Unexepected Treasures Running a Mental Health Nonprofit

Deciding on a career change, Rod sold his marine repair company, earned a Master's degree in Integrative Counselling and started his own counselling practice. As this failed to provide full-time work, he was happy to secure a position as the executive director of a branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association. Dealing with an inherited staff of ten, a volunteer board of directors, union requirements, an unsuitable location, and providing housing services for 100 clients with serious mental illness proved formidable challenges. Two weeks into the job, he found the organization was on the brink of insolvency. He created funding by starting a thrift store largely run by clients with mental health challenges, started a homeless outreach service funded by BC Housing, trained clients to be stand-up comics for a large fundraiser in a downtown Vancouver hotel and started two annual fundraising events. Encouraging clients to help in resolving the financial crisis proved key to balancing the books. In 2012, eight years after starting the thrift store, it netted $100,000 in profit and was still running at the time of writing this book.