Administrative Overhead: Myths, Realities & How Nonprofits Need to Adapt

About this event

Dennis Morrow, MAEd, MBA, Executive Director
Janus Youth Programs

Jim White, Executive Director
Nonprofit Association of Oregon

Presentation & Continental Breakfast at 8:00
Networking at 9:30

Is a nonprofit that spends only 17% of its funding on administrative costs—commonly referred to as “overhead”—better than a nonprofit that spends 25%? Experience, statistics, and even common sense say otherwise! For years, ratings agencies such as GuideStar, Charity Navigator, and the Better Business Bureau have supported a barometer of “overhead ratio” to measure nonprofit “efficiency” and efficacy of donated funds. Now sweeping changes are taking place, even at those rating agencies, to change the systems for rating and debunking the myth of overhead. The presenters will give an overview of these changes, their own experiences in assessing proper administrative to program ratios, and practical tools for nonprofits struggling with stating their case for sensible administrative support.

About the Presenters

Dennis Morrow, MAEd, MBA has been the Executive Director of Janus Youth Programs, Inc. since 1980. Janus operates over 40 different programs for high-risk adolescents, teen parents, and young adults at 21 locations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Dennis is also a management consultant working with both nonprofit and for-profit businesses, and he serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Portland State University (Institute for Nonprofit Management) and an Instructor at Portland Community College (Alcohol and Drug Counselor Education). He has provided training and workshops for over 25,000 people and hundreds of businesses/organizations ranging from small nonprofits to some of the largest accounting firms in the world. He has created a DVD Training Series (The MaleBox) designed for teachers and counseling staff in programs working with boys/men and The MaleBox Curriculum for facilitating treatment groups for boys/men.

Jim White serves as Executive Director of NAO, where he works collaboratively with a statewide Board of Directors, staff, strategic partners, and the nonprofits across Oregon to build a more visible, influential, and resilient nonprofit sector in Oregon. Jim ensures NAO’s effectiveness by providing strategic, operational, ethical, and inspirational leadership that is consistent with the mission, values, policies, and contractual obligations of the organization.

Prior to joining NAO, Jim worked in the nonprofit sector both domestically and internationally for more than 17 years. Most recently, he served as a senior manager with Mercy Corps. He is deeply committed to social change and has a passion for affecting systemic change in the way that the public, private, and nonprofit sectors work together to support and strengthen civil society. Throughout his career, Jim has worked on some of the most difficult humanitarian and development challenges of our times, in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, and North Korea. He is specifically skilled on working to build alliances and partnerships so that communities and organizations have a voice in the issues that are most important to them. He has also worked for the International Organization for Migration and the American Red Cross. Jim earned a BS in Engineering Technology from Temple University and an MA in Central Eurasian Area Studies from Indiana University.

About the Network

Executive Directors Network is designed to strengthen your management skills while providing field-tested concepts and tools to take back to your organization for implementation. In addition to skills development, each session allows for networking and peer coaching in a collaborative learning environment.