January 9, 2019 Staff Meeting

Post date: Jan 10, 2019 2:53:21 PM

• More on Ted’s vision and what senior staff has been working since Oct 

  • How do people fit in here at CRI? In terms of both professional development and the services staff members provide

  • Getting to the ‘how’ of CRI’s mission

  • CRI does A LOT to get people physically on the water – how can this building become more of the mission and less of a place people go through to get on the water?

• Mission is served through fundraising and programs: approximately $4million in programs and $1.5million in fundraising

  • If we’re going to excel at our mission, we need to know exactly what we’re doing

  • Is CRI a rowing club? Or an experience provider?

  • If rowing changes lives, we provide the rowing experience

  • Strategic Plan (established by the board)

    • Programmatic excellence

    • Financial stability

    • Community & culture

    • Innovation

      • It can be argued that we aren’t actually succeeding at any of these

      • To get closer to the mission, three things need to be addressed: 

Rowing at CRI

Working at CRI

Giving to CRI

*All of these are intertwined – they need to be changed concurrently

• 7 initiatives of senior staff (boiled down from larger list – ask Ted if you want more info) 

  • these improvements need to be made by March (before the activation sensation) 

  • beneath the initiatives are the critical functional improvements needed to achieve the initiatives – this list is not all inclusive, there are more projects beneath these

1. Improve the experience of coaching and working at CRI

   • Reduce downtime of equipment – 95% of repairs completed within 5 days

   • Shop floor: improve safety – reduce clutter, improve space usage, organize

   • Improve the repair log – respond to the “logger” with update

   • 360 Coach Certification process to ensure coaches are CCC (CRI Coach Certified)

2. Program sustainability – not all fee for service programs cover their costs

   • Renew, adjust, improve direct fee for service programming: logbook and coached logbook sculling, corporate, adult comp, youth rec

   • Simplified budget/accounting/forecasting – allocate hours to programs with greatest payroll exposure

3. Optimize technology – investments have already been made here but there is a long way to go

   • Program technology improvements – Regatta Central/irownow, repair log

   • Upgrade development technology - Raiser’s Edge (development tracking software) and explore other giving platforms

4. Rationalize inclusion – these programs are the foundation of CRI – but these programs have increased in cost while the level of grants/donations have gone down

   • Ensure our inclusion and advocacy programs reflect our commitment to sustainability

5. Advance development – we’re losing donors, have cycled off grants 

   • Director of development search (already happening)

   • Improve technology (see #3)

   • Enable designated gifts

6. Improve rowing experience – people need to feel better about their experience here

   • Clarify/simplify registration process

   • Foster respect for equipment and safety

   • Improve CRI community wide events

7. Pursue partnerships strategically – exploring relationships with DCR, U.S. Rowing, Neponset 

• Shifting to improving what we already do instead of always aiming for growth – it is necessary and challenging work, even though it may not sound as exciting as growth

• These initiatives aren’t because of neglect – they are necessary improvements due to tremendous growth and success – para, equipment damage because of lack of education, etc.

• Board meeting tonight  CRI board is undergoing its own changes 

  • Finding new chairperson – Lila is stepping down in March 

  • Commit to raising more money

  • Staff is welcome at board meetings – they are public

• Community Spotlight: Looking to publish once every two months - if coaches have stories from their teams they should share with Yael

• Next conversation = financial stability – gaining clarity on indirect expenses – three meetings of board financial committee within the next month to address financial stability