Interview Story - Solved a Problem

I was hired as an Interim Executive Director for an Art Museum in Virginia. I was to stay in place in this role for one year. My job was to work with a volunteer team to plan their 50th Anniversary year, fundraise for the largest exhibition in the history of the museum, and assist the Board with hiring a new Executive Director.

On the first day on the job, I learned from the Bookkeeper that the organization had less than $1,000 in the bank. The organization had maxed out its line of credit of $50,000. We had a bi-weekly payroll of over $16,000 due the next week. The organization had special ordered replacement windows that a $35,000 payment was due for and the order could not be canceled. We were obligated to open a $20,000 exhibition in less than 30 days that could not be canceled.

I needed to find a way to keep this museum afloat and shore up its financial situation.

To address the situation, I first notified the Board Chair. He informed me that the former Executive Director had informed the Board of a cash flow problem. I let him know this was beyond a cash flow problem. We called an emergency Board meeting.

Together with the help of the board, we reached out to our government funders to see if they would work with us to front-load their grant payment schedule. We reached out to our restricted Endowment funders to inquire if they would lift their endowment fund restrictions. We quickly engaged the volunteer team assembled for the 50th Anniversary year to immediately start fundraising off of newly developed 50th Anniversary campaign materials.

With some coaxing, the Board Chair agreed to ask each board member for an additional major gift to cover the payroll obligation. These gifts kept the museum afloat in the weeks following.

Then, a local government funder agreed to front-load their entire yearly grant before deliverables. An endowment funder agreed to lift their restrictions and allow us to borrow against the funds with a planned payback schedule.

And, I successfully worked with the 50th Anniversary Campaign to raise $500,000 to cover the Anniversary plans.

Ten years later, the organization is still in business. I am the current Executive Director. We have built up 9 months of operating reserves and have no debt. We paid back our Endowment funds and it now has over $1 million in assets.