REPLY Investing in the field (SD6364)

[SDMAIL Rod MacDonald]

Posted by  Rod MacDonald <Rod at isdps.org>

Hello Folks,

I think the note from Carl Betterton and John Sterman about making a  
donation to the System Dynamics Society in honor of the 50th  
anniversary is an excellent idea.

I have worked in nonprofits for many years and have sat on numerous  
nonprofit boards.  The most difficult form of fund raising is for  
money to cover general administration along with reserve funds for a  
rainy day.  Funds targeted for special purposes are desirable,  
important and can be solicited from a relatively large donor base.   
When the solicitation for the Dana Meadows Student Award was set up I  
found it easy to give money for this purpose as well as to ask  
friends and family to consider donating to this worthy cause.  
I  believe that many people from outside the Society membership helped  
to secure the funds so that the Dana Meadows Award would be ongoing.

The $400,000 reserve that the Society currently has is great and  
should be attributed to everyone who has contributed their time and  
efforts to the Society, our members, policy council, our board  
officers past and present and the Society staff.    The Society is in  
good financial shape.  However, a string of bad luck and the Society  
could be in trouble.  The future of the Society will not be secure  
until we are capable of operating the organization off of the  
interest generated by our savings.

The Society does not help the poor, feed the hungry or work to cure  
cancer.  We are a 501(c)3 organization that falls into the scientific  
and educational category.  I do not believe asking outsiders to  
support us is feasible or something I would be comfortable doing.   
Therefore, funding needs to come from members.  Funding that would go  
into a rainy day fund and/or work toward raising enough funds to make  
the Society secure.

I encourage members to consider making a general donation.  Not for  
any specific purpose, but just because you desire a Society that is  
even more financially secure.

Sincerely,

Rod MacDonald
Initiative for System Dynamics in the Public Sector
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
University at Albany 
Posted by  Rod MacDonald <Rod at isdps.org>
posting date  Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:14:28 -0400