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Non-profits and professionalisation - why charities are becoming more accountable

Date Posted: Sunday, September 23, 2007
Author: Christen Pears

It’s no longer acceptable for charities to get by with vague goals and haphazard fundraising efforts. The non-profit sector is entering a new era of professionalism and Wendy Augustus, Executive Director of the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust (BHCT), is leading the way.

 

Mrs Augustus has recently has achieved an Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Management from the Centre for Public & Non-Profit Leadership at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

 

“I have always felt that it’s important to make sure my skill sets are at the highest level, especially the way the non-profit sector is evolving and becoming more professional,” she explains.

 

“Non-profits are being held to certain standards and they’re no different from any other business. We’re required to make sure that our finances are properly managed, that we run our business with ethics and efficiency. We ask an accountant to be certified so why not someone in the non-profit industry? Just because we report back to the community doesn’t mean are not still held accountable and have to be managed properly.”

 

Just last month Minister of Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler called for changes to the Charities Act, which would improve accountability and transparency in the non-profit sector. It followed revelations that almost 145 of the island’s charities had not submitted their accounts to the Charities Commission.

 

Mrs Augustus says: “The non-profit sector has had an image problem in the past but that is changing. The more professionalized we are in the industry, the more people will have faith in us and what we do. We have faith in companies like the Bank of Bermuda and XL because they have great leadership and I think leadership is critical to non-profits in making sure we are seen as credible. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to do the course – to make sure I had the right skill set.”

 

Mrs Augustus became interested in the non-profit sector while working as project manager and consultant for the XL Foundation. “I found that a lot of the proposals that came through weren’t clear and concise at all so I knew there was a lot of help needed. When I left XL I decided to do my own thing, working with non-profit organisations to give them that help.”

 

She worked as a consultant with a number of businesses on their corporate philanthropy, as well as with Government. Her efforts were concentrated on strategic planning, the structure of organisations and programme evaluation.

 

Four years ago she was appointed Executive Director of BHCT, the independent fundraising arm of the Bermuda Hospitals Board set up to formalise the hospital’s charitable relationship with the community.

 

She is currently working on developing a capital fund-raising programme for the trust, although members of the community have already been very generous with unsolicited donations.

 

She says: “I’ve been here four years and the hospital has been doing its groundwork in terms of getting the framework in place. We are talking about the only hospital on the island and we have to make sure that we get it right.”

Mrs Augustus already holds a Corporate Community Relations Certificate from the Carroll School of Management, Centre for Corporate Community Relations at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, M.A. but believes her new non-profit management qualification will put both her in a better position to help the trust develop.

“When I looked at doing a course it was about my own personal and professional development and how that could help my organisation. I want us to be in a strong position and make sure we do what we say we’re going to do.”

 

The course, which took place over 10 days, covered a wide range of subjects, including advocacy and the public interest, financial management and problem-solving skills, governance, negotiation strategies for non-profit leaders, private and non-profit partnerships, resource and fund development, strategic planning, and volunteer management. Mrs August also completed a four-week research project entitled “Leadership Requirements for Effective Organisational Change.”

“Georgetown University is a world class institution and the calibre of the course was both extensive and challenging,” says Mrs. Augustus. 

“Through course work, industry best practices and case studies, we explored the specific topics and skills necessary for work in this area, and how they can be applied to a real-life non-profit setting.  This isn’t just a certificate of achievement but my testament to commitment and professionalism of this industry.  I am excited to use this expertise to expand my role at the BHCT and to introduce new ideas in non-profit management in Bermuda.”

She adds: “The course solidified a lot of the things I’ve been doing on a day-to-day basis but I also learned a lot of new information. One of the things that particularly intrigued me was in relation to negotiations in the non-profit sector. You tend to think along the lines of partnership and fund-raising rather than negotiation skills but in this job it’s something I’ve had to do on a regular basis.”

Bermuda has an enormous non-profit sector, with more than 400 registered charities. According to Mrs Augustus one of the biggest challenges for the island’s non-profits is the amount of overlap between what they do.

“When I was at XL some of the proposals were very similar to others we had received previously. I think it would be nice to see some of those organisations combine their efforts and really make a difference.

 

“So many times we talk about what Government should do for us but I think non-profits exist because people in the community have seen that they can do something to help their community beyond Government. We are talking about changing the community. We are talking about changing lives and in order to do that we have to be professional.”

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