Two words describe the non-profit life of the NC professional being featured in this post: Unconditional Service. In an early-October 2015 meeting which the Your Outcomes Well (YOW) had with Robin Morgan, she was asked a wide range of questions. As she responded to the questions, it became quite clear that her wisdom extended to areas well beyond non-profit finance! Morgan, the Director of Finance for a non-profit in Greensboro NC, spoke eloquently on several non-profit issues.
The nuggets YOW gleaned from Morgan, during this conversation, were the seeds and inspiration for a blog series – which begins today with this post.
- In this Series, A Conversation with Robin Morgan: Her Non-profit Story, several of the insights and thoughts shared by her will be explored. In today’s post, the unconditional service which fuels her volunteerism, pro bono consulting, and work as a non-profit professional will be showcased.
Morgan’s volunteer work
Before she started working as a non-profit Finance Director and pro bono consultant, she was a diligent volunteer. Many organizations have benefited from Morgan’s volunteerism. She has been an avid volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA).
What sparked Morgan’s initial interest in the BSA?
“My Dad was a Commissioner, in Orlando FL, in the early seventies. I have 3 brothers, that are Eagle Scouts. I got married and I had children . . . I have 3 boys. My boys went through and got their Eagle”.
After her youngest son left Boy Scouts, Morgan had an epiphany.
“I realized that I really liked the program. I liked the fact that we’re taking young men and we’re providing them with ways to develop their leadership skills.”
She has been a volunteer for the BSA for 28 years. Yes, nearly three decades!
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
~ Winston Churchill
Her will to ‘serve unconditionally’
“I was raised to be, not a servant, but a person who is willing to serve unconditionally. And the good Lord didn’t put you here to just make money, to just be a family. He put you here to leave a legacy.
And that can be knowledge, that can be money, that can be service. To me, it’s service. The more [people] I can connect with, the more people I can connect. I thrive on that!”
In reflecting on how she came to work in the non-profit sector, Morgan remarked:
“I believe that a door was opened that allowed me to see the need and the areas that I could be of service”.
A non-profit of her own?
Your Outcomes Well asked Morgan if she’d ever considered starting your own non-profit. Morgan candidly replied:
“No, I have not. I have not. I don’t know why, but I guess maybe because I work with so many, and I see so many that have failed”.
Referring to her work as a pro bono consultant, she went on to state:
“I just feel like I can be more productive in a supportive role, for an organization that could need help in an area they can’t afford. And I’m better [suited] to do that, and make a fledgling organization stronger”.
We will share other nuggets from our great conversation with Robin Morgan in the upcoming weeks on this blog. To put it simply, Morgan is no bland bean-counter! Her knowledge and talents extend to a wide range of areas, not just non-profit finance; please check out her biography below.
- The next post in this Series: ”Must-have Qualities of Exceptional Non-profit Leaders”.
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Biography of Robin Morgan
Director of Finance for The Music Academy of North Carolina (Greensboro NC) since 2007. After working for many years in Corporate America, she felt she needed a change. She’s developed a ‘deep passion’ for non-profit finance. Much of her work, including board positions, pro bono consulting, and lecturing tap into her expertise in this area.
Robin currently serves as Board Chair for HandyCable Network, Finance Chair for Housing Consultants Group. She serves on the Executive committee/Board for Old North State Council BSA. She is recognized for her abilities in public speaking, fundraising, training, grant writing, non-profit management, and community outreach.
Robin volunteers for the Guilford Non-profit Consortium as a guest lecturer for the Non-profit Institute and the QuickBooks Help Desk. An avid volunteer for Boy Scouts of America, Robin serves as Director of National Camp School for the Southern Region Area 7. She also serves as member at large on the Southern Region Area Board (BSA). She was awarded, for volunteer service, the Silver Beaver Award (2004). In 2006 she received the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Service Award for her work with underprivileged youth. In 2014 she received the YWCA-Greensboro Volunteer of the Year.
Causes she cares about include children, social services, human rights, arts & culture, and education.
She holds a Bachelors degree in Business from High Point University (High Point NC) and an Associates Degree in Business/Accounting from Rutledge College (Fayetteville NC). She has completed the Duke University (Durham NC) Certificate of Non-Profit Management program.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
~ Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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