United Way CEO: merge nonprofits

October 23, 2008
Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint
As the economy slows and money gets scarce, banks arenâ??t the only organizations that should consider merging.

Thatâ??s how United Way of Central Indiana CEO Ellen Annala sees the landscape.

The Indianapolis area has a whopping 16,000 not-for-profits, she says, one for about every 100 people living here.

Many are volunteer groups with no paid staff. Itâ??s the organizations with paid staff, boards, bookkeeping, audits and other expenses that worry her.

â??I do have some pretty strong feelings about this,â?? Annala says. â??Is there a more efficient use of nonprofit resources?â??

Some small organizations fill niches that wouldnâ??t fit well in other groups, she says. And thereâ??s always room for entrepreneurs to dream up good ideas. Overall, though, she says itâ??s time for organizations to start talking.

What do you think?
ADVERTISEMENT
  • dougOctober 31, 2008 9:47 AM
    I don't think there is any question as to whether non-profits should have this on there agenda. We know there are numerous agencies and programs offering similar services. There must be some alliances and economies of scale that will become a major part of the solution to diminishing resources. No doubt each believes they're approach is the best......... but for the sake of assuring those critical services continue in the future some new collaboration seems essential. We really do need to think differently about nearly everything we do these days and holding on to what worked last year or even last week will only stifle the new ideas that will support tomorrow. Let's not be too quick to protect our past success by refusing to find new and different ways of accomplishing the important things many non-profits are in place to do.
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

Post a comment to this blog

COMMENTS POLICY
We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
 
You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
 
Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
 
No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
 
We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
 

Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

ADVANCED SEARCH
Sponsored by
ADVERTISEMENT

  1. RKW's comments read like a modern "Chicken Little". As a Raintree resident for many years, "Yes, I'm ready for this." Matter of fact, I welcome The Farm because it's a development that compliments our town, brings new and desirable shopping & dining closer (specialty grocer, upscale shops, micro brew pub, etc), offers upscale condos for empty nesters who want to stay in Zionsville, is being planned and constructed by local, well-reputed firms and, of course, provides desirable non property tax benefits. We all knew the Pittman's were going to develop their property sooner than later. That one of the Pittman's will continue to live on the property helps assure The Farm will be everything promised. This also sets a standard for other developers as to the quality of future developments - which should keep an ugly Walmart at bay for decades. As we've no meglomaniac mayor, I seriously doubt Zionsville would ever aspire to over-priced statues or subsidized retail rents. And we already have a very nice public theater, the Zionsville Performing Arts Center, that meets our cultural needs quite nicely.

  2. Do we add (or subtract) these from the bounty we recieve from RTWFL, Daylight Savings Time, corporate tax giveaways, and the crack job IEDC is doing?? Or is Mike going to blame these on Mitch?

  3. Who makes Tater Tots? They would be a good sponsor, because $3 Million for the alleged "Greatest Spectacle In Racing" is taters. Tiny, tiny taters. But at least they are making up something of the losses accumulated over the years in this dying sport. Buttock in seat is certainly not doing it, nor eyeball on TV, as evidenced by the lack of both.

  4. We loved lakehouse and think the Arbor Village would be a great location. It is less than 2 miles from over 1000 rooftops in the 225,000 to over 1 million range. Many people could use the great fishers trail system to bike or walk there. Just an idea Scotty -- but maybe something closer to 3 Wiseman would good. The only microbrew in area is Ram (boring)

  5. True, it's an ESPN production, but ESPN is just another name for ABC Sports, or what used to be ABC Sports since ABC Sports no longer exists as a name. ESPN=ABC Sports= ESPN. ESPN is, according to Forbes "the world's most valuable media property" worth $40 billion. Despite that, they fired 400 people this week.

ADVERTISEMENT