Wednesday, January 2, 2008

The courage to resign

I took a big step and decided to resign from my position as Director of the Jenna Druck Foundation after January. This was a very tough decision for me because I really thought I could do it all, but I can't. I came to San Diego to pursue my PhD, however my work at the Foundation became all consuming. The hardest thing for me to realize was that I just don't have enough time to do it all.

I am still very committed to the mission and the programs of the Foundation, and will remain on as their part-time Operations Director. I am also looking forward to helping finding someone to take my place who can devote full-time efforts to the Foundation and continue to help it succeed. During my short time as Director, I was humbled and challenged to turn the organization away from what I call the culture of crisis, and help the organization plan for the future.

Like most small nonprofits, the Foundation has award winning programs but struggles with its operations. I'm writing a chapter in the Community Technology Centers Operating manual about operations, and my experience from working at the Foundation has really helped me to refine my views about operations. I still believe that nonprofits by nonprofits prioritizing their operations they will become more effective at achieving their missions, however I now know hard it is to actually prioritize operations while trying to balance securing funding for the organization, managing programs, and keeping things moving forward!!

1 comment:

Rosetta Thurman said...

Thanks for sharing your experience Heather. Good for you that you realized what was right for you early on. So many challenges face nonprofit directors, and like you said operations is just one of them!