At a time when human service agencies are losing state funding and cutting many of their programs, United Way is backing a unique alternative that can help agencies save on back-office costs. The Back Office Cooperative (BOC) is one of the latest initiatives that United Way is helping to fund and support, alongside the Chicago Community Trust
The concept of a cooperative is not new for many industries. But despite the hundreds of human services providers in Chicagoland, it is a novel idea in this area.. BOC’s main goal is to improve the condition of the human services sector by driving down agency costs. According to Bryan Preston, president and CEO of the Back Office Cooperative they plan to do this by bringing agencies together and providing bulk discount prices in several areas.
“We exist to help agencies free up money to enhance the services they provide in the community,” said Preston. “We’re focused on Chicagoland but believe that one day the model could be replicated nationally.”
BOC launched in the spring and already many agencies are saving anywhere from 12-60% in areas like office supplies, food, maintenance supplies and energy. Other products and services under consideration include insurance and risk management, telecom, finance and accounting, human resources, IT and facilities management. Currently, there are eleven agencies using BOC but Preston hopes that number will rise to 30 by next year.
“The idea of the Back Office Cooperative is to pool everyone together so that organizations get a better deal on services and products,” said Laura Thrall, United Way president and CEO. “We understand that for many of our agency partners, cost-savings is critical to their survival. BOC brings real savings to them.”
United Way agency partner, Metropolitan Family Services (MFS) offers programs to families throughout metropolitan Chicago. It estimates that in just a few months BOC has already saved them up to $10,000 in energy, office supplies and teleconferencing capacity. In Fiscal Year 2010, MFS anticipates it will save up to $100,000 through BOC.
“We have seen terrific results,” said Richard Jones, CEO of Metropolitan Family Services. “Nowadays it is simply good business to be efficient. We also have to be good stewards of every dollar we get from donors, United Way and our supporters, and this is a great way to do that.”
As the non-government leader of the health and human services sector, United Way convenes thought leaders, both internal and external, to develop innovative solutions such as the Back Office Cooperative, to address specific challenges. For more information about BOC, email Bryan Preston at bpreston@uw-mc.org or call 312-906-2366.
