DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 03-19-07 A 9 CDB 3/15/2007 4:15 PM Page 1 March 19, 2007 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Page 9 OTHER VOICES: Nonprofits must collaborate, consolidate The writing is on the petitor and made to play The sector is also facing a serious must own a significant piece of solu- al Alliance for Southeastern Michi- wall, researchers who nice. However, consider dearth of leadership. In fact, a re- tion. This will mean funding more gan brought together 70 arts organi- study nonprofits will tell the reality. Between 1977 cent Stanford Social Innovation Re- collaboratives (rather than compet- zations, and they now have a voice you. Today’s economic cli- and 1997 the number of view article estimates that over the ing agencies) and providing access in regional planning discussions. mate nationally is such 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) orga- next decade, nonprofits will need to to flexible capital — not just money, What nonprofits cannot do, how- that nonprofits across the nizations grew 115 per- find about 640,000 new executives to but resources and expertise. Help- ever, is continue clinging to histo- board need to do some cent, according to the book fill key positions — nearly 2½ times ing nonprofits improve leadership, ry or to turf. Instead, they must deep thinking about what The State of Nonprofit the number currently employed. expand operational capacity and value cooperation and creativity. it will take to survive in a America. The private sec- Today’s young professionals improve facility-management skills The future of the sector depends on sector that will look vastly tor grew 76 percent. look more favorably at private-sec- must be key elements. our ability to let go of the past so different in 2017. Ten years later, we are tor jobs or entrepreneurial oppor- Nonprofits can help themselves that we may realize true progress. There are 31,343 Michael Brennan seeing 30,000 nonprofits tunities than nonprofit work. Add by exploring ways to work together. For more information about 501(c)(3) organizations in Michi- created annually, while the private to that the challenge regional com- For instance, Gleaners Community what the United Way is doing, read gan, including nearly 12,000 in sector is contracting. Charitable panies have in recruiting workers, Food Bank and the Food Bank of about our Agenda for Change Wayne, Oakland and Macomb giving has increased from $103.7 bil- and the cause for concern is clear. Oakland County merged, and 1.5 process at www.uwsem.org. counties, according to the Urban lion in 1975 to $260.3 billion in 2005, Although imposing, these are million more pounds of food were Michael Brennan is president Institute’s Center on Nonprofits but has not kept pace with nonprof- problems are not insurmountable, distributed in Oakland County as a and CEO of the United Way for and Philanthropy. it expansion. but the grant-making community result. The recently formed Cultur- Southeastern Michigan. While competition drives inno- vation and promotes efficiency, an overcrowded field perpetuates waste. We have too many players Corporation. Northern Trust FDIC. © 2007 members Banks are Northern Trust chasing after the same ball. Some- thing has to give, because the vital- ity of our nonprofit network is es- sential to the health of our region. In response, funders are encour- aging more organizations to exam- ine collaborations and consolida- tion as a means of more efficiently tapping into the resources needed to serve their communities. Obviously, no one wants to feel forced into a sandbox with a com- LETTERS CONTINUED ■ From Page 8 certain lifestyle and natural envi- ronment — yet because the law does not allow them to exclude uses, they will never really achieve what they want. Our home rule intention is to al- low municipalities to determine their own destiny. Yet the result from having so many different mu- nicipalities is that no one is really getting what they want. Not to men- tion, in a typical day most of us live, work, shop, receive an education, are entertained and travel in and through numerous municipalities. I don’t pretend to know the ulti- mate solution, but I’ve never rid- BRO ADENING PERSPECTIVES den a horse to the township office, and I have witnessed too much waste that results from an anti- quated organizational structure. We need to begin a discussion for change, and we need to start now. people who want people who want Deborah Schutt to expand their to expand Schutt & Co. investment options their horizons Bloomfield Hills Ask more questions Editor: Your account in “Focus: Law” re- lating to Agnes Auvenshine’s suc- cess in her discrimination case against the Troy School District (“A you question of discrimination,” March 5) falls short of what we should ex- pect of the fourth estate. You state If you want to optimize the numbers in your investment portfolio — and maximize the number of stamps in your the parties “negotiated a confiden- passport — Northern Trust will help get you there. Our investment approach starts with strategic asset allocation and tial settlement.” The Troy School includes multifaceted solutions such as alternative investments, enhanced indexing and multi-manager programs. District is a public agency. A public As one of the world’s largest asset managers, our clients look to us to deliver a comprehensive investment program agency should not be allowed to keep secret the terms of a settle- that drives their overall financial plan. So you can expand your portfolio as well as your horizons. To learn more about ment of a case where it was found our investment solutions, call Buell Cole at 248-593-9207 or visit northerntrust.com. guilty of a wrong by a jury. You should have insisted on knowing the terms, and thus told your read- ers, some of whom I am sure pay taxes to the Troy School District. Avern Cohn District Judge Private Banking | Asset Management | Financial Planning | Trust Services | Estate Planning Services | Business Banking U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan Detroit DETROIT BUSINESS MAIN 03-19-07 A 10 CDB 3/15/2007 4:16 PM Page 1 Page 10 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS March 19, 2007 Purchase of C&A plants gives Cadence building blocks BY RHODA MIEL The companies did not disclose can grow faster through this (ac- CRAIN NEWS SERVICE which sites are involved in the quisition) than we were doing with sale, but said they employ 3,500. the organic growth alone,” he said. Nine Collins & Aikman Corp. injec- The agreement does not guarantee Cadence has $665 million in new tion-molding plants are about to that Cadence will end up with the business booked for 2006-11. That get a new lease on life, with a very C&A plants, spread through the work includes instrument panels familiar name in control. United States, Mexico and Canada, for General Motors Corp.’s Saturn Cadence Innovation L.L.C. an- Outlook, Buick Enclave and GMC nounced March 7 that it has signed but it makes the firm the lead bid- Jerry Mosingo, der in an asset auction. Acadia crossover utility vehicles. a letter of intent to buy the plants. president and The deal could give Cadence The C&A plants would allow Ca- Jerry Mosingo, Cadence’s presi- CEO, says he dence to build on that business, he wants customers some prime operations, Mosingo dent and CEO, formerly was presi- said. to understand said in a March 8 telephone inter- dent and CEO of C&A, and before “I need (customers) to under- Cadence is view. Some of the facilities have that oversaw C&A’s plastics busi- stand that Cadence will be stable, ness and molding for Textron Inc.’s stable and in won honors as the top manufactur- business for the that we’re in it for the long term, automotive trim division — which ing sites in North America. long term. that we’re going to be here years C&A bought in 2001. REBECCA COOK “This feels very good, that we from now,” Mosingo said. The proposed purchase marks a continued shuffling of the fates of Troy-based Cadence and South- field-based C&A. Cadence was created in 2005 out of the remnants of once-bankrupt auto supplier Venture Holdings Co. LLC, with private-equity backing led by Harbinger Capital Partners and Yucaipa Cos. Cadence quickly brought in Mosingo to run the business. As Cadence was coming into ex- istence, C&A filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit. The company now is selling off its hold- ings. Harbinger and Yucaipa have continued to support Cadence, Mosingo said, recently providing an extra $50 million in financing. The company plans to pay for the C&A purchase through external debt financing and increased equi- ty by existing shareholders. Despite its troubles, C&A has some strong products, including instrument panels, that will be “very good” for someone, said Jim Gillette, director of supplier analy- sis for CSM Worldwide, a Northville- based consulting group. “Cadence is probably a good fit for that business,” he said. And Cadence offers something that other private-equity backers do not have, said Jeff Mengel, a partner with Southfield-based A LAW FIRM UNLIKE ANY OTHER Plante & Moran PLLC: an experi- enced manufacturing team led by Mosingo that includes key execu- tives with a solid history in the auto-supply industry. “They certainly have a team in place to handle the size of an entity that would include C&A and Ca- dence,” he said. “It’s well-struc- tured to handle a lot more mass than they have been.” Customers know the company’s team, he said, and so do suppliers and employees.