Uncertainty is My Constant Companion
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes
By Melanie Lockwood Herman
Executive Director
My travels during the first half of Summer included a wonderful trip to New England. In addition to missing the oppressive heat wave in the DC area, the trip provided a perfect opportunity to ride my 1964 Norton Electra, which is garaged at the home of an experienced mechanic (I can almost hear the snickering of readers who prefer less finicky motorcycle pedigrees).
As I rode through the beautiful towns of Falmouth and Woods Hole I was able to experience many of the common dangers facing motorcyclists, including: distracted drivers unfamiliar with the area; beach-goers darting across the road to reach the sand and surf; roads in serious need of repair; and random areas of water or sand in my lane of travel. I safely navigated the human and natural obstacles and was able to truly enjoy the ride. Within minutes after I began thinking that the journey couldn’t be any more enjoyable, my classic bike stalled. Attempts to re-start the bike were futile.
As I sat and waited for a rescue (my favorite English bike mechanic), I laughed about the timing of my conclusion that all was right with the world. I pondered how circumstances and perspective can change in an instant. But isn’t that exactly how things often go in organizational life? Just when your nonprofit’s programs and services are running without incident, something happens to remind you that that the only thing for certain is uncertainty.
That continuing, inescapable uncertainty is what makes the discipline of risk management relevant, compelling, and never boring. And it’s why leaders of some of the nation’s most respected nonprofit organizations are looking at risk management in a whole new light these days. Risk management is finally moving out of the narrow confines of the administrative function and into the wide open spaces of governance, service delivery, partnerships, growth strategies and more. Conversations about risk, risk appetite, and risk management are seeping into board strategic planning sessions and the brainstorming sessions of the resource and business development teams. Leaders are recognizing that risk management isn’t something added to one employee’s job description: developing risk awareness requires many sets of eyes and ears, and fine-tuning loss control and risk strategy may take a small village.
Melanie Lockwood Herman is Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She welcomes your ideas about any risk management topic, tips on coaxing a stalled motorcycle back to life, and questions about the Center’s resources at Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org or 703.777.3504. The Center provides risk management tools and resources at www.https://nonprofitrisk.org/ and offers consulting assistance to organizations unwilling to leave their missions to chance.
“First let me congratulate you on a conference well done. I had a great time at the Nonprofit Employee Benefits Conference and walked away with some valuable tools and questions that we’ll need to be addressing in both the short and long term. Thanks to you and your staff for all you do to provide us with quality resources in support of our missions.”
— Scott Brown, Mohonk Preserve
“BBYO’s engagement of the Center to conduct a risk assessment was one of the most valuable processes undertaken over the past five years. Numerous programmatic and procedural changes were recommended and have since been implemented. Additionally, dozens (literally) of insurance coverage gaps were identified that would never have been without the work of the Center. This assessment led to a broker bidding process that resulted in BBYO’s selection of a new broker that we have been extremely satisfied with. I unconditionally recommend the Center for their consultative services.
— Sidney Abrams, BBYO
“Melanie Herman has provided expert, insightful, timely and well resourced information to our Executive Team and Board of Directors. Our corporation recently experienced massive growth through merger and the Board has been working to better integrate their expanded set of roles and responsibilities. Melanie presented at our Annual Board of Director’s Retreat and captured the interest of our Board members. As a result of her excellent presentation the Board has engaged in focused review which is having immediate effects on governance.”
— Pamela Mattel, Basics Promesa Systems Inc
“The Nonprofit Risk Management Center has been an outstanding partner for us. They are attentive to our needs, and work hard to successfully meet our requests for information. Being an Affiliate member gave us access to so many time- and money-saving resources that it easily paid for itself! Nonprofit Risk Management Center is truly a valued partner of The Community Foundation of Elkhart County and we are continuously able to optimize staff time with the support given by their team.”
— Jodi Spataro, Community Foundation of Elkhart County
“The board and staff of the Prince George’s Child Resource Center are extremely pleased with the results of the risk assessment conducted by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. A thorough scan revealed that while we are a well run organization, we had risks that we never imagined. We are grateful to know that we have now minimized our organizational risks and we recommend the Center to other nonprofits.”
— Marti Worshtil, Prince George’s Child Resource Center
Great American Insurance Group’s Specialty Human Services is committed to protecting those who improve your communities. The Center team has committed to delivering dynamic risk management solutions tailored to nonprofit organizations. These organizations have many and varied risk issues, hence the need for specialized coverage and expert knowledge for their protection. We’ve had Melanie speak on several occasions to employees and our agents. She is always on point and delivers such great value. Thank you for the terrific partnership and allowing our nonprofits to focus on their mission!