Reflection Week 4 – Solving Problems/ Improving Leadership

As I have alluded to in my previous reflections, there are certain dynamics and structural aspects of the non-profit organization and its fellowship that creates issues. FLIP National is certainly unconventional in how its leadership runs, and so I have questioned its effectiveness quite often.

The most glaring issue within the organization is that there are very few leaders that devote themselves to FLIP National full-time. Originally, there would be multiple directors heading every team and position in a very structured way, but over the years, many of these individuals have moved on to other ventures.  At the moment, my supervisor, as the Executive Director, largely burdens a great deal of the work in this non-profit organization. FLIP National does have a wonderful group as the Board of Directors, but they do not play an active role per se in the day to day work of the organization.

Connected to this, the only workers who do the more logistical and nitty-gritty elements of the work in the non-profit are the fellows. Some fellows have been around for quite some time, as I have been a part of the non-profit on and off for 2 years. However, a great deal of fellows, being students, fluctuate throughout the summers and semesters, with some only having the capacity to support the non-profit organization for just a few months. As such, not many fellows have seen the organization through many stages of its existence, which is difficult for the non-profit to truly thrive.

Unfortunately, a great deal of why retention is rather difficult in this non-profit organization is that there is limited income offered to workers. The fellowship is unpaid, so without funding from third-party sources, workers must juggle their work at FLIP National with other priorities that may hold more importance due to the fact that it offers money. Oftentimes, it is more difficult to get volunteers or unpaid interns deeply vested into the organization, as there feels to be less obligation given the lack of monetary compensation.

In terms of how I can utilize my leadership studies and work as an intern to ease such issues, I am committed to devoting a more substantial amount of time to the non-profit, and continue working for them during my semesters. I also hope to support the non-profit and their finance team with grant proposals and fundraising, so that funds can be saved up to both help our initiatives and compensate those who work so hard for the organization.