Furniture Bank of Central Ohio (FBCO) seeks a courageous and dynamic leader to serve as its next President & CEO to collaborate and bring an entrepreneurial skillset to a fast-growing social service organization in Central Ohio. To
Furniture Bank of Central Ohio – Organizational Overview
Since 1998, the FBCO has help to reduce the impact of poverty by providing furniture to Central Ohio families and individuals struggling with severe life challenges. As a member of the Furniture Bank Association of North America, FBCO is one of the largest furniture banks in the United States and has earned numerous awards for their innovative programming. In their 20+ years of operation, they have served more than 70,000 families – totaling more 200,000 individuals.
FBCO’s Board of Directors is comprised of industry leaders with a passion for the Furniture Bank’s mission. The organization’s current annual revenue is over $4M with over $3M in total assets and employs more than 50 full-time and part-time staff members.
The Position
Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President & CEO provides leadership both inside and outside the organization, continually increasing the organization’s mission impact.
Leadership Near-Term Priorities
The President & CEO will ensure that FBCO fulfills its mission, lives its values, and implements a strategic plan for success. This position requires strong relational and collaborating skills, and the ability to effectively engage the Board, staff, partner nonprofit organizations, donors, clients, and advocates. Toward these ends, the organization’s near-term priorities include:
- Thorough understanding of FBCO – its history; mission; values; priorities; commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; finances; fundraising structure; and challenges.
- Maintaining relationships and building trust with all FBCO stakeholders including board, staff, partner organizations, donors, and clients.
- Establishing him or herself as the face and voice of FBCO and building upon established relationships and current networks while identifying and establishing new ones.
- Ensuring staff experience, talent, and focus are reflected in responsibilities and work priorities.
- Ensuring both mission fulfillment and organizational health.
- Building a tactical strategy to sustain and elevate social enterprise growth.
Key Responsibilities
The President & CEO will provide in-person leadership to FBCO and manage its day-to-day affairs. Primary responsibilities include:
Leadership
- Setting strategic direction in conjunction with the Board of Directors
- Collaborating strongly with the board, leaders, and staff to align funding goals with FBCO’s mission
- Elevating and diversifying FBCO’s strong social enterprise initiatives
- Developing maintaining, and supporting a strong and inclusive Board of Directors that is representative of the region and that is highly engaged and willing to leverage relationships and secure financial resources
- Cultivating a sustainable organizational culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Serving as the organization’s chief spokesperson and champion within the community
- Serving as a key liaison to staff providing leadership, management, and evaluative support in program and service delivery to enhance the program’s reach and impact
- Managing, networking, training, directing, and motivating all staff and volunteers
Funding/Financial
- Working with the organization’s Board leadership and Finance Department to ensure fiscal responsibility, sustainable revenue streams, asset building, financial controls, reporting systems, and compliance measures
- Expanding philanthropic support for FBCO
- Working with the Development Office, developing, implementing, and diversifying FBCO’s philanthropic portfolio and development programs
- Participating with the Development offices in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and securing funding opportunities through grants, contracts, fees for service, donor campaigns, and special events
- Stewarding new donors and enhancing relationships with current and prospective individuals, foundation representatives, corporations, and businesses
- Seeking opportunities to establish and foster an entrepreneurial, social enterprise / revenue generating program
Relations
- Guiding collaborations and partnerships with other nonprofit leaders in social services, philanthropy, business, faith, and civic sectors to advance FBCO’s goals and mission
- Staying abreast of current and potential legislation by attending sessions and keeping in contact with applicable local and state agencies and organizations in the field of social service
- Lobbying and advocating on issues related to organization’s mission and core services
- Establishing and maintaining relationships with other organizations as it relates to FBCO’s strategic goals. May include representing the organization on various Boards, task forces, councils, and committees as deemed necessary
- Overseeing the marketing, branding and promotion of FBCO, including handling media relations and acting as the primary spokesperson by representing the agency to the press, government officials, and entities, during community projects and at public, social, and business gatherings
- Managing relationships with vendors, ensuring that quality deliverables are provided as contracted
- Developing nurturing relationships and leveraging connections with local, state and national elected and appointed officials to influence policy decisions related to FBCO’s goals and mission
Experiences and Attributes
- The President & CEO must embrace and be passionate about the mission of FBCO. The chosen candidate must be a courageous advocate for the social service sector. The candidate must bring a variety of experiences and attributes to the organization, including:
- Knowledge of and leadership experience working in the social service sector, and the proven ability to help formulate imaginative strategies for achieving mission fulfillment
- Willingness to provide strategic leadership and outline a vision that translates into measurable actions and results; ability to push incremental change with broader long-term goals in sight
- Experience leading a team of direct reports (or leaders) responsible for organizational performance, growth and outcomes
- Awareness that integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into the organization’s vision, mission, values, strategic plan, and practices impacts recruitment, alignment, and performance
- Authentic leadership with the ability to build trust among a wide range of constituents
- Nonpartisan with the ability to network with decision-makers of all political backgrounds
- Proven success building strategic and long-term partnerships with like-minded nonprofit leaders and organizations
- Experience with annual organizational budgeting and financial oversight
- Proven results in raising funds from local and national foundations and major donors
- Ability to lead, manage, appreciate, and work collaboratively with a high performing staff
- Experience with overseeing and completing a successful major gifts program or capital campaign
- Proven ability to cultivate, close, and steward a portfolio of donors’ giving at five, six, and seven figure levels
- Proven expertise in tactical planning, service delivery, program management and evaluation, relationship and coalition building, and revenue growth
- Exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to serve as the organization’s spokesperson and persuade a variety of key audiences
- At least 5 years of leadership experience, specifically in nonprofit leadership roles or business
- Experience in the social service field is a plus but not required
- Salary is commensurate with experience and negotiable
The FBCO offers a competitive salary and benefits. Great benefits include: health insurance, generous PTO days, cell-phone reimbursement, life insurance, paid holidays, matching 401k, and more. The President & CEO will be eligible for increases yearly based on performance. Compensation will be commensurate with experience.
Application Process
The Board of Directors of FBCO have retained Cramer & Associates, a nationally recognized philanthropic consulting firm, to conduct a national search for its next President & CEO.
To apply for the President & CEO position, email a resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to: FBCOJob@cramerfundraising.com.
Or send to:
18 South High Street
Dublin, Ohio 43017
Attn: FBCO Job Search
All applications will be reviewed as they are received and all applications are considered highly confidential. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
For more information about the FBCO, please visit their website at furniturebankcoh.org.
Furniture Bank of Central Ohio is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Furniture Bank of Central Ohio will base all employment decisions on valid job qualifications, without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, disability, marital status, religion, obligation to serve in the United States Armed forces, veteran status, or on any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.
ABOUT THE FURNITURE BANK OF CENTRAL OHIO
At the FBCO, we recognize the power of a family sharing a meal around the dinner table, reading a favorite book on the family sofa and getting a good night’s sleep on a comfortable bed. The reality, however, is that every night, thousands of kids in Central Ohio sleep on a hard floor or a shared couch and must wake up and get ready for school without the help of a good night’s sleep. On average, 50 families per day receive an eviction notice in Central Ohio, which results in many families losing all their possessions because they have no place to go. This number of evictions is expected to escalate over the course of 2021 and 2022 with recent pandemic leniencies being eliminated.
The need for a stable living environment in the Central Ohio region is reaching epidemic proportions. FBCO greatly reduces these challenges for families struggling with poverty and other severe life crises by providing essential furniture and other household items to help turn their empty houses into homes of hope.
Our Program & Social Enterprises – How We Impact the Most Vulnerable
Utilizing a complex logistics system, inclusive of our own fleet of vehicles, FBCO collects donations of gently used furniture, appliances, and household items from nearly 8,000 donors throughout Central Ohio and gives them to families desperately trying to improve their lives. These items help families meet a basic human need for shelter, which when met, helps them begin to advance their lives.
By partnering with over 50 nonprofits, social service agencies, and faith-based organizations that refer families needing furniture to fill their empty houses, FBCO helps more than 3,500 families annually to:
- Keep their children from being taken away from their parents because they didn’t own a bed
- Enable families to emerge from homelessness
- Support families trying to leave an abusive relationship
- Respond immediately to victims of fires and other disasters
- Give hope to relocated and immigrant families seeking freedom
Social Enterprises
Prompted by a change in the philanthropic priorities of a major benefactor 5 years ago, FBCO has embraced social enterprise as a viable means to diversify our funding base. To move from reliance on a single corporate donor that provided significant philanthropic revenue to a model that provides sustainable growth through marketplace earned income, we launched 3 key social enterprises to meet the needs of Central Ohio families impacted by poverty.
Furniture With A Heart
Launched in 2016, the first Furniture With A Heart thrift store in Columbus, Ohio laid the groundwork for a successful venture into the social enterprise arena. Surplus revenue realized from sales at the thrift store were invested right back into the mission of the Furniture Bank. Our thrift store carries a variety of quality, clean merchandise donated from the community, ranging from furniture to household items.
Launched on June 30, 2020, a second Furniture With A Heart store was developed as a combination furniture bank and thrift store branch in an outlying, underserved east-central Ohio community in Lancaster, Ohio. This self-sustaining, innovative model provides quality furniture to Lancaster area families in search of affordable furniture options and generates revenue to support the Furniture Bank mission under one roof with a shared staff. It also serves as the secondary location for our Furniture for Families program through the attached furniture bank, providing furniture assistance to up to 8 families a week. During the first 6 months of operation alone, sales totaled $475,000, exceeding expectations by $175,000.
Downsize With A Heart
Launched in 2017, this social enterprise helps local individuals and their families with the downsizing process while generating revenue and furniture for the Furniture Bank’s mission. The service provides a unique and personalized approach for each customer looking to downsize or de-clutter, and ultimately removes their accumulated belongings and donations as part of a clean out service. The Furniture Bank works with local referral sources, such as realtors, home stagers, assisted living facilities, insurance agents, retirement communities, financial planners, and others, to build a stable referral network.
ABOUT COLUMBUS & CENTRAL OHIO
Central Ohio is anchored by the city of Columbus, the state capital and 15th largest city in the United States and proud home to The Ohio State University. With a population of over 2 million and growing, Central Ohio continues to become a city that embraces and encourages diversity and inclusion. The youngest sibling of Ohio’s major cities, known as the Three C’s (Cleveland and Cincinnati), Columbus has an appropriately young, vibrant feel. Central Ohio is a cultural hub, a cerebral place where art, numerous universities and the outdoors inspire ingenuity. Throughout Central Ohio you will also find many suburbs and surrounding villages and towns with a unique feel and an authentic vibe all their own.
Central Ohio is a web of diverse suburbs, neighborhoods, cities, and towns built on bold ideas and fueled by relentless optimism. As a community, we tend to dream big and let nothing stop us from turning today’s dreams into better tomorrows.