Recent adverse personnel actions against top officials at Howard Brown Health Center ( HBHC ) have again raised the specter of "scandal" at the community institution. The agency confirmed that CEO Michael Cook had resigned and CFO Mark Joslyn was terminated, but declined to give reasons for the actions. Dr. David Ostrow, a co-founder of HBHC, reportedly speculated that the departures relate to the "emergency transfer" of grant funds from the agency to Northwestern University. The funds involved pay for administration of a longitudinal study of HIV transmission called the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study ( MACS ) , of which Dr. Ostrow is a principal investigator. Prominent community members are quoted as calling for "answers," with Rick Garcia asserting "the community has a right to know what is going on."
While our curiosity is certainly sparked by these happenings, we will not have answers to all our questions. For example, HBHC would be putting itself at great risk if it shared detail about adverse personnel actions. These are private data, and the individuals involved could rightly seek redress if the information is publicly shared. If criminal wrongdoing is involved, it will eventually be public; otherwise we may never know some details. Nor can Howard Brown be expected to reveal information that threatens the organization. It is an institution and survival is a primary motivation. Indeed few in the community would want its important services to go away.
So, what should we ask Howard Brown leadership in coming weeks and months? The agency's IRS Form 990 ( the tax return required to be filed by most non-profits ) suggests some important questions ( data are from fiscal 2008, the latest available ) :
What is being done to increase the portion of organizational funds spent on program services, vs. administration and fundraising? Howard Brown's administrative and fundraising costs are nearly 35% of its total spending. Most charity rating agencies suggest this figure should be well under 30%, and the best keep it below 25%.
What is being done to being done to improve the efficiency of fundraising? Fundraising costs of $3.3 million to raise $4.7 million means that around 70 cents of every contributed dollar is spent on fundraising. The most efficient organizations keep this cost well below 35 cents.
Other questions might include:
Given that the agency's working capital is very limited ( about one month's worth of expenses ) , what will be done to manage expenses after the loss of the MACS funds?
If senior staff took actions contrary to the organization's interests or policy, what will be done to improve internal controls and Board oversight of the CEO?
If malfeasance or worse has occurred in the present instance, how will Howard Brown improve the selection process for its executive leadership?
These are all questions appropriate to ask Howard Brown's board of directors, which is ultimately responsible for the agency's fiscal and organizational health. Getting these answers is much more important than satisfying our curiosity about the gory details of the current brouhaha.
Morris Floyd has recently retired from a career as a senior manager and consultant in health care and social services. From fall 2001 to spring 2004 he was project director for Center on Halsted. He was executive director of Lesbian and Gay Community Services in Minneapolis and was a founder of the Minnesota AIDS Project in the 1980s. He has served on the boards of directors for Heartland Alliance Health Care, the Reconciling Ministries Network, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and United Way of Minneapolis. Morris volunteers at the National Runaway Switchboard.