Re-thinking Our Relationship to Money

“Directors of child care centers must be as effective at managing money as they are at caring for children,” writes Roger Neugebauer in the book, Managing Money in Early Childhood Organizations, part of the Art of Leadership series. “This lesson, had it not been learned too late, would have saved a local nursery school. This school provided a wonderful environment for children – the staff was creative and nurturing, and the parents loved the experiences their children were having. However, the school was closed shortly after the original director left. Her replacement was an outstanding curriculum planner, but she was totally unable to come to grips with managing money. After a few minor financial crises, the school was forced to close its doors.”

In her book, The Soul of Money: Transforming Your Relationship With Money and Life, author Lynne Twist encourages us all to develop a new relationship to managing money. She writes: “Money is like water. It can be a conduit for commitment, a currency of love. Money moving in the direction of our highest commitments nourishes our world and ourselves.”

And in the book, Not Just Small Change, author Roberta Bergman urges early childhood programs to change their relationship to raising money. She explains that “many fund development plans are created only after an organization has encountered a financial crisis…But fundraising in response to a crisis doesn’t usually work….Donors want to do something positive with their contributions – not cure an agency’s financial woes…

Having a well thought out fund development plan is reassuring – it lets your board, staff, funders and those you serve know that your organization will not have to operate in disaster mode if a major source of revenue falls away.”

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