by Judy Wilkinson
On this beautiful mid November autumn day sitting on my deck, I am reminded of the famous poem by Robert Frost about "The Road Not Taken".
No one will dispute that our organization is at a crossroads, and it should come as no surprise that our very survival hangs in the balance. What road
shall we take?
On the road we have traveled for the 82 years of our existence, there have been tremendous accomplishments and incalculable contributions to the lives
of Californians who are blind or have low vision. But of late, the terrain has changed, and our road is becoming more and more treacherous. However much
we revere the organizational model which has brought us so far, real danger exists that without significant modernization, this road can lead us no further.
Put starkly, the volunteerism, self-financing and slow-moving governance processes on which we have relied leave us without the expertise or resources
necessary to comply with the increasingly complex web of legal regulations within which nonprofit organizations must operate. This model also leaves us
unable to effectively compete for funds in today's highly-competetive and professionalized corporate and foundation funding environment.
We struggle every year just to keep our door open. Because we are forced to operate at a huge deficit, we will soon exhaust our dwindling reserves. Too
many members finance CCB activities out of their own pockets. Support for growing membership: afraid not! Support for advocacy efforts: just ask Jeff Thom,
our chief unpaid legislative advocate, how little he has been reimbursed lately! Support for my legitimate expenses are minimal and paid from reserves
which I hesitate to further deplete. Funds for new projects: I don't think so!
Now let's travel the other road on which CCB embarked when we hired our full-time chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Shane, and Jennifer Caldeira, our
now full-time Administratve Services Officer (ASO)).
This road has already had unexpected bumps: the demise and crash of several office computers necessitating an expenditure of $5,000 for new computers,
a server, yes even new chairs. Our Technical Operations Group as well as their computer consultant have been warning us for several years that this day
would come. Our stalwart van (bought over 15 years ago when the organization had more money) has died, leading us to develop a procedure for operating
without it, which the new CEO and the Board have done. Things we previously did by the seat of our pants as it were, Paul is creating policies for: such
as developing guidelines under which CCB can accept donations; such as a pay and reimbursement policy to cover employees or members when they travel on
CCB business; such as a streamlined budget process. Paul is currently hard at work on a "Case Statement," a document about the organization, its history,
its activities, its future plans. Such a document is necessary to seek funding opportunities for the organization. Depending where we are in the process
when you read this, members and chapters will be seeing various surveys and questions to assist in gathering information for this critical document. We
have launched our first fundraising activity for 2017: a comedy night at Tommy t's in Sacramento on January 21. None of these things would have been handled
as effectively or quickly without professional full-time attention and expertise.
The wise poet knew we would sometimes pine for the other road, the one not taken. And there is no guarantee that either road will lead us where we want
to go, but we must take bold action. In choosing this road, I assure you that the values we have held dear for 82 years will continue to guide and define
CCB.
Let me conclude by wishing you a joyous holiday season. As we begin the new year, I ask you to join me as we travel this challenging new road together.
