The week had some activity to it for KDK Options, and KeaneVCC.
KDK Options - There was a trade in financial ETF XLF. The update on the trade can be found here.
KeaneVCC - The following post discusses a New York Times article from Andrew Jacobs on how Healthcare companies have used their lobbying to influence US governmental policy on breastfeeding. The post is here.
KeaneVCC - Bullied Comics continues to develop its YouTube channel. A link for it is here.
** This blog is used for opinions and ideas and should not be used as a direction to act without doing your due diligence.**
Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Times. Show all posts
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Wounded Warrior Lesson For Non-Profits
by Michael Keane
Recently, there were executives from The Wounded Warrior Project that were fired due to fiscal irresponsibility on expenses. A New York Times article link is here. This issue is not new and continues to pop up in the non-profit area. One main reason why this type of thing happens is that the organizational non profit side of the mission sometimes gets clouded by the personal mission of wealth. When the two clash within an individual or organization, a mess is generally a result. Wounded Warrior has been caught up in that idea.
It takes a special skill to manage your personal wealth ambitions when the business you are in exists in the non-profit arena. There are some wonderful resources that can help you find what non-profit companies are spending on their salaries and expenses. There are also non-profits that handle the situation in a wonderful manner.
One example is Movember. If you look at their overhead expenses, it is clear that the executives of this company bring the mission mindset to their own personal wealth ambition. Per a story in the Independent Record (link here), wages and earnings were $900,000+ on $23,000,000 in 2013. You will see that the CEO has a salary of $280,000+ for 2012. Another example mentioned in the story is the American Lung Association's CEO pay of $300,000 on $54,000,000 in revenue. When you look at Wounded Warrior Projects pay, you see nothing out of the ordinary. It's CEO makes $300,000+, which is fairly in line with its contemporaries.
But this scandal has brought to light some comments from the company that could show an opportunity for improvement. In a story written by Ryan Schuette from IVN (link here), a comment by the company saying that their salaries are comparative with the private sector is what stands out. This could show where the motivation of the executives existed when they made the mistake of spending the amounts that they did. Non-profits have many reasons for comparing themselves to the private sector. But pay and wages should not be one of them. This can create confusion at the individual level and the greed of private sector processes will show itself and catch the non-profit in trouble, like the way Wounded Warrior Project has shown. When you run a non-profit, you have to have a solid understanding of where the traps of private sector thought processes exist for your business. In the Wounded Warrior case, that did not happen.
It is disappointing that the executives at Wounded Warrior Project haven't fully discerned this. But it is also a great opportunity to improve and become better focused and successful. Being what the mission of the organization is, there is little doubt that improvement will come. This is just a bump in the road for Wounded Warrior.
Per disclosure, the author is a Marine Corps veteran. He is also a regular charity contributor to Movember.
Recently, there were executives from The Wounded Warrior Project that were fired due to fiscal irresponsibility on expenses. A New York Times article link is here. This issue is not new and continues to pop up in the non-profit area. One main reason why this type of thing happens is that the organizational non profit side of the mission sometimes gets clouded by the personal mission of wealth. When the two clash within an individual or organization, a mess is generally a result. Wounded Warrior has been caught up in that idea.
It takes a special skill to manage your personal wealth ambitions when the business you are in exists in the non-profit arena. There are some wonderful resources that can help you find what non-profit companies are spending on their salaries and expenses. There are also non-profits that handle the situation in a wonderful manner.
One example is Movember. If you look at their overhead expenses, it is clear that the executives of this company bring the mission mindset to their own personal wealth ambition. Per a story in the Independent Record (link here), wages and earnings were $900,000+ on $23,000,000 in 2013. You will see that the CEO has a salary of $280,000+ for 2012. Another example mentioned in the story is the American Lung Association's CEO pay of $300,000 on $54,000,000 in revenue. When you look at Wounded Warrior Projects pay, you see nothing out of the ordinary. It's CEO makes $300,000+, which is fairly in line with its contemporaries.
But this scandal has brought to light some comments from the company that could show an opportunity for improvement. In a story written by Ryan Schuette from IVN (link here), a comment by the company saying that their salaries are comparative with the private sector is what stands out. This could show where the motivation of the executives existed when they made the mistake of spending the amounts that they did. Non-profits have many reasons for comparing themselves to the private sector. But pay and wages should not be one of them. This can create confusion at the individual level and the greed of private sector processes will show itself and catch the non-profit in trouble, like the way Wounded Warrior Project has shown. When you run a non-profit, you have to have a solid understanding of where the traps of private sector thought processes exist for your business. In the Wounded Warrior case, that did not happen.
It is disappointing that the executives at Wounded Warrior Project haven't fully discerned this. But it is also a great opportunity to improve and become better focused and successful. Being what the mission of the organization is, there is little doubt that improvement will come. This is just a bump in the road for Wounded Warrior.
Per disclosure, the author is a Marine Corps veteran. He is also a regular charity contributor to Movember.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Making a Difference Through Positive Investing
It is not enough to just be against something. You have to act in a positive manner and be for something if you are to be successful. This statement is very true when it comes to investing resources in projects and companies. Not investing into a project or company is only part of the equation. To fulfill the equation to its utmost, a positive project has to receive those resources.
The current round of environmental protests going on in New York City brings this idea to light. There is a broad momentum and reporting on showing the negative side of not investing in cleaner types of energy. For example, there is a story in the New York Times (link here) on how a charity of the Rockefeller family along with others will be divesting its investments in fossil fuel companies. Also going on right now is a movement away from hedge funds. CALPERS and a North Carolina Pension Fund have announced they are removing its capital from being invested in hedge funds due to complexity of investment not matching desired return. These are great examples of negative actions against something. But the media that reported the stories did not go into as much detail in regards to the positive actions these organizations are taking with this capital.
The good news is that these organizations plan to put the capital to work in a productive way that matches their ethos. The New York Times article talks about the fact that the Rockefeller trust (and others) will be investing that same capital into cleaner fuel technology projects. This is a big deal. It provides another level of legitimacy towards the clean fuel movement. Another good example is that of one of KVCC’s clients, KDK Fund. It has made it a purpose not to just keep capital from being invested in certain projects and companies, but to also highlight where the capital is going to make a positive difference. For example, in the its bond portfolio, KDK Fund found the Powershares ETF Build America Bond fund to invest in. KDK Fund wanted to find a bond fund that followed its ethos and this fund does that by simply investing in local and state bonds. Another client, Bullied Comics, has a mission that is to stop bullying by showing ways to improve positive emotions so that bullying doesn’t enter into a person’s situational actions.
Groups regularly will follow inspiring leadership over basic tear down leadership. To do this, groups need to find a better alternative to build on top of the old investment as the Rockefeller trust has done. When looking to invest with a cause in mind, remember that removing capital and resources is only part of the solution. Putting resources to work in a new way that builds a better, more meaningful product is where the magic of the solution shows up.
Disclaimer - Any mention of specific divestments or investments in the story are not to be considered recommendations to buy or sell anything. Please do your own due diligence before investing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)