...Re-Re-Invention...

This is very personal for me but no less real. It's time to reinvent myself at work. It's not welcome, it's not wanted. Internally, I'm struggling. This is not a complete thought, but it's what I'm feeling at the moment.

Yesterday my boss casually mentioned that he'll be taking "a few" special projects from me and giving them to other staff members as we're expecting a downturn in monies from grants and foundations. The expectation, as I see it, is that by taking away the special projects I will be able to focus more time and energy into earned income in order to make up the budget shortfall. I have two points to share...

I. One of the failures of some non-profits is their ability to plan effectively for grant, foundation or corporate income to sustain projects beyond their original conception. With out sustainability in funding the organization is more likely to see their service/outreach numbers fluctuate severely. Without sustained or constant grant and foundation monies, primary sources of funding disappear. This will affect the organization in many ways.

a. The organization's Board will take notice. I don't think I need to go into detail about the doubt that will arise on the organization's staff at that point.

b. Partners will feel that they are doing the majority of the work if they are the only ones bringing money to the table and may begin looking for other organizations to form sustainable partnerships.

c. If an organization fails to garner monies from foundations, corporations and grants then they are less likely to continue to collect monies from existing and new sources. It reflects poorly when applying for new monies, appearing as if the organization is more interested in "your money in the moment" rather than the long lasting social impact that extended and strategic grant, corporate and foundation giving can provide.

II. With the organizations failure to strategically invest in grant, foundation or corporate income their becomes a budget shortfall, which then then becomes a burden to the organization. Upper management will often shift this burden to the 'earned income' side of the business compounding the hardship of those managing earned income (who often have already inflated budget goals). When this burden is shifted it often does NOT come with additional support in the form marketing materials, strategic planning or personnel. This "patchwork fix" lacks planning and strategies for growth. With the lack of support in materials, personnel and planning it's often hard to grow far beyond what is already sustainable. That being said, it helps to give it ones all regardless of being overworked, underpaid, understaffed.

To put it mildly, no one can replace my primary job function. No one can do that voodoo that I do so well. However, I've been looking for someone to do that voodoo that I do just as well as I do. I have been sorely (and repeatedly) disappointed.

I didn't return any statement to my boss. Actually, I just nodded until he was done talking and then walked away. He knows what I love to do and he knows I'm good at it. He still can't justify me doing those jobs without someone as good as me in my primary job function.