Success without profit – the business of giving
BIG on heart but light on funds, the not-for-profit sector faces a unique set of survival challenges. Find out how Margaret Flynn turned a $3,000 budget into revenues of more than $10 million and helped thousands of people in the process.
Flynn is the CEO of CentaCare Wilcannia-Forbes, an organisation which provides communities with counselling, youth and family support, and work-based education and training programs. It services around 200,000 people in western NSW, scattered across an area than spans more than half of the state.
“We were the first non-government organisation to go out there to strengthen resilience and the quality of life in those areas,” Ms Flynn says.
A counsellor and teacher by trade, Flynn was asked by the Bishop of the diocese to establish the organsiation during the drought of the 1990’s.
So she took herself, her typewriter and not much else out to Forbes in 1996.
“I had been asked to set up a social services organisation – no one knew what it was going to be. I had no idea what to expect. So I thought, ‘I’ll just do what I know how to do,’ and opened the door for counselling.”
Today CentaCare Wilcannia-Forbes employs 120 staff and records a turnover of more than $10 million.
Flynn’s achievements have been acknowledged with a 2010 Telstra NSW Business Women’s Award.
So how did she build a solo counselling service into a thriving multi-million dollar organisation?
The first step was writing submissions and searching for funding opportunities, until one day the hard slog paid off.
“We had a breakthrough with a particular government department and providing Indigenous services. But it took about 3 to 5 years to convince government to think regionally. Government funding at that stage really stopped at Dubbo, Orange, Wagga – there was nothing west.”
“Each time we’d get a grant we’d bring on more staff.”
CentaCare Wilcannia-Forbes relies predominately on federal and state government support, plus funding from the Catholic Church and the philanthropic sector.
“Funding is your constant focus. You don’t know how secure your funding is. It’s just constantly looking for opportunity for 2 reasons – to back up what we already have in place, and to build.”
Flynn says one organisation in particular helped secure its livelihood.
“We were so fortunate to be noticed by Social Ventures. Their role is trying to connect the corporate sector with social enterprise. At that time they were identifying social enterprises who weren’t just doing good things but actually supporting social change. It was just a miracle they found us.”
In addition to pairing not-for-profits with corporate sponsors, Social Ventures Australia teaches organisations like CentaCare commercial skills that can be lacking in the sector.
“I’ve discovered I love it! I actually love that side of business development, and I learnt that from Social Ventures.”
Articulating outcomes is crucial to succeed in the funding race.
“We have solid evaluation processes. We aim to be able to say, with this money, this many people were helped, this many lives were improved and so on. Donors have a right to know has their support benefited those we said it would.”
So what else should community enterprises be mindful of when chasing financial support?
“It’s about integrity, transparency and perseverance. It’s really about relationships. In a true partnership the donor has to receive something as well, some sort of benefit. There needs to be transparency and communication in terms of how that money has been used, and the effectiveness in the use of that money.”
For more: CentaCare Wilcannia-Forbes
