Jennifer White
BSHS 373
October 15, 2012
Frieda Flowers
Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case Study
Building a non-profit organization is not an easy task. Whether developing a new non-profit department or starting a new organization from the ground up, the process takes time and work. A vital part of this process is the budget. Financial management of a non-profit organization is a science and minor mistakes or overestimations in budget can do long-term damage if the agency is not careful. The Magnolia Case Study is such an example. Despite numerous awards and rave reviews, a mistake in the budget negated the progress of the agency unintentionally.
I feel the board should have reconsidered just exactly what Mary was asking. Magnolia was awarded a grant that was for the year. This grant was not to extend past the year. The board should have considered the changes that would happen within the year. I feel Mary asked for money that wouldn’t be needed for the following year. That maybe she got a little ahead of herself with her funding request. Understandable, the city needed the additional help after the trauma of 9/11 but requesting that money for the next year should have been more thoroughly considered. A temporary grant should not be budgeted as permanent funding because the organizational infrastructure can change within the given year. I think, overall, the Magnolia was running smoothly and I wouldn’t have done anything differently except for the budgeting request. I might have also not have hired so many additional counselors and just done my best to make-due with less. Considering the circumstances of the extra funding I say the Magnolia would have been just as successful treating the clients with Post Traumatic Stress using a lesser amount of employees. Given the funding might not be redeemed for the next year; Mary should have considered having to lay people off if the agency
References: Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case Study National Council of Nonprofits / Risk Management and Insurance. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.councilofnonprofits.org/resources/resources-topic/risk-management-and insurance