Running a deficit? Get more, cut back, or do both.

 The Buffalo news ran an article today about Erie County's Social Services department, claiming that 1,100 children from 700 families were given 10 days (later changed to 30) to find an alternative to their county-funded day care. The accusation being made is that the county was aware that state funding cuts were imminent, but had not taken adequate steps to cut expenses to compensate for the approaching shortfalls.

I was interested in this article, first from a perspective of hearing an "on the ground" account of individuals losing services. With children's day care up in the air, many of the families relying on the program were required to seek elsewhere. Lots of lives were affected. The second point I got was about the balance between being hopeful to get more funding, and simultaneously addressing shortfalls by trimming back services, as needed. This ability to forecast the environment is critical and relies on understanding financial trends sufficiently to make informed management decisions. 

In the nonprofit world, the reality is that finding new funds and cutting services are not always separate activities. For organizations feeling the pinch, both avenues need to be pursued at the same time. That is, they need ways to impress their funders (e.g., outcomes, good research), while at the same time being able to streamline their services and, where necessary, cut out the fluff that doesn't really matter to their operations. In other words, organizations need to be attentive to efficiency. In the end, one way to impress funders is by providing the numbers and stories that demonstrate an organization's commitment to use their money wisely. This is one place where ClientTrack software can certainly help.