Summer 2010

Changes at TCC to Keep up with Hard Times
By Ron Ludwig

Like it or not, change (much like conflict) is inevitable.  Change can produce anxiety and sadness as well as excitement and opportunity.  It is my desire to keep you, our supporters, as up-to-date as is reasonably possible.  

 

· After almost 20 years of receiving a direct allocation of funds, Mile High United Way announced in March that The Conflict Center would no longer be an “Investment Partner” of United Way, but will continue to be a “Legacy Partner.”  This change enables us to receive funds from United Way donors who designate donations to The Conflict Center through United Way.  Essentially, United Way has had the same funded partners for almost 20 years, however, they’ve narrowed their focus due to some changes, and The Conflict Center’s programs’ no longer seem to be a good fit.   While the loss of funding is significant, we are confident we can make up for this loss.  

 

· One way to make up for the loss is to increase our “fee for service” work. According to our strategic plan we will increase this income stream from $112,000 to $300,000 in five years. We have had success in attracting government contracts to provide services to schools, to youth populations who are over-represented in the juvenile justice system, and to low-income populations living in public housing.  All of which should increase our “fee for service” work.

 

· At the same time, largely due to the economic downturn, our services to audiences who can out-right pay for our programs have declined.  In response to this decline, we will increase our marketing and sales efforts to serve more people.

 

· We will increase our focus on standardized programs and decrease our focus on customized series.  As a result, Nikki Schmidt will no longer be a salaried member of our staff. However, Nikki will be offered opportunities to share her excellent training abilities as a contract employee.  This will allow us to be more flexible and adjust our programs to respond to demand.  In addition, we hope to hire a commission-based sales staff to create new training opportunities.

 

· After three years as our School Program Coordinator, Jorge Gibbons has decided to return to his native Argentina.  Originally we had planned to leave this position unfilled and to use contract employees to provide the services that schools request.  However, in May the response to and requests for our school programs were dramatic.  We have five schools who have contracted with us for extensive services in the 2010-11 school years, requiring that we fill this full-time coordination position.  I am pleased to announce that Vickie Samland, long time TCC senior trainer, has agreed to step into this role.