Shop Talk: Q&A with Ann T. Lisi, Greater Worcester Community Foundation
Photo/Christina H. Davis
Ann T. LiSi,
Executive director, Greater Worcester
Community Foundation
Ann T. Lisi joined the Greater Worcester Community Foundation in 1989 after several years of working within the nonprofit sphere. After three years at the foundation, she moved up from being a program officer to the executive director’s seat. While over that 20 year period she’s overseen the foundation and its endowment through tough economic times, the most recent market collapse has been the worst. In fact, last year the foundation’s $130 million endowment lost a third of its value. Here, she talks about what the market fall out means locally and her perspective on the nonprofit community.
>>What’s your outlook for this year given the current economic climate?
First of all, the community foundation is quite reliant on an endowment and our outlook has to do with having reduced value. Any endowment-driven institution right now is undertaking strategies to cut back. We will be anticipating having less money to grant out from our endowment in 2009 and that will continue for a couple of years beyond that unless there’s a very rapid turnaround. The other element that’s on our mind is the stress and strain that’s on the minds of the nonprofit applicants. Demand on my resources are higher, but I have fewer resources.
>>Were you able to prepare for the endowment’s decline?
The foundation purposefully lagged our expenses. We didn’t add staff in years when we had large market returns. Another point is that we’ve taken opportunities of reducing headcount through attrition. We’ve always been really lean.
>>What are you hearing from the smaller community nonprofits in the area?
People are literally thinking through how they are going to do more with less expense and in some cases that means layoffs. There are also discussions about mergers or outsourcing or downsizing or partnering with others for the back office and the non-mission-specific endeavors. I’m actually heartened that those conversations are happening. They’re very hard to have, but important.
>>What are some of the ways that nonprofits can collaborate?
Human resources offices, accounting functions, even collaborating on purchasing software to bring down the price and share the training. We’ve actually opened up a grant program to aid in that area to allow organizations to explore those restructuring plans.
>>What are the differences you see running a nonprofit vs. a for-profit enterprise?
I’ve never run a for-profit, but I think the distinctions are the core mission. A nonprofit has its focus on a social purpose, distinct from a financial purpose. The question on your mind every day is: Am I making the difference I’m supposed to be making with the charitable status that has been granted to me and the donor investments or public dollars?
>>How would you describe the best characteristics of a nonprofit board member?
It’s somebody who starts with caring deeply about the mission — otherwise you’re not going to remember why you spent so many hours in an unpaid role. You’ve got to care. A good board member is also a person who brings all of his or her best brainpower to the meeting. I think the number one error that board members make is that they assume that everybody else in the room already knows all so they don’t want to stir the pot or ask a question.
>>Are there any lessons that will come out of this market downturn or the Madoff investment scandal?
I think the lesson will be around the issue of knowing what you own and conducting due diligence on all of your activities. We do still believe that broad diversification is going to remain a cornerstone of an investment program. Our investment committee has taken that question under very serious review and has come back to being convinced that we want to be involved with all the markets and all the sizes of companies and strategies of debt and equity.
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