Q&A with TPC member Gayle Slattery

Q: How does your professional experience inform your work as the Finance Lead on a TPC Grant Review Team?

Analyzing a company’s fundamentals, asking “How are they doing?” “What are they doing well?” “Are they doing what they are supposed to be doing?” are questions that are fundamental to any enterprise. Over the course of my career I evaluated over 5,000 organizations. The same kind of analysis is necessary when we evaluate whether or not TPC should invest in a non-profit.

Q: How might evaluating a non-profit be different from for-profit enterprises?

Non-profits can be a little “wackier” than private sector firms, but also potentially less complex. Learning about the companies, trying to understand their mission and how well they are executing on it will be similar. Non-profits have net assets vs. equity, no ownership structure, and restricted and unrestricted assets. Income can be private donations, grant funding, or one-time bequests. Additionally, the focus of a non-profit is not only the bottom-line, but also the mission. It might be harder to make financial predictions – but the fundamental questions are similar.

Q: Why did you join TPC?

I liked the idea of giving back, and at the same time working with like-minded women and getting to learn about a range of different non-profits. I’ll be able to continue to use my skills from my investment work, but this time with the goal of finding worthwhile and viable philanthropic entities.