In her first full year as CEO of HARC, a Hartford nonprofit that provides services to more than 1,800 intellectually disabled people statewide, Andrea Barton Reeves focused on improving the organization’s fiscal accountability, trimming expenses without cutting back on the quality or quantity of services, and expanding revenue sources.
Her task, which also included filling the shoes of longtime CEO Dr. Stephen Becker, who retired in late 2013, wasn’t easy. With stagnant or declining state revenues making up 90 percent of the nonprofit’s budget, HARC has faced deficits in recent years.
To ease the red ink, Reeves said she established stronger fiscal accountability within the organization, making all employees, not just management, responsible for the budget.
“Everyone is asking themselves ‘Am I making the highest and best use of resources,’” Reeves said. “Expenses will be down, we’ll be borrowing less money, and we’re more careful about how we use outside consultants and services.”
Reeves said she wasn’t sure if HARC would post a positive margin this year, but the nonprofit will at least trim its prior year $200,000 deficit. HARC’s approximately $17 million budget funds various programs and services including group homes, employer matchmaking, and behavioral health and early intervention services.
In 2014, HARC also stepped up its client advocacy efforts, Reeves said. Typically, HARC was reactive when pushing for new laws and regulations that favor people with intellectual disabilities, but in 2014 the nonprofit established its own legislative agenda. Among their asks to state lawmakers: expanding tax credits for employers who hire people with intellectual disabilities; widening access to physical fitness programs; and reducing the amount of paperwork families and caregivers encounter.
To help diversify revenues, the nonprofit created the HARC Foundation, which Reeves said will be crucial to raising more money from outside donors. High net-worth individuals, Reeves said, prefer giving money to foundations because of the tax incentives and increased scrutiny on how their money is being used.
“This is essential to our future because we need a way to compensate for dramatic funding cuts from the state,” Reeves said.
HARC also established a community partners program to strengthen ties with employers. It included year-long partnerships with Hartford law firm McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, Blum Shapiro and Fiduciary Investment Advisors. HARC also hired a job developer tasked with finding employment opportunities for clients.
“The year went very well,” Reeves said. “We’ve got a number of initiatives going on.”
