December 24, 2005: Headlines: NPCA: Seaking Out: PCOL Exclusive: Josh Busby writes: How Healthy is the NPCA?
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December 24, 2005: Headlines: NPCA: Seaking Out: PCOL Exclusive: Josh Busby writes: How Healthy is the NPCA?
Josh Busby writes: How Healthy is the NPCA?
"My own sense is that affiliate group support has languished, and the organization has pared expenditures on staff, information, conferences and outreach to stay reasonably solvent. While the recent thematic Worldviews and the new list of 40,000 contacts appear to be bright spots of dynamism, I'm worried that affiliate support, the central imperative according to the outside consultant's report of earlier this year, is not seen as adding value to the organization." Josh Busby is President of the Friends of Ecuador and has served on the board of the NPCA.
Josh Busby writes: How Healthy is the NPCA?
How healthy is NPCA? Are we still in a state of trying to restore the organization's fiscal health and stem the slide in membership?
My own sense is that affiliate group support has languished, and the organization has pared expenditures on staff, information, conferences and outreach to stay reasonably solvent. While the recent thematic Worldviews and the new list of 40,000 contacts appear to be bright spots of dynamism, I'm worried that affiliate support, the central imperative according to the outside consultant's report of earlier this year, is not seen as adding value to the organization (for reasons I don't understand).
I wonder if other affiliates share these concerns or if I'm just a lone voice. I am willing to be proved wrong. I am also open to the suggestion that affiliate group support is just not possible at this point in time or is not the best strategy for improving the organization's fiscal health or membership numbers.
However, I think support for affiliate groups is one of the best ways NPCA can demonstrate its value and create an impetus for people to join the parent organization. People's first loyalty is typically not to join NPCA for NPCA's sake, but they will be more likely to join the parent organization if it nurtures activities and sub-groups they feel more attached to, whether it be their country of service group (Friends of Ghana), their local or regional RPCV group (Chicago RPCV's), or their substantive area of interest (Peace Corps Writers). NPCA's potential for growth increases exponentially by working through the affiliates.
I'm not particularly happy with the service provision we get from NPCA. IT support for affiliates should be a high priority. It is possible to create the IT infrastructure for affiliate groups to have professionally designed webpages that are connected to the main NPCA site - with content and databases mirrored from the same server. The content space on each affiliate group's homepage would be customized to the group's niche interests but also draw on the universal content of NPCA news and updates and take advantage of the common platform of services (on-line membership renewal, database, and donations). Take a look at Friends of Ecuador's website for a template www.friendsofecuador.org of the kind of potential each of your group's could have with NPCA support.
At the last board meeting I attended, Stephanie Jowers, Director of Membership, noted that 50% of her time was spent on Strategic Relations, a new part of her job description that I believe only emerged after she came on board. Somehow, there is something not right with that.
To remedy these problems, I think groups need to make their voice known that they want more affiliate services, particularly in IT. We also need someone (the Director of Membership, the GLF coordinator, interns, somebody?) to spend more time each week supporting and nurturing leaders and groups so that we can become the extended advocates for NPCA and new members.
In particular, I believe the 45th anniversary meeting should include time for affiliate group leader training. The membership task force will be recommending a number of proposals to streamline the re- affiliation process and increase support for affiliates. These are important, and we should pay close attention when these recommendations come out to the GLF and to the NPCA website. We should take time to ask questions to make sure we understand the recommendations and then support them or offer constructive amendments. But, we should also demand more information about what NPCA's medium-run plans are to support affiliates.
When this story was posted in December 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: PCOL Exclusive
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; NPCA; Speaking Out; COS - Ecuador
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