Fund. 75% of your contribution becomes a credit on your State of Oregon income tax return. For example, if you as an individual made a donation of $1000 to the IDA Initiative, you would then be qualified for a tax credit of 75%, or $750 against your state income taxes. The tax credit reduces the state taxes that you would otherwise pay. (Source)
I was surprised to learn a couple things when the 2007 report to donors came out a few weeks back. One, that only 333 people contributed $6 million. Two, that the average contribution was over $17,000. I contributed, but given the amounts raised from so few people, I imagine that my tiny contribution actually skewed all the data downwards! Regardless, I benefited from lowering my tax liability and from feeling like, for once, I was certain that the taxes I paid were doing something good.
So here’s a challenge to my readers, family, and friends in Oregon: consider making a donation this year (note: link is to a .pdf). Right now, there are over $7 million in tax credits remaining. And while it’s great that a handful of wealthy Oregonians are getting tax breaks in a way that’s pretty noble, the tax credit could also benefit a lot of “average” Oregonians out there…you know, the middle-income ones who complain about how their taxes are spent. I’d love to see that thousands of Oregonians contributed to this program in 2008 when the next report comes out, not just for the tax breaks, but for a greater sense of community and being in this together.
Participant success stories
IDA Contributor Brochure (PDF)
*I am not an accountant or tax specialist, and this is not financial advice. See someone who is qualified to help you that way if you want to know about how this might affect your particular situation.
An increase in state funding for childcare is the topic of an article in today’s Oregonian, “Little-known fact: money for day care” [link]. Some interesting details emerge, and this section in particular seemed relevant to the nonprofit scene in general:
The YMCA centers in Portland offered nearly $300,000 in child-care scholarships last year to low-income families, including Fackler’s.
Deborah Murray, executive director at the Peninsula Children’s Center in North Portland, said the difference between what the state reimbursed and her center’s costs ranged from $160 to $300 per child each month.
How did the nonprofit stay in business?
“We got a bunch of grants. Hired a full-time development director and spent our time fundraising like crazy,” Murray says.
But the low state subsidy also meant some of the center’s staff earned little more than minimum wage.
Now that the state has increased its subsidy, Murray says the reimbursement is much closer to the actual cost of care.
She’s able to give staff raises. And more of the low-income parents who bring their children to the center have been able to qualify for help. (emphasis mine)
One of the things that doesn’t make sense to me about the way funding for nonprofit works, whether the source be government grants or private donors and foundations, is that there is a bias against covering the costs of wages for the people who actually do the work. A number of the grants I managed previously had funds only for “direct services,” and required that the cost of staffing necessary to provide those “direct” services be raised elsewhere. This ongoing funding crunch makes it hard to develop new programs or take on projects, as staff are already maxed out on responsibilities–and are not being paid a living wage or close to it.
One of the most annoying things I have experienced is looking at income guidelines for some of the federally-funded housing programs and realizing that a lot of the people who provide those services earn so little that they themselves are eligible for the subsidies.
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