Are You Ready for the Next Recession?

Nobody wants to hear the word recession, but there are signs that the economy is slowing down. Job growth, factory production, retail sales and company profits are all down. If you haven’t started thinking about the next recession, you need to start soon. Don’t wait until you are in a downturn:

What should you be looking at? Here are some suggestions:

Build a reserve, if you can. I realize that this won’t be possible if you are dependent on payments from the state of Illinois. There is no end in sight to the budget impasse. You are likely drawing down reserves.

Decide now which programs are most important, and which can be cut or even eliminated. This requires that the Board and staff set some priorities, which is much harder to do in a downturn.

Make sure your fundraiser(s) are the last people you let go. I have seen organizations cut fundraising first in a downturn, which never made sense to me. If you need to raise funds, don’t let go of the people who do it best.

Put the contingency plan in writing, so everybody is on the same page.

Make sure you stay in compliance with various rules and filing requirements.

If you have questions about how to plan, please give me a call.