Ray Liu ’10Journal #1
My first few weeks at my internship with the Office of Tibet have been pretty productive and informative. I’m working with several parties on this project. My official employer is the Office of Tibet, but I’m spending my time at the Isdell Foundation — a family foundation that supports advocacy work in order to advance human rights and self-determination for the Tibetan people. Isdell is endowed by a hedge fund, Aristeia Capital — so my physical workspace is actually in a hedge fund office in midtown, just blocks away from the Office of Tibet’s headquarters.
In order to get some good background on this project, I have been meeting with leaders of the Tibetan Community of New York & New Jersey (TCNYNJ) — from both the past and present stages of the organization — and also researching a number of other community centers in Queens, along with other Tibetan centers around North America. The plan is for me to gain as much background as I can on our own organization and other community centers, so that we can have a good plan when we build our space.
In particular, I will be focusing on the financing of this project, the real-estate search, and some governance issues for the board of this new entity that will be formed.
I have spent a lot of time researching community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in order to find a source of loans for our project. Currently, we are about two-thirds of the way to where we need to be in order to make this project work. With the help of Sandra Navalli from the Social Enterprise Office, I have also visited the Foundation Center near Union Square to find additional grant-seeking resources.
I’ve been working very independently, which is something I’m starting to get used to, but still receiving a great deal of guidance from my colleagues at Isdell, Aristeia Capital, and the Social Enterprise Office.
I’m definitely excited to see how my work develops.
Journal #2
I’ve recently spent a lot of time visiting different community centers around Queens and speaking with the leaders of Tibetan centers in other parts of North America. I’ve been really interested to see how these other centers run, and what information we can take away from them.
It’s been really inspiring to see how different cultures face the same challenges, and how we can really learn from one another’s experiences. The Hindu Temple Society in Flushing and the Forest Hills Jewish Center showed me how impactful a team of volunteers can be if they’re properly motivated by a cause they find to be greater than themselves. The New York Irish Center is a great demonstration of the generosity of funders and how the internal politics within an organization can be properly managed with the appropriate authority. And, the Turkish Center really illustrates the importance of cross-cultural collaboration and the possibility of incremental growth within a smaller community facility.
The other Tibetan centers have given me practical tips on advising the governance of our proposed center and also how we can move forward with our different revenue-generating programs.
I attended the 75th birthday celebration for His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the weekend before his July 7, 2010 birthday and it was really great to see so many Tibetans getting together for the event. The need for the center was especially obvious, as I saw a number of Tibetan families crowding onto the floors of the main hall of the Armenian Church where the celebration took place.
The new community association board was elected, and they are already getting a running start on center-planning and potentially shifting their election cycles so that there is greater continuity on its leadership team.
My contact with a former community association board member led to my becoming the keeper of the proposed community center’s financial model, and I have been stress-testing the assumptions underlying a number of the revenue streams. The income information that I have been able to gather about other centers (through some of my research at the Foundation Center) has also been very informative as I continue to hone the numbers.
Unfortunately, my research on CDFIs has led to many dead ends, as we don’t seem to be a proper candidate for any nonprofit loans. However, I am also looking into commercial loans and I feel like we might be able to take out a mortgage for our center.
Journal #3
After getting the association board in touch with several real estate agents in Queens, I was able to visit a few sites around the Long Island City/Woodside area with several board members. It appears that two properties have a great deal of potential. I’m really hoping that we can go through with a purchase soon.
Additionally, I was able to navigate my way through discussions with a large commercial bank, and discuss a possible $1M loan, so things are looking good.
I also took some time to write out a job description for the executive director of our new center — which is based a lot on the interviews I’ve had with different parties, some historical documents, and some sample descriptions that I had researched.
Because so much has been accomplished on this project recently, I was asked to stay on part-time for at least the rest of the summer to make sure that we continue to make progress. As I am still currently seeking full-time employment, I was more than happy to take this offer and will be continuing my work as a consultant for this initiative.
My immediate tasks are to further explore one of our prospective revenue streams and to look for a pro-bono lawyer to help us through this property acquisition process.
I really look forward to seeing this center built, sharing our accomplishments with the other centers, and knowing that I played a big role in all of this.
