I have been working on submitting a grant proposal for funding this week. And I have heard it said by many and I mean many officers that the line that a proposal has to go through is way way too long. And as I look at the flowchart and talk to people one thing has become obvious which is the system is choking The Salvation Army.
To show you that Im not making all this up heres the steps I need to go through:
1) Get the right signatures and approval from my corps
2) Then it moves to the divisional board approval
3) Then to the Territorial Corps Program Secretary
4) Then the Territorial Programe planning council
5) Then the Territorial Finance Council
6) Then the information is forwarded to the division via the Corps programme department
And, that’s all pending on wether or not it gets approved at each stage!
Whats wrong with this?
1) It takes too long both time submitting resubmitting etc
2) It takes too long in the chain
3) It takes up a lot of Divisional and Territorial personnel time
4) It makes the statement that even though Divisional Commanders may have a budget of tens of millions of dollars they can not approve $2000 without permission!
5) It creates confusion and dissatisfaction leading to people not even wanting to put in a submission
6) It must make D.C’s and everyone else involved feel like they are not allowed to do the job they have been put in there for
7) Silly positions are made up to accommodate this ridiculous procedure
As a positive, I’ve heard of a Corps in India who was getting some funding for a 1000 seat hall but they thought that was too small so they made a 5000 seat hall instead and then told IHQ. They did some self funding, it worked, it was in line with their mission and IHQ didn’t get to hung up about it.
Then in the latest ONFIRE we read of Kenya, where growth is amazing, probably the fastest if not just the biggest in The Salvation Army, they hold property boards where the different corps tell THQ etc what they have done. The mission is aggressive and they need a structure where there aggressive expansion is allowed to happen. They are not asking for permission but for a bit of help. People are empowered and the mission is being done, souls are being saved and THQ isn’t getting in the way.
All this reminds me of Jesus and His servant leadership. We all know that the best leaders in the world have very similar qualities to Jesus. They empower people, encourage people, they serve people.
THQ and DHQ since they are our leaders should be there to support those on the front lines. Not lord it over us. That is bad practice resulting from the bad theology whether subconscious or conscious.
The General asks us, “Is sin in the camp?” Yes there is. What will the Army do? Are they doing anything at the moment? Let me know.
Lets give DC’s more power. Lets let them do their job. If a project is in line with the four mission directives then lets get on with it!
Join with me and pray for our leaders that they will see the problem and correct it before it gets any worse. Lets create a Territory that will empower its leaders and encourage aggressive growth.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Sin in the structure
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2 comments:
Hey James,
A year ago i probably would have agreed with you, but now, as one of those people who sit on "Board" meetings, i can see the benefit of having some checks and balances in place.
First, when people are applying for grants, they are asking for money that they dont already have (for various reasons), the Army has a responsibility to all of us who tithe and donate our hard earned cash to the cause to ensure that the money is spent responsibily. The money in the grants is in addition to what the corps has in income etc, it is not the corps' money or the corps officers money, the money is God's money and TSA is responsible for seeing it spent wisely. This is basic accountability stuff.
Second, much of the hold up is due to people not having filled out the correct form, or having filled out the form incorrectly, if people took the time to get it right in the first place things would be much smoother. Talk to DHQ they are more than willing ot help a good cause, at least they are where i am.
As for the time and personnel problems, part of a DHQ's job is to help corps, that is, to serve them, thats what i see my job as and i know that the feeling is the same for others in the office. But, we are held accountable for what we do, and so should everyone else, and im sure that would agree with me.
And if people find filling out an application form to hard, does that say more about the form or about the motivation of the person filling out the form?
Waht do you think??
There is definately sin in the camp as there are some people who misuse the system and their position within that system to play out their own agendas which is often counter-mission.
I serve the man with a plan - some of your points are valid however it would be interesting to see what your point of view would be if you were on the other side - actually working in the field - it is very different.
Jake
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