What are you doing now?
I currently have the honor of serving as the executive director of Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program (CCVLP), a nonprofit legal aid organization in Southwest Washington. I was first introduced to the organization during my final term in the MBA program, during which I served in an internship capacity providing development and communications assistance. I continued on with the organization as a volunteer once I graduated, and when the executive director made the decision to retire, she recommended I apply for her position.
At that time (2017), I was the 3rd employee at CCVLP (none of whom, including myself, were attorneys). Now, 5 years later, I am blown away by the relationships we’ve built and the impact we’ve had on our community. We are now approaching 20 employees, 8 of whom are full time staff attorneys. The only reason I didn’t turn tail and run from this opportunity was that I had been prepared with a practical skill set in the MBA program. I had not only seen nonprofit accounting and finance before, but I knew how to look at it and how to do it. When fundraising and outreach opportunities arose, I knew how to use social media strategies optimally, and how to ask for donations (a ridiculously underappreciated skill). I even knew a little about our obligations under our 501(c)3 tax structure.
I became a successful E.D. in no small part because of the practical and robust education I received at U.P.
And now, because I will never turn down the opportunity to spread the word about what our organization does to as wide an audience as possible (fellow nonprofit folks should understand), I think it’s imperative I address why CCVLP’s work is an undervalued basic need. Civil legal aid exists because public defenders are only provided when someone is accused of a crime. The availability of those attorneys and their lack of resources aside, the same does not exist when a domestic violence survivor is trying to flee, when a landlord won’t fix a broken window, or when a shady company locks a senior citizen into a contract that siphons all their money from them.
Anything that you can think of in which the court might be involved, unless that person is facing jail time, is completely at the whim of one’s ability to pay. The legal system is currently available for those who can afford to buy-in, and people lose their housing, their livelihood, their children, and frankly their lives because they don’t know their rights under the law, how to assert them, and cannot afford a lawyer to help them.
Our organization uses private attorneys (who volunteer their time) and staff attorneys (who give fully of their hearts) to bump that uneven scale of justice a little more in the right direction. We never charge our clients, and operate solely on local grants and donations.
I am never more fulfilled than when I get to talk to someone about our efforts to not only provide these services, but to dismantle the systems of oppression inherent in the legal system.
Please connect with me if you want to talk more by emailing me at elizabethf@ccvlp.org. We also welcome fellow allies in our pursuit of equitable access to justice as donors to our organization. You can support us financially here: www.ccvlp.org/donate
Why did you choose UP Pamplin for your MBA Nonprofit?
I attended UP for the first portion of my undergraduate degree, and only left because my scholarships dried up. I always enjoyed the relationship I had with my professors and the quality of the courses. I went on to work in the nonprofit industry throughout college and after, and realized my heart was in social services. I knew I wanted to be an executive director, and in speaking to my mentors, I heard that an MBA might be the right path. When I realized UP had a program specifically for people already working in the nonprofit industry, it went on my short list. What clinched it though was the affordability. Between the reduced cost of tuition and the Andy and Nancy Bryant Fellowship I received, I was able to pay out of pocket for my degree (on a nonprofit employee’s salary no less!). I cannot say enough how the financial accessibility of this program made the difference between me pursuing higher education and not.
Any advice for someone considering this program?
Lean on the fact that you’re a student in this program. UP has a lot of clout, and folks make allowances for students they wouldn’t otherwise make. I was curious about how so many things worked in the nonprofit industry, in businesses, and in the state legislature. The meetings I had and connections I made because I reached out and said “I’m a grad student at UP” have been priceless.
I also encourage you to get to know your classmates. Not just those in your cohort, but those in the cohorts above and below you. This program creates incredible nonprofit leaders in our community, and chances are you will work alongside these people as professionals. When I became an executive director, the first people I took out for coffee were the program graduates who had preceded me and became E.D.s first. Those folks continue to have my back-and I theirs- when the nonprofit chaos inevitably hits the fan.
Finally, take all the accounting and finance classes you can and pay attention! I literally took out my notes from those courses when I started my current job and they saved me on multiple occasions. In case you didn’t know, small nonprofits tend not to have their own finance departments, and the executive director serves as the bookkeeper and the payroll administrator (among 30 other roles).
~Contributed by Elizabeth Fitzgearld
To learn more about Clark County Volunteers Lawyers Program, please visit – https://ccvlp.org/
