As a non-profit organization, the functions of Families Fighting Flu are governed by its Board of Directors. In my experience, the culture of this organization and the behavior of its Board members have been unprofessional and dysfunctional due to a lack of appropriate governance and accountability. Board deficiencies have included misplaced loyalty outside of the organization’s core mission, usurped management functions, stifled dissent, toleration of unprofessional behavior, accepting Balkanization, and a general failure to understand fiduciary duties. Unprofessional behavior by various Board members has been tolerated over the years, including violations of internal policies and a general lack of inclusiveness for individuals outside of a specific socioeconomic status. Although the mission of this organization is an admirable one, the Board has historically made little to no efforts towards the development of long-term strategies for sustainability and productivity. Case in point, their business model and general operations are built on a rotation of consultants rather than dedicated staff, which ultimately can be detrimental to the long-term effectiveness of such an organization. Additionally, the lack of effort to cultivate Board diversity has compounded the organization’s dysfunction, leading to a culture that alienates people who could otherwise help improve the organization.
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- EIN 20-4184483
- (703) 203-4335
- 4201 Wilson Blvd Ste 110 Pmb 702 Arlington VA 22203-1859 USA
- www.familiesfightingflu.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Health, Public Health
Mission: Promote public health by focusing national attention on the potentially deadly consequences of influenza for children; to protect all children and their families against influenza and save lives.
Programs: Keep flu out of schools (kfos)now in year 4 of a five-year, $500,000 cooperative agreement from the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc), families fighting flu (fff) is working with the national association of school nurses (nasn) and the national foundation for infectious diseases (nfid) to promote flu prevension efforts among elementary school students, their parents, and teachers. Kfos continued its partnership with springfield, mo public schools and a school in santa rosa county, fl. Fff developed and distributed age-appropriate classroom materials in both english and spanish at five schools in these districts.
stay in the game: stay in the game, our multi-year national public education campaign reached ever-larger audiences with information about the seriousness of influenza and the critical importance of annual flu vaccination for everyone six months and older. Social media communication channels (facebook and twitter) were used to share key educational messaging, including stories of families severely affected by influenza, and linked back to digital resources on the fff website and youtube channel. Created a new public service announcement and distributed via fff's. . . . . . And stakeholders' communication channels reaching an audience of over 100,000 people. Phase i of an educational initiative called "do you know the flu? " included the creation and distribution of a flu fact sheet and new infographic on how to keep families healthy during flu season, reaching audiences of over 730,000 people via social media channels, over 12 million people via online/print publications, and over 6 million people via broadcast channels. A media planet special insert appeared in usa today reaching 750,000 potential readers. Stakeholders presented our messages both live and virtually to audiences across the country. Fff distributed free educational materials including posters, brochures, postcards, bookmarks, magnets and stickers to doctors' offices, schools and communities. Fff family stories and key messages were shared in numerous print publications across the united states and abroad. Fff family stories and key messages were shared in numerous print publications across the united states and abroad.