By Mackenzie Kelley, Executive Director, NARST
Every year, the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Leadership Team travels to MHQ’s Minneapolis headquarters to spend a full day working on their upcoming year’s financial strategy and budget. And it works!
This September, the MHQ team hosted NARST’s Leadership team for the fourth year in a row. In my two-plus years as NARST’s Executive Director, I’ve worked alongside the NARST leaders to develop this process into what is now one of the most intentional, efficient parts of our year. It shows the strength of NARST’s Board of Directors. These volunteer leaders sit side by side with staff and take on the hard work of building a break-even budget – based on the organization’s mission and goals – that keeps their association thriving.
Here are four principles that support how they make it work.
1. We do the heavy lifting well in advance of the session.
Well in advance of the session, our MHQ team reviews and revises the project management plan for the work, sharing the process overview with the Board.
We gather reports and develop estimates for the organization’s key income and expense areas. Our Controller updates the budget template with Year-to-Date actuals. Then the Treasurer and I partner to enter initial numbers to create a starting draft. Leaders arrive with a real working document in place, ready for their strategic input and decisions.
2. We invite funding requests early.
Six weeks before the session, we request that NARST’s committees and Research Interest Groups (RIGs) submit requests for new activities and initiatives. At the meeting, the Leadership Team reviews every request and builds approved ideas into the budget. Members see their priorities weighed with care, and leaders are able to make decisions based on a full picture.
3. We make room for hard conversations.
A break-even budget requires tradeoffs. One room and one full day give leaders the time and trust to weigh priorities honestly. Some of NARST’s most impactful discussions happen around that table.
4. We partner year-round.
Over the next six weeks, NARST’s Treasurer and I refine the final adjustments together. The budget then goes to the full board for further discussion and approval at their in-person Fall Board Meeting. Every board leader has a voice before the vote.
“This year’s NARST financial planning session was very effective,” said NARST President Maria Varelas, [Professor and Chair at the University of Illinois Chicago. “The NARST Leadership Team needs to remain focused on strategy and advancing the association’s multifaceted work in pursuit of its mission. Mackenzie, as NARST’s Executive Director, and the entire MHQ team supported us in numerous ways so we could attend to key priorities.”
This process delivers a strong budget, and it reflects a board that knows its priorities and a team that supports them. This clearly outlined, predictable process, allows the leaders to spend their time where it matters most: on driving forward the mission and vision of their association.
About MHQ
Driven by the vision of a thriving, vibrant community, MHQ is a woman-owned, world-class management company that delivers customized services. Founded in 2013, MHQ has provided association management services since its inception, as well as infrastructure to organizations in a range of industries. We serve professional and trade associations, as well as government and public sector entities. For more about MHQ, visit https://www.management-hq.com/.
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