Seacoast Science Center Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Seacoast Science Center - Term Paper Example 7 Financial measurement 7 Donor dependence ratio 8 Non financial measurement 9 Competitive advantages 9 What can the SSC do to overcome the â€Å"$50,000 question†? Is this question the real problem facing SSC? 10 Would raising the admission fee negatively affect SSC’s financial situation? Explain. 11 Conclusion and recommendations 12 Executive summary The seacoast science Center is located in the Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, New Hampshire. The center served as an educational center for the local environment and the visitors’ center for the park. Just like for-profit-organizations, not-for-profit organizations operate in internal and external environments, both of which present forces that must be considered in determining the sustainability of the organization. Strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors that can be controlled by the management while opportunities and threats are the external forces that affect the whole industry, and which the organiz ation cannot control. Besides, competitive advantages will be examined – these are the factors that enable the company sell its goods/services despite there being rival organizations’ dealing with similar goods/services. Other issues that will be tackled in this report include: how to measure success, how to address the $50,000 question and the possible impacts of raising admission fees. Introduction/background The facility called Seacoast Science Center was opened in 1992, with Parks as the facility’s owner, Audibon Society of New Hampshire (ASNHH) as the managing sponsor and the Advisory Committee as the governing body. The director of the visiting center was Wendy Lull, who served as the first employee. During the year of starting, the center attracted 65,000 visitors, a number that grew to 100,000 by 1999, which was above its capacity. In November 2001, the Seacoast Science Center, Inc., an independent nonprofit organization took over the management contract for the center. Currently, SCC is grappling with a deficit budget, a problem that is giving Wendy Lull, the organization’s president, an endless headache. One of the options that is being cited to address this problem includes raising of the admission fees, but again it is argued that such a move could keep off the donors and perhaps make it difficult for the visitors to raise the fees, especially because people do not highly value the kind of services offered by perks. This report will analyze the organization’s SWOT, discusses ways of measuring its success, and look at its competitive advantages among other issues. SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. The organization’s programs strength is lying in its ability to track changes over time - through the use of simple technology. 2. SSC has a mix of staff and trained volunteers. The staff is always commended for engagement and commitment. The competence of staff is revealed by Wendy’s remarks that â€Å"—we all do visitor programs, we’re out there, you’re teaching people, you’re interacting with them† (Naumes and Lull, 2012: 10). 3. Educational programs are available for all ages, ranging from kindergarten through high school. This makes it easy for SSC to get many clients throughout the year. 4. The programs are very simple; hence, people can get involved without much hassle. 5. The organization has adopted technology including websites, direct mail and press release. These platforms are highly valuable for marketing purposes, which gives the organization a competitive edge. 6. The numbers of visitors are growing rapidly every year. 7. The change in management to SCC Inc. in 2001 allowed the management and staff to focus on the organization’s mission. This offered SSC a financial freedom, including having its own members and donors. 8. The new chairman, Pam Hall, has