Episode 46: Alan Spector

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A transcript, lightly edited for clarity and length, follows.

Show Guests: Alan Spector, An advisor to non-profit and mission-driven organizations

Voices of the Community Introduction: Welcome to voices of the community which explores critical issues facing Northern California communities. We introduce you to the voices of community thought leaders and change makers who are working on solutions that face our fellow individual community members neighborhoods cities and our region. This is George Koster your host. 

Series Introduction: This episode is part of our series exploring COVID-19’s impact on nonprofits and small businesses in San Francisco. Back in April 2020 when we decided to create this ongoing series on Covid-19’s impact first on nonprofits and then on small businesses in the San Francisco Bay. We like you had no idea how long the pandemic would go on and what the health and economic impact would be on our community. Going into 2021 the pandemic is now killing more people, shutting down more nonprofits and small businesses, along with wiping out the lively hoods of families, neighborhoods and communities.

We will continue to shine a spotlight on the nonprofits, and small businesses that make up the fabric of our community along with the founders and staff who are struggling to deal with the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on their operations, services and sustainability until we can all get to the other side of the pandemic. Along the way, we will also share with you all the amazing solutions that our nonprofits, small businesses, foundations, and government leaders are working on to help us all get to the other side of the pandemic and come together to rebuild our communities with more economic, social and environmental equality

Show Guest Alan: I think in the relief game, meaning the PPP game and EIDL and anything else that you're going to pursue , um, you've got to read everything, and be super prepared. I give this advice to not only my nonprofit, but my for-profit small business clients that you've got to go at that thing with exacting, accounting. And you've got to really, hit that , um, because you don't want to get hung up , in the machinery , um, where there's open questions and things. So you've really got to dig in on that. So be very, very well-prepared. And do a little in order amount of reading to really understand what these programs, really are intended to do, because you can see why it is they're after certain information and how good it needs to be.

Episode Intro - Show Host George: This is advisor to non-profit and mission-driven organizations Al Spector. Given the financial struggles of both our nonprofits and small business organizations we wanted to feature Al and ask him to share both his expertise and best practices to hopefully help folks through the process of securing funding through the various funding opportunities.

Show Host George: I'm joined remotely via zoom by Al Spector an advisor to non-profits and mission-driven organizations. Thank you for being here Al

Show Guest Al: Pleasure, George. Nice to be with you today

George: The reason I wanted to have you on the show is because of your expertise in doing something that's very hard to do, I think for a lot of nonprofits and, small businesses, especially now with CARES Act Two is to try to figure out the system, how to apply and secure financing. So, could you please provide a little background to the audience on you're creating a nonprofit, but also working with nonprofits and small businesses?

Al Spector: Sure, I'd be happy to, and I won't go on too long about where I've been, but I think some of it, might be interesting to the audience. I did a couple of decades of working in fairly large companies. And, I had some corporate posts, kind of classic as in-house counsel for a big distribution American company. I was responsible, to manage some international logistics. I've been in business development in the Silicon Valley for a tech company.

So, my background started as a corporate manager.  But, about 2005 I decided to step off the grid, leave corporate life for a while and start a small business, a sailing school here in Marine County. And that was my version of off the grid was to start a sailing school.

Things were going quite well about 18 months after establishing the business an important, thing happened to me a, an old friend of mine brought me some blind students to learn to sail. And that was a, uh, let's call it a transformative day a very impactful day, to me and, teaching a couple of blind people to, to sail for the first time, is a day I'll never forget.

Well, anyway, we decided that we'd teach a couple more and then a couple more. And then what it really developed into was a program to teach blind and vision impaired people to sail. We pivoted the for-profit company to a support, a nonprofit, effort to open access to blind vision impaired people to sail and race sailing boats in San Francisco Bay.

 Just a tiny, bigger piece of that and we'll move on. At one point we were in the U S blind sailing national championships in 2008, the world blind sailing champions in 2009. While I was at the helm, 11 years of the organization, I think seven us blind sailing, national championships, a couple of world championships.

We started to go up into Canada at their invitation and we would actually come home with the trophy for the Canadian invitational, blind sailing Regatta. It was quite a thing. It happened somewhat accidentally.  Not those wins. We were helped with some very generous yachtsman that became our racing coaches.

So, there's a background for how it is I entered the non-profit world was somewhat, accidentally by having a sailing school, being presented with a proposition to have access to an underserved population.  It was you know, fairly easy thing to do. It started with fiscal sponsor. And next thing I know we’re rolling and didn't look up for 11 years.  So that's the background for it along the way.  I continue to consult for profit businesses, but also increasingly nonprofits and folks that were interested in my model. I had created a little hybrid and there were folks in the other sailing schools in the country. And then myriad small nonprofits that wanted some guidance from me as a business consultant.

George: Great. And so then, as you've been working with both nonprofits and small businesses especially over this last 10 months of COVID hitting, what are some of the things that you are seeing out there in working with a variety of different clients that, COVID-19 is really impacting?

Al Spector: Well, you know, some of it is devastating obviously, the complete, suspension of, some fantastic programs serving underserved folks. But there's also some let's call it, I don't know, silver lining, but there's, some good in it. And what I think is good in it, we'll get to that in a bit, but he nonprofits that I have as clients, and I'm on the board of a couple, and I can speak, I've actually talked to a handful of my clients today in nonprofits where I'm on the board, they were comfortable with my, you know telling some things about them.

The ones, that did the best were innovative, and we're able to adapt to the situation. They protected their mission. They adjusted their programming. They put in an extra, effort for some fundraising, you know, really, really worked hard, protected the staffs best they could.

So, it was a big wall up, and for a few months there, when everything came to a halt, that was a tough time.  I'm fortunate to have witnessed some non-profits doing a miraculous job, of a rising to the occasion.

George: So much of the non-profit and small business sectors just been decimated because, everything completely got shut down and several restaurants that have been on the show just talked about, their last straw was all outside dining was killed, for example. So in working with the nonprofits and small businesses, how have you been helping them with regards to trying to figure out the labyrinths, if you will, of securing funding from the federal government?

Al Spector: Sure. Well, I didn't say in my introduction I do a lot of support for fairly small nonprofits, under a couple of million dollars in annual budgets through a client of mine where I actually have taken a post inside of his company to help him the best way I could, it's called mission met. And it's a strategic planning solution, for small nonprofits And I actually refer to a, typically a strategic action planning for a very intended purpose. So, I do a lot from a strategic planner’s perspective. And so we start there, we don't belabor it, we're going to just, you know, think strategically. And so, some of my support has been to provide strategic action planning, just in response to COVID 19 and to the pandemic and how to survive it. Bring the timeframe for this strategic planning down to, you know, 60 days, 90 days and let's figure out what to do. But it causes some non-profits and I do this for some for-profits as well as, small businesses, they’re thinking strategically in a new way. And some of it's absolutely critical to survive. So, it starts with a framework of a little strategic planning.

But it quickly gets to the finances, which are, you know, the lifeline. And so, it’s in addition to some fundraising discussions, but it's also okay, where where's the relief? What can we do?  I'm an advisor to the SBAs network of advisories called SBDCs.

 I've been doing that for a few years. And therein lies a lot of support for small businesses that are facing the EIDL program, the PPP program, the California Relief Grant program, and others in the local programs, you know, in Marin County, some of the municipalities. So, I happen to be sitting in a spot where there was a lot of, relief programs to guide folks and the nonprofits being giving access to some of those for the very first time. So, part of this strategic thinking is okay. Here's some relief we can get how much of the staff can you support this way? How much fundraising do we need to do and so therein lies a integrated financial strategy along with the programming and how we're going to survive this?

And it's trying to keep your timeframes as tight as you can but envision where we're headed. So that’s how this kind of all happen and the volume is pretty high. The beauty of it, if you got to look for where there's beauty in this, whole thing is that the non-profits are, you know, kind of coming out into the sun in this, in a way where there's a real, appreciation in the press, you see the nonprofits, you know, stories in the press. But also the access to the SBA backed loans for the first time and increasingly, and now in the second round, even more so with the chambers of commerce and the associations, you know, and the 501C-6s. So. they're in, I think lies where some of this real good is, is that there's a recognition for the nonprofit community, and it's big considerable piece of the economy, and in the aggregate huge employers. So, I think there's some good in there. 

George:  What would you say are some of the common, issues that small businesses and nonprofits are facing with regards to trying to figure out how to secure or the ability to successfully secure, any of the forms of funding, whether it's, County, City, State, or Federal?

Al Spector: That's a great question. Here’s, a few things about that. Number one non-profits, not used to borrowing they don't like it, you know, I think the way the body politic works.  So, there is a bit of an obstacle, cultural sort of you knows, to, to overcome.

 When we first faced the rush at the EIDL loans, those emergency injury loans. That was quite a time as the nonprofits given access to those, they were first the grants, and then it was a, you know, a long-term borrowing. So that's where I encountered some of my nonprofits had to get over that hurdle, but they knew that this PPP program, which is a forgivable loan and more of a grant, if you play by the rules, they're way more interested in that, but they still had to borrow.  They had to navigate through some administrative things.

So my support was to coach strategically about being borrowers and , you know, the advantages of it and also kind of the cautions of it, but also we faced in the applications in particular for the EIDL loans, and for the PPP loans, as well as for the California Relief Grant, the application wasn't built for nonprofits, it was built for for-profits and there were some questions on there that just didn't, you know, they were not neological for nonprofits and, , percentage of ownerships and things like that.

So that was the early days of it was how to get nonprofits through that. There were some questions about it.  But you know, not all that much different once you got over some of those hurdles and some of the financial analysis of it and how to calculate your PPP loan and things like that.

And the processes, pretty much the same of as small business. I think that some of the, challenges, for the nonprofits, other than, you know, navigating it, getting through it. But it's to think strategically and to re-imagine themselves or envision what it's going to be like at the other end of it.

I'm on the board of a small nonprofit in the East Bay called B O R P. It's the Bay area Outreach Recreation Program. It's uh, 45-year-old organization that provides access to sports and recreation facilities for physically disabled fantastic little organization small but mighty. I'm on the finance committee. So, I'm a pretty active board member there. And we crafted a strategy to maximize what we could get in EIDL, to maximize what we can get in, PPP. And it was great because we were able to retain the staff, we were able to work hard at reshaping the programming, some of the programming came to a screeching halt, wheelchair basketball, and sled hockey and team sports, that were impossible. Shifted the attention to the cycling center.  It's one of the largest adaptive cycling centers in the world. It’s in Berkeley expanded its hours, you know, used it as a, principal vehicle.

And one of my favorite things is that the online exercise programming for physically disabled virtually exploded. We had just begun to start some of that, programming, but it made it a necessity and now it blossomed beautifully.

 We had the, annual fundraiser virtually. It's a, typically a ride up in the wine country for a couple of hundred riders. Half of whom are in adaptive cycles. We had to do the whole thing virtually, raised more money than ever it was a record. And so, the technology was there the creativity was there and that’s one of my favorite stories is the, board reaction to the pandemic and standing stronger, as we roll through it,

George: Thank you. That was a great example and a great story.  Al you’ve been at this for a while, coming on 10 months now of working with, the nonprofit and small business sector, do you have some suggested best practices? So, for a nonprofit leader or small business owner who might be listening or watching this show, what are some of the best practices that you have identified to work your way through the system, but also back to your strategic planning ideas, things that people should be strategically setting themselves up for? Because you know, this is not coming to an end anytime soon

Al Spector: A few things stay strong have a vision for where you’re going, the mission is something, you know, I think we can all identify with, but it's that vision  that's really the difficult thing  and it's challenging in the environment that we're in so  it's maintained that. One of my clients is a nonprofit called the City Surf Project, takes some inner city kids for surfing lessons for the first time they've, been to the beach, lots of them, the enthusiasm, the creativity be bold about where we're headed and comes through, in there, Friday afternoon gatherings virtually and so that enthusiasm, and a vision of where you're going it is important.

I think in the relief game, meaning the PPP game and EIDL and anything else that you're going to pursue you've got to read everything, and be super prepared. I give this advice to not only my nonprofit, but my for-profit small business clients that you've got to go at that thing with exacting, accounting. And you've got to really, hit that because you don't want to get hung up, in the machinery where there's open questions and things. So, you've really got to dig in on that. So be very, very well-prepared. And do a little in order amount of reading to really understand what these programs, really are intended to do, because you can see why it is, they're after certain information and how good it needs to be. So, I see that one. And I think hold steady, you know, I think that’s always a good piece of advice is hold, don't be hasty, hold steady. And, you know, stay steady through the storm.

George: Thank you. That was great advice. So final question, out of the pandemic and, our economic meltdown, what are some of the good things that you could see coming out of this for the clients that you work with, the small businesses, the nonprofits?

Al Spector: A few things some non-profits that I've had the pleasure and honor, of guiding along they've reached for their strength. Rather than try to be all things too broad of programming, too many things they've reached for the strengths in their strengths were tapped for them.  A group in Southern California that's concerned with early childhood development, exploded as a diaper bank. And they were like, well, what about this? And what about that? You know, and we just go with this diaper bank, sit tight, and there fantastic at it. And also, the community came to them who knew them. So, it was a perfect fit. So I think, it forces nonprofits to really see where their real sweet spot is and where they deliver you know, the most value.  I think that's a good thing.

Some of the skillset, the financial awareness and the accounting awareness and something that none of us really yeah there's plenty of people that really love it. But you know, that's just the necessary stuff of running small businesses and nonprofits. But you can see how critical that is about financial planning and how all the accounting works and all that. So, I think that there's some capacity building in financial management of nonprofits that I think is going to come out of this, you know, nicely.

And then I think, in a general sense, I referred to it earlier that nonprofits clearly, given some of their due, there's a long way to go, but, it's a recognized piece of the employers and of the economy and getting through here, I can't see the non-profits being left behind again in something like an SBA back relief programs, no way. And so here it is cemented. There was I think appreciable success in getting some of the money to the nonprofits. Didn't get quite to the smallest, like it should have you know, this next round or this what's now currently just launched round. I'm hoping that some of what the programs architecture has done, is really going to result with these smalls, getting it. And so that's my hope. And certainly, there's more awareness of nonprofits and how important they are to us. It's out there.

George: Thank you Al. That was really great insights. I want to, thank you for coming on the show today and all of the work you do with nonprofits and small businesses to help them not only secure funding, but work on their strategic plan. Everyone's favorite is a plan idea that takes a lot of time, and then you always keep postponing that you’ll get to that strategic plan.

It sounds like now it's the time to get to one's strategic plan. So, we're going to make sure that everybody who's watching and listening to this has your contact information. And for people who want to find out more information about you and your wonderful background, they can find you on LinkedIn and we'll make sure that's on the episode landing page as well. And just want to thank you for all that you do, and please stay safe out there.

Al Spector: Thanks, George. I appreciate you having me on the show.

Episode Outro - Show Host George: That’s it for this episode of voices of the community. You have been listening to the voice of Al Spector, an advisor to non-profit and mission-driven organizations. To find out more about all of the services Al offers to both nonprofits and small businesses please go to linked in dot com / alan j spector        

Series Outro: We hope that you enjoy the insights, points of view, and personal stories from the voices of change-makers and their nonprofits and small businesses featured in this series. To find out more and get engaged with the nonprofits, small businesses and staff members, featured in this series please go to my web site george koster dot com and click on Voices of the Community to find links to the extended versions of these interviews and to listen to the entire series. After listening to these stories we hope that you will consider making a donation and volunteering to provide a hand up to your fellow community members.

Series Credits: I want to thank my associate producer Eric Estrada, and Kasey Nance at Citron Studios, along with the wonderful crew at the San Francisco Public Press and KSFP.

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