Animal Welfare Professionals

This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

Does anyone have experience with or know of other shelters who have operated without an Executive Director? Looking for any resources or consultative options.

We are a small private shelter (500-600 intakes/year) in an under-resourced county with a high level of poverty affecting our community. We have a staff of 5, including an ED, 2 Animal Caregivers, 1 Animal Tech, 1 Adoptions & Volunteer Coordinator. We are reliant on community donations that just aren't cutting it. We bring in half of what we need to survive. The other half is currently coming from our investment account, which won't last forever. We need to make drastic cuts. Since half of our budget is staffing, and we are running tight on our expenses, we have to pull from staff. We used to be an all-volunteer organization in the not-so-distant past, but we simply don't have a reliable volunteer base in our small community. I am preparing options to present to the board and am leaning strongly towards eliminating my own position as ED and distributing the workload among our current staff - all of whom have been with the organization for at least a couple of years and are great at what they do.  I am working out the details, but I can see this working in our organization. I would love to hear more from other organizations who've perhaps tried this route.

#OrganizationalManagement

I run a shelter in SW Georgia.  Don't have your situation, but our mentoring shelter in neighboring Alabama did go through something like this.  Please look up Kitty Kottage in Dothan, AL and tell them you were referred by someone on this site.  I think both the director and assistant director are working without compensation.  They are a very successful cat rescue organization that is now focusing mainly on transporting, and they are extremely knowledgeable.

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Carol Williams
aralliancega.com
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I find your idea intriguing. I have been employed by or volunteered with non-profits my entire adult life. One thing I know is that someone has to be in charge. The buck stops somewhere.  Your team probably can work independently but someone has to do performance reviews, approve raises (eye role, I know), provide guidance, coaching, and problem solving issues the employees face, be the employee advocate. If it's not you, it's your boss. 

Please share what your ideas about how this would work? Can you find a grant to fund your position?

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Cindy Craig
Manager of Foster Care
CritterHouseKC
MO
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I worked with nonprofit managements for decades. I totally understand where you are coming from! It is so hard to get volunteers these days, and people do need to be paid so they can live, too. I really, really do not recommend not having an Executive Director. Someone needs to be in charge, if only for legal purposes. You could try running as a nonprofit with just a Board of Directors, like a dog club does, but you have a lot at stake if the Board doesn't step up. We lost one of our long-time rescue groups a few years ago when the  volunteer ED retired (she is 80 and had her second shoulder replacement - it was time), having done the job for almost 20 years. With no one in charge, succession planning and strategic direction disappear. That means there is no strategic plan, no agreed Mission, no single point of contact for transport, fundraising, and intake.  Things fall apart very quickly.

Do you have a Community Foundation in your area? These are organizations that help high-wealth individuals and Foundations distribute funds. They are usually able to offer free advice and assistance, or referral to other nonprofit management organizations in the area, that could toss around a few ideas with you. The US Small Business Administration has the SCORE program https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/score-business-mentoring has retired senior executives who want to remain active in the community who will (FREE) offer business plans. In my experience, they are also a great resource for networking volunteers who are experienced and will stick with a program they buy into. And many of them are great at fundraising and promotion among their peers. Which is what you need to boost your bottom line and stabilize it.  Sometimes. even Junior League will take on a project like yours for a year or two and provide volunteers who are committed and trained to help.

I wish you all the best - you have a hard task ahead of you! Sadly, in an organization where everyone is required to pull their weight all the time, it takes only one to quit - or, usually, start complaining about someone else, to destroy everything.

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Lou Meyers
Trainer/Foster Home
Dog Training & Behaviour
NE
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