Packed Ballroom for Million-Dollar Women Symposium

Non-profit leaders issue call to action

SALEM, Mass., Nov. 15, 2011  /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It was a different kind of Million Dollar Women Symposium in more ways than one. The Enterprise Center at Salem State University has organized this event for the past seven years.  And at first it seemed to follow the highly successful pattern of past symposia— women at the helm of large organizations openly sharing their successes and failures, personal stories and thoughts on mentors and inspiration. This up-close-and personal format is precisely what differentiates this annual event and underlies its popularity.  But this year the focus was on the non-profit world. And therein lay the difference.

There was still a panel of participants, but drawn this year from a wide variety of non-profits from health care to children, education to historic preservation, funding to direct service.  It included Margo Casey, Executive Director, North Shore United Way; Tiziana Dearing, CEO Boston Rising; Annie Harris, Executive Director, Essex National Heritage Commission; Lynn Margherio, Founder and CEO, Cradles to Crayons; and Dr. Patricia Maguire Meservey, President, Salem State University.

It was still sponsored by Beverly Cooperative Bank, which has supported the symposium every year since its founding.  And there was still an atmosphere of warmth and congeniality in the Hawthorne Hotel ballroom, with the nearly 170 attendees taking full advantage of the opportunity to network with one another as well as ask questions directly of the panelists.

But questions regarding challenges, successes, mentors and inspiration elicited responses that brought out differences between for-profit and non-profit leaders. While most had found their route to the top somewhat accidentally, all spoke to recognizing and seizing moments of opportunity, stepping outside one's comfort zone and taking risks.  While mentors ranged from mothers and teachers to bosses and peers, panelists also found inspiration and lessons to be learned from the people they serve, often young, often dealing with poverty and other serious issues.

While nonprofit leaders need (and have) many of the same business skills as their for-profit counterparts, they frequently face the additional challenge of having those skills discounted. Too often, they're called "women leaders," not CEOs, when the challenges facing them are the same if not greater than those of the business world.  Enterprise Center CEO, Christine Sullivan agrees.  "We offer programs focused on specific non-profit needs, but more than that, we believe all of our workshops and programming are equally valuable to non-profit and for-profit managers."

Where there was a visible difference was in how this year's panel defined success—not in mega deals or profit margins, but in seeing others become engaged and transformed, in seeing their cause move beyond their organization to the broader community at large.  The overall messages of the panelists to their audience?  Be flexible.  Be willing to change.  Be willing to share.  It's important to engage people, even with bad news, if you want to tap all the possibilities, and it's important to find new ways of collaborating in order to be more effective and use resources more efficiently.

The biggest difference emerged when an impassioned Tiziana Dearing, whose organization invests in innovative strategies for breaking the poverty cycle, touched a nerve of frustration clearly felt by the audience of nearly 170.  "It's time to talk truth to power. The money is in voluntary pockets, yet these are public problems. We cannot cut funding, demand that non-profits be more efficient and put every dime into programs, and then backhand them for not innovating. Innovation takes some investment. Our organizations have stepped up to the plate, and it's time for philanthropy and others to do so, too."

Overall, it was a passion for what they do, a belief in the need for and power of partnerships and collaboration that distinguished the Seventh Annual Million Dollar Women Symposium.  "This is always an inspiring event and today more than ever," said Enterprise Center COO Laura Swanson.  "Whether we operate in the for-profit or non-profit world, these are problems that will take talents and will of all of us to solve. Many women spend time in the non-profit world at one time or another.  Today showed us that it can indeed be challenging, but also incredibly rewarding work."

The Enterprise Center at Salem State University arms business owners and leaders at every stage of development, with the knowledge and skills to grow and succeed.  The Enterprise Center is located at 121 Loring Avenue, Salem, MA  01970.  Phone 978-542-7528. www.enterprisectr.org.

SOURCE Enterprise Center at Salem State University