Dang

 Well, it finally came out that Market may be in pretty large red budget territory. This is exactly why we always hired with financial management right at the top of our ideal candidate qualities. This, sadly, is something I saw coming and warned people about.

Back in the 80s, we went for a couple of years without a Treasurer, which is a volunteer position that needs some expertise. When we got one, he told us we were $25,000 in the red, which back then, was huge. The manager team at the time threw up their hands and said they were just not that good with the money part. They'd been overspending.

So we all pitched in, cut the entertainment and promotions budgets in half, fired the GM, and kept the AM for continuity. We had fundraisers, we put together a cookbook of market recipes, we sought donations and grants, and we did that for a couple of years. We did end up firing that AM later as well, but for other reasons, and she had hired a financially smart AM by then, who despite being deceived when hired, said she would give us a year and got our budget back on track. That was when we instituted a membership fee, (only $5 at the time) and I'm guessing we also raised whatever other fees we could, but that was in a recession and after a devastating fire in which we lost nearly all of our accumulated infrastructure, and in a time when the weather was terrible and member numbers were falling. 

One of the things that helped us was moving to the Park Blocks, but right now our options are more limited. We got some improvements there over the winter but they also took away the coverings that had been helpful to the people whose spaces were under them, so probably no net gain there this time.

No one resigned from the Board back then, as far as I know, and I was Chair, so it was really hard. I was in my early 20s and didn't know much. People helped me learn, and I made some mistakes, but I rose to the challenge with the others and pulled in whatever friends and acquaintances I had in the community. Everybody helped.

Obviously with four people resigning from the Board and all new officers as well (except our overwhelmed but excellent Vice Chair who is in the burnout stage at the end of her 3-year commitment) we have a new, inexperienced team of leaders and they will need a lot of help. It's that kind of an opportunity to fix some of the things that caused this.

It's not personal, but we have to fire the GM who failed to do the financial management we needed. For whatever reasons, it's on her. And, we can't afford two office assistants and never could. Time to fix that mistake as well. So we will go from 6 in the office to 3. Make the AM the interim GM and do a hiring process with financial accountability at the top of the list again. Cut the entertainment and promotions budgets, cut whatever can be cut. Since we just had fee increases, do not make the mistake of putting this on the members, who did not cause the problem. Many of us are struggling and that is going to continue with this crazy economic situation the government is putting us into. It's on the members to fix it, so we need encouragement and care and support in order to do that.

However, it is really important to do this in the least dramatic way possible. Offer to let the GM resign rather than being fired, and avoid publicly trashing anyone who participated in the lack of oversight or whatever happened. Volunteers were never supposed to be in full charge of the spending, and giving the raises and promotions that happened was done without full disclosure because the spending was not being properly tracked at the management level. It was not the job of volunteers. They did their best. The budget was sound, except for the things that couldn't be planned for, like weather, the effect of dropping the November markets (fewer members now sell in October) and the dissatisfaction that drove away members and volunteers because of other aspects of management.

Obviously it is time to stop trying to kick members out or punish them for whatever...just stop. We will have to pull together hard to get through this. Do not take money out of savings to fix this hole and go on thinking we can do business as usual. This will be viewed as corrupt and will do more damage.

I have said many times that I have retired from volunteering and I absolutely need to stick to that. I know getting back in now will perpetuate the concept that a few strong people will fix things and keep us going and that is just a sacrifice of our personal lives and I just will not and can not do that at my age. I am so sorry. It is very hard for me to say no when there is a need. 

There are plenty of people who can fix this. Sure it will be hard, but it is not unprecedented. We have always been on a financial edge for all of our existence. We don't want to make it impossible for people to participate while other people get to cruise along. Hardship or opportunity need to be equally shared.

And hardest of all, we need transparency now. Admit mistakes were made, because as James Baldwin said, not everything that is faced can be solved, but nothing can be solved unless it is faced. To get people to care enough to pitch in, it has to be an atmosphere of safety and honesty. No one can be protected or coddled while other people continue to give more than they want to. Just say the truth. Don't make it personal. Don't accept or make excuses. It's not brutal honesty, it's just honesty. It can come with compassion.

If people were hired who didn't have skills, don't do that again. Move forward more sensibly. If, when making a decision, you don't feel right, think again. Make it feel right. When I was Chair, we actually began operating with consensus, so that we had to get everyone on board to make decisions. I'm not saying we can go to real consensus, but make sure we are still in consensus-seeking mode, to avoid bullying or dominant behaviors which are part of what got us to this point.

While this is a crisis, it is not going to kill the organization. There are plenty of options for getting back on solid ground. There are professional managers out there who would love this challenge. We have smart financially savvy members who can lead us back to solvency. We have smart and experienced members who can help us reconstruct strong governance. We can do this. 

Rise up and keep your ethics clean and your hearts open and learn to work strongly together. We are already on the path to fixing this. Trust is going to matter, so do the things needed to build trust. Be firm. Be strong. Give yourselves credit for all the things you have done right and are doing right and as well as you can. Stay positive. 

I'm willing to be a cheering member from the sidelines, it seems. It does really matter that we turn this around. Let's go.