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Author(s)

Anne Cohn Donnelly

Trinita Logue

The North Side Children's Agency (NSCA) was a twenty-three-year-old nonprofit organization founded to serve very low-income working parents who qualified for income-based government child care subsidies. In support of its mission, the NSCA operated year-round, full-day child care programs at seven different sites for children from six weeks through twelve years of age. It employed a standard nonprofit governance model with a volunteer board of directors, each of whom was assigned to one of six committees, which functioned quite independently. 

After years of success, in 2004 the NSCA faced a serious cash shortage and its first deficit in a decade. Board members were not only surprised by the crisis but also unprepared to deal with the short- and long-term issues it raised. Board members required strong leadership to organize them to identify the causes of the crisis and think strategically about the organization's response.

Date Published: 06/27/2012
Discipline: Management
Key Concepts: General Management, Nonprofit Management, Strategic Planning
Citations: Donnelly, Anne Cohn, Trinita Logue. The North Side Children's Agency (B): Finances versus Mission. 5-112-006(B) (KEL661).