SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
May 14, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 5/16/24
In this edition:
*RIP John Gross
*Congratulations Coaches Bluder and Jensen!
*North Liberty City Hall
*North Liberty Food Pantry
*Herky!
*Starting a Nonprofit
*Exceptions to Policy
*Did You Know?
*RIP John Gross
We lost a good one recently with the passing of John Gross of Iowa City. John owned Technigraphics in downtown Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque for over 30 years. John was involved with the Chamber of Commerce, ICAD, and Scouts. John and his wife Carolyn were very philanthropic, especially when it came to Shelter House. John was a strong Democrat, but more importantly, he was a fair and decent man who stood for fairness and decency at all times. I really enjoyed my conversations with him. RIP, John.
*Congratulations Coaches Bluder and Jensen!
The big news of late in Johnson County is the retirement of Iowa Women’s Basketball Coach Lisa Bluder and the ascension of Assistant Jan Jensen to the role of Head Coach.
Two remarkable leaders. We are SO very lucky to have them both! Congratulations to both coaches!
*North Liberty City Hall
I attended the grand opening of the new North Liberty City Hall on Tuesday evening, and it is a fantastic space! Congratulations to the people of North Liberty on this milestone!
*North Liberty Food Pantry
I recently had a great talk with Ryan Bobst, Executive Director of the North Liberty Food Pantry. In case you did not realize, the NL Food Pantry is doing great work! And it should be noted, there is more to the job than the name lets on.
While it is the “North Liberty” Food Pantry, they are also serving folks from Tiffin, Oxford, Swisher, Shueyville, Solon, and rural areas of Johnson County. So the reach is much wider than just North Liberty. In addition, they are much more than just a food pantry. They have a large clothing closet, for example, and a Family Resource Specialist meets with food bank clients to help ensure they get connected to the right services. So lots of great things are happening at the North Liberty Food Pantry!
Ryan also gave me a couple truly sobering statistics. First, two thirds of the households they serve have someone working full time. Two thirds! The rest almost all consist of folks who are elderly, disabled, or both.
The other statistic? For 80% of their shoppers, the food bank provides the ONLY FOOD THEY WILL GET. That’s right! This is not supplementary. It’s not a case of running out of bread and milk at the end of the month. The NL Food Pantry is providing many folks will everything they will eat!
*Herky!
I am really happy to see the third version of Herky on Parade arrive across Johnson County! My granddaughter Zuri wants to see them all, and Melissa is taking Zuri’s photo with each one.
Kudos to Josh Schamberger and his team at Think IC for coming up with the idea 21-22 years ago, and for keeping it going every ten years. It improves the attitude of everyone in Johnson County, and adds a little sunshine to each of our days.
*Starting a Nonprofit
Entrepreneurism has been a feature of American society, especially over the past 30 or so years. But I am not always a fan, especially in the nonprofit realm. Let me explain why.
Johnson County is the biggest funder of nonprofit social services in our community, ahead of the United Way, Iowa City, and the Community Foundation. So I have been on the funder side for 20 years. But I also spent about 13 years working for nonprofits, including 6 as an agency Executive Director. So I have seen both sides of this relationship.
Every nonprofit has costs. Each has to have an annual audit. Each has to have staff. Each has a Director. Each has insurance, accounting, and payroll costs. Each has phones and computers. Most have some office space. Let’s say those things cost approximately $200,000 each. Now let’s say you have 40 nonprofits in your community. You are looking at $8 million dollars in overhead before anyone has provided a service. If there are only 30 nonprofits, the total is still $6 million, but now that extra $2 million can go into services. It is really critical that we not fund more overhead than is necessary. The donor’s pockets simply aren’t that deep.
Another concern is that the vast majority of people starting a nonprofit have no experience or understanding of what doing so actually means. They have a vision, but don’t understand the environment. These folks run the risk of wasting their time and wasting finite donor funds. Many causes already have established and effective organizations, and the entrepreneurs didn’t research, or even look.
I hate to say it, but the “why” of a nonprofit deserves some exploration. Some folks do it out of a sense of obligation. Others have a fantasy of being the founder of something and the savior of someone. Some see nonprofits at work and think, “I could do that.” Trust me – it is not as easy as it looks! These just aren’t great reasons to start up a nonprofit.
Don’t get me wrong; passion and intent should be cultivated and encouraged. But do so by helping one of those existing non-profits. If you have done this for a few years and still see a gap, then maybe you start your own organization.
You can also dilute the mission. I served as Executive Director of The Arc, a nonprofit that provides advocacy and services for people with disabilities. Every couple of months, someone would mention that they wanted to start a nonprofit specifically for people with autism. The next month, it would be people with Down Syndrome. And so forth and so on.
While I recognize that those conditions are not the same, one thing is decidedly the same – we are stronger together! Separate nonprofits dilute our voices!
Meanwhile, established nonprofits need to be open to new ideas. If we are going to discourage new nonprofits, we need to do so in an environment where existing nonprofits are willing to stretch and grow. That is not easy in an era of too much need and not enough funding, but it still needs to happen. I am going to urge all funders consider setting aside a certain amount of money to encourage collaborations. I think that is far superior to starting new agencies.
*Exceptions to Policy
Like any governing body, the Board of Supervisors is often asked to make exceptions to policy. I have some guiding principles I use when considering exceptions; after I lay out my thoughts, I’d like to know your opinions!
First, I look at the rule in question, and ask, “Is it intended to further the goals we wish to achieve as a county?” If yes, great. If not, I say we get rid of the rule.
Secondly, I look at the rule in question, and ask, “Does it have the intended effect?” If not, we may need to modify the rule. This includes a broad look at all the cases that do and don’t comply with said rule.
Let’s assume the rule is necessary and generally works. If so, my third effort is to try and understand why the petitioner cannot or will not comply.
Fourthly, I try to look at all the possible options, including those that comply and those that do not. I weigh each option.
The fifth step is discussing my thoughts with all involved (petitioners, staff, etc.) to make sure I understand all the issues.
Finally, I make a decision to support the requested exception or to oppose it, and communicate my reasoning.
Here are a few of my pet peeves when it comes to exceptions. Unfortunately, these examples are all too real:
1. Elected officials grant an exception without explanation. The public deserves to know why you are bending the rules.
2. Elected officials grant exceptions because they were too lazy/unable to understand the implications of the decision. It sounds bad, and it is! But unfortunately, it can happen!
3. Exceptions are granted only for the powerful & well connected. It sounds bad, and it is! But unfortunately, it can happen!
4. Exceptions are granted to folks who were too lazy to learn and/or follow the rules. A failure to plan on their part does not constitute an emergency on the part of the government.
5. Exceptions are granted virtually all the time. This means the rule is no good.
I believe exceptions to policy should be both infrequent and easy to explain. What are your thoughts?
*DID YOU KNOW? There are 102 Herky statues out; 101 in Johnson County and one in Linn County!
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 8:52 PM
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