How are We Doing?

Newly created task force to look at all aspects of Foundation to make sure it’s meeting its objectives and fulfilling its mission properly.

G. Kirk Gleason, D.D.S. Chair, New York State Dental Foundation

While many of you are probably thankful that spring is finally here, I, for one, was glad for at least one last day in April to hit the ski slopes before calling it quits on the season. The winter was tough on everybody. For me, it was particularly painful due to some broken ribs. As you read this, we’re enjoying longer, warmer days that renew our collective sense of hope and promise.

And hope and promise are precisely the words that I’d use to describe the Foundation Board’s most recent meeting at the end of February, during which I announced the establishment of a task force to do a follow-up evaluation of our recently adopted Strategic Plan. This task force, which will include advisors from Dental Philanthropy Network and the New York State Council for Nonprofits, will work throughout the next several months, and present its findings and recommendations to the full Foundation Board for consideration, debate and, ultimately, adoption at our November meeting.

You might question why if we just adopted a strategic plan are we revisiting it already. It’s a good question, but it has a good answer.

First, with a new NYSDA Executive Director (who will become the NYSDF Secretary) expected to be hired by the fall, it is a good time for these reviews. As with any relationship an association maintains with an affiliated entity, strict financial, management and operational separation must be maintained at all times. And the IRS and Board of Regents, among others, review such relationships to ensure that a foundation does not become a mere instrument of the sister/parent association.

The recommendations that the NYSDF Board will eventually vote on later this year will help ensure that trustees, staff and volunteers understand all aspects of the Foundation’s work.

Secondly, no matter how seasoned the members of a board may be, things happen. Let’s face it. These are busy people, and they wear many hats. Conducting a review such as the one I’ve proposed allows everybody to look with fresh eyes not just at all the things the Foundation does, but at how it does them. We are constantly looking at ways to streamline our expenses and work better, but are we as effective as we could be? Are there synergies or partnerships that we’re missing or that we should consider investing in? How can we better do our mission, which, after all, is to improve the oral health of all New Yorkers.

While the NYS Dental Foundation is free of membership organizational concerns, it would never be prudent for us to turn a blind eye to the concerns of the NYSDA membership. We need that membership, and we strive to support programs that make members doubly proud of their profession. That is a primary role of a professional foundation. It’s just common sense (and good stewardship) for the Foundation to perform regular reviews, while interacting with NYSDA in such a way as to strike that proverbial golden mean between biting the hand that feeds us and acquiescing to improper, imprudent or unrealistic demands.

So, while it’s going to be a lot of work, it’s necessary and, ultimately, helpful and meaningful, and I look forward to sharing our progress with you. And now, as always, I welcome your input, suggestions, questions and, yes, even critiques. You who are reading this help make everything happen. We can’t do it without you.

Another thing we can’t do without you is celebrate the contributions that have been made by scores of organizations in New York State, whose shared mission to improve the oral health of all New Yorkers has been aided by the generosity of the New York State Dental Foundation. We are doing this during the upcoming meeting of the NYSDA House of Delegates, at a brunch to be held Friday, June 10, from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

The theme for the brunch is “Champions for Change.” We will highlight the work being done every day, throughout the year, to benefit the overall health and well-being of our most vulnerable populations. Your Foundation is proud to have been able to play a part in helping to bring together programs, funders, stakeholders and advocates, all for the shared purpose of optimal oral health. Please join us. I hope to see you there. z