The Overhead Myth

During the years I’ve served at Wheat Ridge Ministries, I’ve grown increasingly concerned by the expectations that the leaders of non-profit organizations, including those whose new ministry efforts have been seeded by Wheat Ridge, face related to the allocation of organizational costs.  Indeed, Wheat Ridge faces these same pressures.  Unlike the for-profit sector, where investment in growth and development is expected, there has been increasing assumption over the years by the general public that non-profits should be able to be effective and able to grow their impact without that same investment.  In fact, expenses related to sound administration, communicating mission and impact to donors, as well as other services that do not directly impact those served by the organization have been given a very uncomplimentary name – overhead. 

 

As a result, many of the organizations we serve are tempted to arrive at creative definitions of what constitutes “program services” in order to show evidence of low overhead.  Many of these organizations get stuck in a cycle of ineffectiveness stemming from a fear that investing in the kind of capacity needed to be effective in today’s world – technology, development staff, financial planning, fund raising, impact evaluation, staff development – will reflect negatively on them and cause their donors to question their support.  Instead of investing in the talent needed to increase their impact, these organizations are often understaffed.  Their leaders experience burnout and ineffectiveness as too few people try to accomplish more than is possible.  While such investments are celebrated in the for-profit sector, in the eyes of many, non-profit organizations are accused of being wasteful when they invest in growth.

 

Given all of this, I was overjoyed last week to read a joint letter to the “Donors of America” published by the Presidents and CEOs of the three the major and most respected non-profit “watch dog” organizations – Charity Navigator, Guidestar and the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance – under the banner of “The Overhead Myth.”  In it, these CEOs warn donors about the damage that is being done to the effectiveness of many non-profit organizations by placing concerns about overhead ahead of interest in impact.  In this letter, they reference a phrase used by the Stanford Social Innovations Review to describe the results of such misguided thinking: “The non-profit starvation cycle.”  I encourage you to check out www.overheadmyth.com to learn more about this important issue.

 

What I’ve seen during my years at Wheat Ridge are organizations and their leaders doing heroic and miraculous work given the resources they have available as they make a difference in the lives of people.  The press certainly loves to highlight the exceptions, but they are few and far between.  Most organizations are extremely grateful for the support they receive from donors and they do all they can possibly do to use contributions wisely and efficiently.  Ironically, by having to be so concerned about perceptions about what is an appropriate use of charitable contributions, many of these organizations are distracted from important activities such as measuring their impact and communicating their impact to donors.  This can create another vicious cycle since evidence of impact is something in which donors should be keenly interested.

 

If you’d like to dig into this important issue, another great resource is the book Uncharitable: How Restraints on Nonprofits Undermine Their Potential, written by Dan Pallotta.  Dan is also featured in a great TED video of his presentation called “The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong.” 

 

I want to express my appreciation and respect for the understanding of this important issue demonstrated by our Wheat Ridge Ministries Board of Directors.  Our board recently endorsed a significant strategic growth plan that recognizes and provides for investment in capacity that is necessary as we work to increase our impact and effectiveness.  Our staff and board want to build on our impact as a seeder of new health and human care ministries by increasing the resources we are able to share with churches and other Christ-centered organizations.  I’m confident that the growth and development investment we are making in all aspects of our operations will make us more impactful and more sustainable in pursuit of our mission.

 

The church and the entire non-profit human services community face ever-increasing and ever-changing challenges and opportunities as the need for care for the poor and underserved increases and available funding, especially government funding at the federal, state and local levels, is unable to keep pace.  Thank you for making a difference through your generosity, engagement and trust in the charities of your choice and, of course, for your generous support for the seeding of new ministries of health and hope through Wheat Ridge Ministries.  We are greatly blessed to serve with you and on your behalf so that more lives are touched by the healing hands of Christ!

Ingredients

I’m writing this “hot on the heels” of a very important meeting of the Wheat Ridge Board of Directors. During this meeting, our Board enthusiastically committed to a new strategic business model that will, God willing, significantly increase our mission impact over the next four years. More about our plans for the future appears elsewhere in our June eNewsletter.

The in-depth planning process in which we have been engaged for the past 12 months has served as a reminder to me of God’s amazing way of providing the right ingredients at the right time to accomplish His purposes. Here are three of the ingredients for which I am so very grateful:

A Community Dedicated to our Mission – The initial step in our strategic discernment process was to invite 25 “thought leaders” from among our many stakeholders and constituents to join our Board of Directors and senior staff for two days of intensive thinking, sharing and prayer. This “Future Summit” took place in April, 2012. During the Summit, we considered Wheat Ridge’s history of service from our roots as the Wheat Ridge Tuberculosis Sanitarium to our current work as seeders of new health and human care ministries. We explored the challenges and opportunities that face our organization today and into the future. And we identified trends in the church and world that may impact the future pursuit of our mission. It was an honor to be in the room with gifted leaders and to listen and learn as they shared their ideas, expertise and hopes for the mission of Wheat Ridge. A specific product from this gathering was a collection of seven “common ground statements” that represent the participants' best collective thoughts about what the staff and board should consider as we planned for the future. These statements served as an important base for the ideas and plans that we developed. Words of support and encouragement from the participants have continued since the time of the Summit, serving as a great reminder to our staff and board of the thousands of individuals and organizations who care about our mission and who want to be involved in pursuing it.

Leaders – If you have engaged in a planning process at your workplace or in your church, you know how important it is to have skilled consultants and facilitators guide the work. Extraordinary leaders blessed us throughout our planning process. Thanks to Chuck Dull, Les Stroh and Kurt Bickel for guiding us through the rigors of the Future Summit. Another very talented consultant, Gary Hubbell, used his unique talent and experience to help us develop our ideas and plans during the months following the summit. The chair of our Board of Directors, Kevin Boettcher, invested a great deal of his time and generously shared his expertise in strategic planning to help our plan come together. Likewise, our board members provided input and insight along the way, especially those who served on our board planning committee. Last, but not least, I have been inspired, but not surprised, by the tireless efforts of our staff planning team to develop a focused, creative and realistic plan for our future.

Prayer – As we were in the midst of our planning efforts last summer, I was contacted by Rev. John Denninger who, until recently, served as Senior Pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield, Virginia (John now serves as President of the Southeastern District of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod). For years, the Southeastern District Board of Directors has wrapped their decision-making in a very intentional discipline of focused prayer. This process has had a powerful impact on their work and they were looking for opportunities to share the process with other ministry organizations. John and Phil Morrow, a past chair of the Southeastern District board, generously agreed to come to our board meeting to help use focused prayer in our discernment efforts. John and Phil drew from specific portions of Scripture as the basis for meditation and prayer before, during and after the discernment and decision process. Instead of asking for God’s blessing after we made decisions, we asked God to speak to us during our discernment process. Doing so was a profound experience. It changed our discussions and helped us stay focused on discerning God’s Will for our ministry. Our board decided that this important process needs to be a central component of future meetings. Indeed, focused prayer was used again this past April as our board prayerfully committed to a plan for the future.

Ingredients God provides: people, community and prayer. God’s resources offered and invested for the sake of seeding new ministries of health and hope. Awesome!

Light in the Darkness



My wife, Deb, and I were blessed in our Easter celebration this year by attending the festival worship at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, Illinois.  The music that supported and led the worship service was so good it is hard to describe.

Likewise, we were blessed by Pastor Bruce Modahl’s Easter sermon.  He concentrated on the portions of the Gospel that describe the events at the empty tomb on the first Easter morning.  As Pastor Modahl does so well, he led with a story from his own experience … a recollection of his invitation to accept the tradition of a local clergy association for him, as the new pastor in town, to deliver the sermon at a community-wide Easter sunrise service.  Quite funny!

Pastor Modahl’s sermon helped me think anew about Christ as the “Light in the darkness.”  He shared a quote from theologian Walter Brueggemann, and while I’m sure I’m not quoting it word-for-word, in essence it states that “the power of the resurrection shows in the darkness, not in the sunrise.”  This would certainly have been true on the first Easter morning.  While the sun may have been rising as the women and then the men went to the tomb, the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection was found inside the darkness of the tomb where His body no longer lay.

Thanks to Pastor Modahl and Dr. Brueggemann, I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of the resurrection in the world today.  The need for the light is evident, especially when our lives are dark, due to our sins, individually and collectively, that bring darkness of injustice, neglect, pain, illness, abuse and death into the lives of others. 

God gives to us, the same people who find ways to keep ourselves and others “in the dark,” the awesome opportunity to be bearers of light as we serve and assist others in the name of the risen Christ.  A great joy for me as I pursue the seeding ministry of Wheat Ridge comes from learning about, observing, encouraging and assisting the Easter people who are Christ-light bearers to the people they impact through their new ministry efforts.  The leaders, volunteers and projects that are bringing resurrection light to others are far too many to list here, but let me share a few that come to mind:

§  The SHAPE Center in Detroit, Michigan, that helps provide whole person wellness opportunities to children and teens in the inner city;

§  Pastor Ben Krey and his congregation, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as they provide free transitional housing for new immigrants and refugees;

§  The leaders of the Prostitution Survivors Project who bring hopeful alternatives to women lost in the darkness of prostitution in Seattle, Washington;

§  Cecilia Ng, who created a summer camp program for children with special needs in San Francisco, California;

§  Melissa Johansen, who is leading efforts at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Carol Stream, Illinois, to bring hope and employment training to homeless people and to provide for their wellness by helping them grow and harvest fresh food from a community garden.
 

During this season of Easter, let’s thank God for these light-bearers who reach into the darkness to share the light of Christ and for the gift we have each been given to do the same.  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12

Christ is risen.  He is risen, indeed.  Hallelujah!

High Tech - High Touch!

I doubt that in my lifetime I will see an example of God’s creative power that has grown as rapidly and has had more of an impact on every aspect of people’s lives than the advancement of computer and internet technology.

Recently, I was trying to explain to my daughter what it was like to do a research paper for school 40 years ago.  I lost her at “carbon paper.”  Since then, however, the chronology of technological advancement as it has touched my life has included the wonder of transitioning from a mimeograph machine to multi-function printer/copier (I can send a document to our office copy machine from my cell phone from anywhere!).  My first “portable” computer back in the 1980s weighed about 15 pounds and required me to insert a floppy disk with the DOS operating system every time I used it.  And, how did I ever survive being limited to a rotary land line phone?  My iPhone has more bells and whistles than I’ll ever use.

In 1982, John Naisbitt wrote the huge best seller Megatrends.  In this book, Naisbitt identified the concept of “high tech – high touch.”  His contention was that as technology advanced and we became more dependent upon machines to help us solve problems, our need for hands-on relationships and experiencing a sense of community would also increase.

I wonder if back in 1982, Naisbitt knew that “high touch” for many of us would be delivered by “high tech”?  Say what you want about Facebook, it’s hard to deny that it, as well as other marvels such as Skype and LinkedIn, helps people stay in touch and create community in ways unimaginable 20 years ago.  I celebrated a birthday last week and enjoyed receiving a barrage of congratulatory Facebook messages from colleagues, old friends, former students and relatives.  A few years ago, I would have received birthday cards from my mother and my wife, Deb.  One of our daughters lives in Germany and Deb and I have often commented that thanks to Facebook, Skype, email and text messaging, we are in touch and know more about what’s going on in her life now than when she was living in our home!

Of course, it is amazing to see how God’s gift of technological advance is impacting the high touch world of health and human care ministry.  As a case in point, I saw a report on television not long ago about the use of technology to help older adults remain in their home rather than moving to an assisted living facility.  A live video and audio link is installed in the home and a trained professional in a care facility monitors it and is available to the individual or couple at all times.  This seems like a system that would also work well as a component of a congregation’s health ministry.  I hope Wheat Ridge Ministries has the opportunity to help seed the first attempt!

I am very excited that a component of Wheat Ridge Ministries’ strategic planning involves the use of technology in new and creative ways for seeding new ministries of health and hope.  One of these is “crowdfunding.”  Imagine large numbers of new ministry initiatives posted on a website by their leaders who are making their case for the new human care venture they are trying to initiate in their community.  Imagine being able to go to this site regularly and contribute to one or more projects that catch your interest and touch your heart.  We plan to build and test such a site during the next few months.  We see this as a 21st century way for Wheat Ridge to continue and expand its seeding ministry.  Please keep this endeavor in your prayers!

The possibilities of God’s high-tech creations are worth celebrating, but the ultimate celebration comes as we experience the blessing of God’s high-touch action.  Through the death and resurrection of His only Son, we look forward to the highest touch of our loving God for eternity.  This is indeed worth “tweeting” about!  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed.  Hallelujah!

By the way, I encourage you to connect with Wheat Ridge Ministries on Facebook and Twitter. You’ll be among the first to receive the latest information and stories about new ministry projects being seeded by Wheat Ridge; find out about upcoming webinars; learn about helpful articles we come across; and be alerted about grant deadlines and special grant opportunities. 

Wow!

I returned last week from our annual President’s Circle Retreat, a gathering of Wheat Ridge supporters who receive updates on our seeding ministry, hear from leaders of projects we are supporting or have supported, and enjoy Christian fellowship. This year’s retreat took place in Orlando, Florida, and we highlighted several ministries, many of them located in Florida, that were seeded by Wheat Ridge. What a joy it is to receive encouragement, ideas and perspectives from these people who support our work so generously.

 

The retreat was a “Wow!!” experience for me again this year. It’s so great to hear from leaders whose hearts God has touched with a passion for serving others. As is always the case when I’m around such leaders, I came away inspired by their commitment to impact lives by sharing health and hope in Christ’s name. These leaders all have questions on their hearts and minds and are determined to pursue answers …

 

• How can we help new people who have fled their homeland due to war or persecution and find themselves in prison-like detention centers in the U.S., often times for years, while they wait for a resolution? Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service’s CEO, Linda Hartke, and her team answered this question by designing a training program for volunteers from congregations who enter detention centers to visit with and offer a caring presence to people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in this lonely and vulnerable situation. 

• How can our congregation take seriously its commitment to reach out to homeless and disenfranchised people in our community? Buy a strip mall and fill it with a variety of needed services! That’s what Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Lake Mary, Florida, with help from some partner congregations, has done. One of the ministries in the mall is called “The Oasis.” It’s a drop-in center for homeless people who need a safe place to take a shower, access the internet, or get referrals for needed services available elsewhere in the community. Another ministry in the strip mall is “Shepherd’s Hope,” a fully equipped medical clinic staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses.  

• How can we help young adults who have never been exposed to the Good News of Jesus or who have been hurt or disillusioned by the organized church, or have never been exposed to a worshipping community? Young pastor Ben Hoyer has answered this question by starting “Downtown Credo,” a coffee shop designed with intention to create and nurture authentic relationships among young adults. This commitment to building relationships has resulted in a growing Christian community called, “The Cross.”

• What do we do with the lessons we learned after a tragedy struck our congregation in the form of a loved family of the congregation viciously murdered in their home? Rev. Rick Armstrong and school psychologist Ann Eissfeldt decided to help other congregations and schools develop crisis plans so that people in communities impacted by such tragedies can be ministered with love and in appropriate ways as they experience loss and grief. Leaders of hundreds of congregations and schools around the country have benefitted from “God’s Care in Times of Crisis” training. Rick and Ann have also provided needed assistance for caregivers in places like New Orleans, Louisiana; Columbine, Colorado; and, most recently, Newtown, Connecticut.

• How can the church serve older adults who can no longer manage their own lives and resources?  This question resulted in the development of a guardianship program that became one of the initial services provided by Lutheran Services Florida in the early 1990s. This important service continues to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of older adults who do not have family or loved ones to help care for them. 

• What do I do when I visit a city in Ghana, Africa, and find tons and tons of plastic water bags littering the street? And what do I do after I learn of the plight of hundreds of young women with babies who are living on these same streets? And what is my response when the poor and orphaned children of Lesotho, Africa, capture my heart and seek ways to serve their needs? Rebecca Brandt and her college friends founded “A Ban Against Neglect,” a non-profit organization that provides shelter, education, vocational and parenting skills to help young women and their children live full and productive lives. Andrew Steele and his friends started “Bloom Africa,” a new organization that is helping children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic access educational opportunities.

• How can my congregation serve the caregivers of elderly adults who require full-time care from family members? Terri Ziegler and Jane Corcoran of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Largo, Florida, answered this question by starting “Ruth’s Promise,” a community of care for senior adults that provides a safe and caring environment several days a week, thus allowing family members of these older adults an opportunity to renew and take care of important chores and commitments that are otherwise difficult to accomplish when their loved one requires full-time care.

I was also “wowed” during our President’s Circle Retreat by the reminder our participants provide of the awesome blessing of thousands of other people whose generosity makes possible the seeding ministry of Wheat Ridge. We have been able to seed all of the ministries described above, but only because of the support we receive from so many who believe in the importance of assisting inspired leaders during the fragile initial stages of new ministry development. If you are reading this, you are most likely one of these generous people. Without you, our ability to seed new ministries in Florida and around the world simply would not be possible. Thank you!!  

Blessings as you continue your journey through Lent on the way to the empty tomb. Wow!!

  

Numbers ... and the Church Responds

Thanks to our ever-present media in this age of instant information, there is no lack of statistics used to describe the current state of affairs in our world. Unfortunately, most of these statistics are troubling rather than encouraging. In the past few weeks, three sets of numbers have particularly caught my attention. 

Thirty-three percent of people in the state of Illinois are living in poverty. Heartland Alliance, a Chicago-based human rights advocacy group, released data from its annual study that suggests that 33 percent of Illinoisans are living in poverty or near it. Statistically, that's one out of every three people I pass on my way to work in my home state. 

In city and suburban neighborhoods, like the one in which I currently live, it’s so easy not to see that people are living in poverty.  But they are there … ask the leaders at Trinity Lutheran Church in Roselle, Illinois, located in a comfortable middle-class suburb. They host a one day “Clinic” each year that draws nearly 1,000 people who are in need of food, clothing, a warm meal, and basic health care services.

The death toll by murder in Chicago over the past decade is greater than the number of American forces who have died in Afghanistan since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom. Between 2003 and 2012, 4,777 people were murdered in the city of Chicago. In 2012 alone, 512 people were murdered in the city. Operation Iraqi Freedom, the name for the war in Iraq, which started March 20, 2003, and ended Dec. 15, 2011, saw a total of 4,422 killed.

“Two more people were shot to death in Chicago last night and two others critically injured.” This report greeted me when I turned on my car radio yesterday. The reporter’s tone betrayed how matter-of-fact deaths by gun violence have become in Chicago and in other cities in the U.S. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, the news is filled with reports that gun sales have skyrocketed, and the NRA is suggesting the solution to gun violence is more guns. Thank God for congregations like Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Warren, Michigan, that is committed to being an oasis for hope and healing in the midst of their violence-prone neighborhood. They open their church property all day, every day so that residents can be touched by the love of Christ through ministries such as an urban community garden, a safe and nurturing early childhood center, and a counseling and support program for victims of domestic violence.

More suicides by members of the U.S. military in 2012 than soldiers killed in combat. (349 – up 16% from 2011). The only good news in this statistic is that the number of U.S. military men and women being killed in combat is decreasing. However, this is small consolation to the families and loved ones of those who choose to take their own lives rather than continue to struggle with the trauma of combat and its physical and psychological effects. Once again, the church responds. Elim Lutheran Church, a small rural congregation in Minnesota, is served by a retired military chaplain who has a vision for how the church could make a difference. The pastor recruited a talented team of like-minded people and produced Welcome Them Home, Help Them Heal, a resource designed to help congregations develop programs to provide encouragement, support, and hope for veterans returning from military service. Thousands of copies of this resource have been distributed to congregations across the United States.  For more information, click here.

While statistics like these are a vivid and sad reminder of the brokenness that exists in our world, we are also encouraged by efforts such as the recent National Service Day, which demonstrate that millions of people are moved to respond to the needs of others and to move the numbers in a different direction. God’s spirit is at work in powerful ways. Followers of Christ respond by sharing the healing touch of Christ with others. For example, consider that over 170,000 people volunteer annually through the social service agencies of the Lutheran church. The actual figure is undoubtedly much higher, though, since it reflects statistics from just a portion of the member organizations of Lutheran Services in America.

Thank God for congregations whose response to the Gospel calls them to provide free health clinics, food pantries, and employment services. Thank God for those who engage in their community to address the root causes of poverty and who advocate on behalf of those whose voice is otherwise not heard. Thank God for those who bring a listening ear and a healing presence to others who are struggling with post-traumatic stress and other psychological challenges. If you are among those reading this, the chances are good that you are personally engaged through service and support in one of these life saving ministries of the church. Thank God for you!!

Sgt. Pepper and Me!

Yes, the good sergeant and I have something in common.  Fellow Beatles fans know that “it was 20 years ago today” when he taught his band to play.  It was also 20 years ago that I joined the team at Wheat Ridge Ministries.  He probably wondered, as I am, how time can pass so quickly.

 

My first official event as the new Wheat Ridge Vice President for Programs in 1992 was a Wheat Ridge Board of Directors meeting.  Since then, I’ve attended in person or participated by phone in 50 more.  During its most recent meeting, the board was very kind to recognize my 20 years of service.  In fine Wheat Ridge board style, and with considerable help from the Wheat Ridge staff, I received a good roasting and we had lots of fun.

I would not have imagined 20 years at Wheat Ridge when my wife, Deb, and I moved the kids from Florida in 1992.  We moved to Chicago in November … not smart from a weather perspective.  Our girls, both young at the time, had adjustments to make.  Having been born Florida and living there until our move, the shoes they wore while playing outside were more a defense against steaming hot roads and sidewalks than against cold weather.  Lots of shoes, boots and coats were purchased very quickly … Burlington Coat Factory was glad we moved north.


That's me in the center in 1992
with president Dr. Rich Bimler (left)
and Mr. Bob Hopmann, who served
as vice president for program
and finance prior to my arrival.  

What brought me to Chicago and has kept me here for 20 years has been my fascination with the mission of Wheat Ridge.  There’s something about “seeding” new ministries that grabbed me from the time my friend Rich Bimler, then President of Wheat Ridge, first talked to me about the possibility of joining the staff.  I continue to believe that we have one of the important and exciting missions a Christian organization can have as we assist emerging new ministries that are dedicated to sharing health and hope in the name of Christ.  Over the years, I’ve had the great blessing of participating in the process of awarding over 1,000 seed grants and I’ve worked with a much larger number of non-profit and congregation leaders as they engaged in the early stages of new ministry development.  These leaders continue to inspire me with their creativity, their strong faith, their deep caring about the welfare of others, and their tenacity despite the many obstacles they face in developing sustainable health and human care programs.

Likewise, I continue to be inspired by so many people who respond generously to Christ’s love by supporting Wheat Ridge’s efforts to assist new ministries.  These include our awesome family of faithful and generous donors as well as the dedicated pastors and other church leaders, judicatory officials and organizations with whom Wheat Ridge is privileged to serve, collaborate and partner.  I also continue to learn so much from the outstanding members of the Wheat Ridge board of directors and my gifted colleagues on our staff.

I look forward to seeing what God has planned for Wheat Ridge Ministries in the future.  By God’s grace, our generous donors and partners continue to provide an abundance of resources for the seeding of new ministries.  There continues to be great opportunities for Wheat Ridge to invest these resources to assist leaders who are moved by God’s Spirit to touch the lives of people in need.  Let’s keep seeding new ministries – there’s much to accomplish during the next 20 years!!