Out In The Mountains : News - Samara Foundation to Change Directors

     Burlington - — The Samara Foundation of Vermont will have a new executive director by the end of this year, according to John Crane, the foundation's president. Current Executive Director Bill Lippert will continue to work with the foundation in a part-time capacity.
      The move is a recognition of Lippert's increasing legislative responsibilities — he has been a member of the Vermont House of Representatives for 11 years, and currently chairs both the House Judiciary Committee and the Joint House/Senate Judicial Retention Committee — and the need for the foundation to grow, Crane said.
      "Our work with the Unity Project showed us that the needs of our community are greater and our capacity for giving to meet those needs is also greater," Crane explained in a phone interview. "We need to be doing sustained, coordinated, year-round fundraising. The level of organization it takes to sustain fundraising at that level means incurring higher staff expenses."
      Asked whether additional personnel costs in hiring a full-time director would mean further decreases in grant funding from the foundation, both Crane and Lippert said no. "We're prepared for the fact that we will need to prime the pump to get to the next level," said Crane, indicating that just as the board had granted beyond its means early in its history, the foundation was prepared to do so again until its "investment" in a full time director began paying off in additional donations.
       "There are moments when you just have to hold your breath and take a risk," Crane concluded.
       Crane said he hoped a new director would be "onboard by November," so ze could work with Lippert before the beginning of the legislative session.
      "It's definitely a letting go for me," Lippert admitted. "Samara has been my baby, and this is another step away."
       Lippert admitted there would be additional overhead in the hiring of a new fulltime executive director, "but not as much as it appears." Further, he said, "The opportunities to generate support for our community will far outweigh the cost."
       According to the press release, Samara's annual "Thank You" celebration for donors, board members, and grantees usually held in September will not be held until after the new director is hired.