IFAW cutting down on grants in Asia?

[Guest guest]

This appears to have implications on IFAW's partner organisations in Asia since

they have apparently closed down four country offices.

 

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090129/BIZ/901290304/-\

1/NEWS

IFAW cuts 26 jobs on Cape

 

Members of IFAW and Sea World run tests on the stranded manatee from Sesuit

Harbor in East Dennis last October. IFAW announced yesterday that 26 workers

would be laid off at its Yarmouthport headquarters as part of a 10-percent

reduction in the nonprofit's workforce.

 

Cape Cod Times/Paul Blackmore

By Sarah Shemkus

sshemkus

January 29, 2009

 

YARMOUTHPORT — Citing financial difficulties brought on by the global economic

crisis, the nonprofit International Fund for Animal Welfare announced yesterday

that it has laid off 10 percent of its worldwide work force, including 26

employees at its Yarmouthport headquarters.

 

An additional nine workers were cut from other locations worldwide.

 

" It was a very difficult decision for us to make, " said Fred O'Regan, president

of the group, which is often referred to as IFAW. " We've always prided ourselves

on being a great place to work, so this has been tough on us. "

 

The layoffs — which cut across all departments and levels — will reduce the

staff on Cape Cod to approximately 140 employees, he said.

 

The move became necessary, O'Regan said, after previous cost-cutting measures

failed to trim enough from the budget.

 

" We cut back first on all kinds of operational budgets before we got to

personnel, " he said. " We felt that if we kept cutting budgets, we would really

be hurting the core capacity of our organization. "

 

The average salary of the laid-off workers was $80,000. The employees will be

offered what O'Regan called " some pretty generous severance packages. "

 

IFAW's budget for the coming year is around $83 million, with about a third

going to salaries. The organization operates in 16 countries, with offices on

every continent except Antarctica.

 

The organization's budget has recently been hit by several economic woes,

O'Regan said.

 

The number of donations IFAW has received has remained steady, he said, but

their size has been shrinking. The group's investments also have taken a hit in

the troubled stock market.

 

Furthermore, shifting currency exchange rates have taken their toll, he

explained. Many of the organization's donations are made in euros or British

pounds; these currencies have lately weakened against the dollar, making them,

effectively, of lower value.

 

Overall, IFAW is in strong financial shape, he said, but the layoffs were a

necessary strategic move.

 

" Our balance sheet is fine, our cash position is fine, " O'Regan said. " But if we

don't manage the situation, we don't want to end up with the situation managing

us. "

 

IFAW's situation is not unusual among nonprofit agencies struggling with falling

donations, government budget cuts and rising costs, said Lisa McNeill, vice

president of the Cape Cod Foundation.

 

" They're being hit pretty hard, " she said.

 

She has not heard about many staffing cuts among Cape Cod organizations, she

said, but knows that many are looking for ways to tighten their belts.

 

And, she said, " salaries are the highest cost of doing business — there's only

so much you can cut other costs. "

 

As nonprofits grapple with shrinking budgets, many are trying to figure out how

to survive the economic turmoil, said Suzanna Coffman, spokeswoman for

GuideStar, a database of information about not-for-profit organizations.

 

Her advice?

 

" You decide what your core activities are to accomplish your mission, and you

jettison everything else, " she said. " Sometimes it means you just cut programs,

and sometimes you cut staff. "

 

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090509/BIZ/905090312

 

Budget woes force IFAW restructuring

 

Facing substantial budget reductions, the International Fund for Animal Welfare

has announced it will undertake a " significant restructuring. "

By Sarah Shemkus

sshemkus

May 09, 2009

Facing substantial budget reductions, the Yarmouthport-based International Fund

for Animal Welfare has announced it will undertake a " significant

restructuring, " a plan likely to include further layoffs at the nonprofit

organization.

 

" At this time we do not anticipate that our finances will recover during the

coming year, " IFAW's executive team said in a statement yesterday.

 

The organization will carry out a three-year strategic restructuring plan

intended to help it adapt to its reduced budget. Some of the actions will begin

immediately, the statement said, while others will occur in the coming days and

weeks.

 

Messages left at IFAW headquarters asking for further details were not returned

yesterday.

 

The statement attributed the budget shortfalls to " financial and operational

circumstances. "

 

In January, IFAW president Fred O'Regan said smaller donations were coming in

and the troubled stock market had taken its toll on the organization's

investments.

 

A recent internal message from O'Regan to employees, obtained by the Cape Cod

Times, cited a need to cut the organization's operations budget from $53.6

million to $36.1 million. Net revenues for fiscal 2009, which ends on June 30,

are down by 32 percent from what was budgeted, the message says.

 

Throughout last fall, IFAW trimmed its operations budget without reducing staff.

In January, the organization laid off 10 percent of its worldwide work force,

including 26 employees at its Yarmouthport location.

 

Those cuts left a staff of approximately 140 working at the headquarters.

 

O'Regan's message notes these layoffs and continues, " We now need to find

additional structural ways to reduce expenses so that we operate in a way that

is proportionate to our substantially decreased budget. "

 

He also cites a goal of casting the organization " as a smaller, more flexible

and financially secure institution for the future. "

 

According to the executive team statement, the three-year plan will include

efforts to consolidate program and operational services, leverage program work

to generate revenue, rely more on partnerships with other organizations to

deliver program services, diversify sources of revenue and expand the revenue

base in the United States.

 

The number of employees these moves would affect has not yet been determined,

according to the statement.

 

Further details would not be available until after June 30, the statement said,

citing the need to comply with employment laws in the many parts of the world in

which it operates.

 

IFAW operates from offices in 17 countries, located on every continent except

Antarctica.