Mongolia Therapeutic Solutions Case
Kris Carey
BSH/373
Jason Rhoades
March 21, 2014
Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case
Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions also referred to as Magnolia is a nonprofit organization started by Mary Stewart. The organization is head out of New York City and is an organization that helps provide psychotherapy to individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). Mary started the Magnolia to help the high demand of those diagnosed with PTSD. Mary in this case has proposed a budget to the board to include a contract that is not up for renewal. This contract was for the needs of those that suffered from September 11, 2001 devastating acts of terror. This contract was put in place for only one year and was not set to renew for any future funding. Mary also put in this budget steeper demands on the development department she wanted them to raise more money in the coming year. This with an ailing economy Mary still felt this was something that could be done to help those with PTSD.
Magnolia took a risk when making the budget for the new year with making assumptions. Mary was making a push to keep the grant in the budget that was no longer available as the year had finished. Mary also pushed for steeper demands on getting more revenue for the organization. When taking a step back as a board member the first priority is not the speaker but what is realistic to move forward. Myself if I had been a board member I would be looking at all the facts in place, the employees, and what the current year progression. As a board member I would be against keeping the contract in our budget it is unrealistic to assume that we would be keeping this contract. If the organization gets to renew this will be an added bonus making the organization thrive even more in the year. I would however maintain the demand for receiving more revenue. The company can keep the employees if more grants come to help with PTSD patients. The demand as the war goes on will keep the organization in a high demand that will only increase as time goes on. With need to keep the help in place while also keeping the employees is only provided with money coming in. I believe if the organization representatives lobby for more grants showing the need is only going to progress they money can be found. Leaving it in the budget would be a smart tactic military comes home every day injured in the line of duty or driven past their point. The need to help these men and women should stay a priority to the organization. This means there is no finish line.
There were a couple problems within the organization one was Mary over thinking the contracts given by the NYC government and the second was the board not thinking about the realistic of employees, grants, and the organization itself. In this the ultimate price was paid the loss of employees and therefor the help that could have been provided to many more in need. Mary began to think big but in the wrong way for the organization. The best interests need to be addressed as well as the help. Without thinking about the money and the organization the help cannot be provided. Thinking too far ahead of with the contract made the biggest complications in the organization. As a result of not receiving a renewal was large as the organization no longer had sufficient funds for employee’s ended in layoffs this becomes harmful to the company as other employees suffer. The work load becomes larger for the staff on hand and anger becomes an issue as employees now target the management of the organization.
In order to accommodate the budget as it was accepted I would have tried to lobby in more directions, asked staff if it was possible to take a small short time cut in pay while funds are being acquired. Kept open forum with the staff and the board and maybe attempted to show the need to the government for the contract to renew. Showing the organization can still help the 9/11 victims but this cannot take away from the help provided to the troops who have a bigger need. The victims are important this is why the need is still there to keep the contract providing for these people.
There are two different types of organizations there is the non-profit and the for-profit. Between these two there is different ways to get grants for money and budgeting for this money to help more. A for-profit feel there is untapped market that they can provide many services with. The government is expecting more bang for their buck and have stricter ties to their money more than ever now. So the market for which the non-profit and for-profit are high in demand and make management a big point to each type of organization. In the case of Magnolia this was not used properly and the risk became high as they no longer had their biggest contribution that contract.
Magnolia needed to assess the risk of keeping the contract in the budget deciding if this was for the better of the organization. Magnolia also had to check the risk of keeping its complete staff in the event that money was to discontinue and foresee the workload of the employees after layoff s of staff.
Magnolia became its own downfall with the choices made by Mary and the board. A management plan and risks needed to be taken into account when determining the budget. The organization strived for the best and became great because of it, but poor complete planning was in the end the downfall. The organization can make a comeback but only with a management plan and training to become better than it was the ability to help those with PTSD can be done once again.
