|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Richard Muñoz has been with Buckner International or one of its subsidiaries since 2007. Recently promoted to vice president and co-general counsel of Buckner International, Muñoz also serves as general counsel for Buckner’s Children and Family Services, a subsidiary nonprofit that supports vulnerable children and families.
The promotion comes at a pivotal time for Buckner. The company is preparing to expand its operations while staying close to its ministry of protecting children, strengthening families, and providing hope.
“We are a great organization on the precipice of expansion,” Muñoz explains. “We’re well known in the communities in which we work, but we want to be better known throughout the state of Texas, across the country, and internationally. We already do great work in six other countries and are adding a seventh very soon.”
Still, Muñoz is clear that growth must align with purpose for Buckner, a nonprofit that focuses on vulnerable populations. At a time when access to government funds and contracts is particularly hard to come by, Buckner’s expansion must be thoughtful.
“It starts with waking up every day, looking in the mirror, and asking, ‘Am I proud of the guy who’s looking back at me?’”
Richard Muñoz
The traditional nonprofit model of relying heavily on fundraising is shifting toward sustainability, with programs increasingly expected to generate their own revenue or minimize reliance on external subsidies, Muñoz says. It will create unrealistic expectations of the development team and place undue hardship on an organization that is already doing so much good.
“How do we sustainably serve our clients?” Muñoz asks. “What are some novel ways we can do that? Can we still serve clients in an income-generating capacity that doesn’t make our clients’ lives more difficult or stray from our mission? These are real challenges, but ones I’m so excited to be taking on.”
The general counsel says impact investing is one area the organization is considering. If donors view their gifts as investments, it may be possible to create businesses that employ people. Those businesses would not only generate income but change people’s lives for the better. This is what it means to drive innovation for a mission-oriented organization.
“Am I Proud of the Guy Who’s Looking Back at Me?”
Muñoz has been at Buckner since the second George W. Bush administration. Prior to that, his professional life looked quite different.
“Sure, if I had stayed in private practice, I may have made more money,” the GC explains. “But at some point, you come home, your children are asleep, and you realize how much you’re missing out on. I decided when my girls were young that they were my priority. I was fortunate to find Buckner.”
In eighteen years at Buckner, the attorney says there have been many times when he could have accepted positions to go somewhere else. But Muñoz says that even on his worst day at Buckner, he knows he’s where he belongs, fighting for families and for children to have a better life.
“I can’t exactly articulate why I’ve said no to those other opportunities,” Muñoz says. “At the end of the day, I felt that I could make the most impact in areas that were important to me. Whatever role I was in, I believed in the mission, and that is what I energized me to help move the organization forward.”
Working at Buckner has given Muñoz a way to live his values in a way that many lawyers may have difficulty balancing at times. And the GC knows that employees have a shared sense of mission. From the CEO to the janitorial staff, everyone at Buckner believes in what the organization does.
“It starts with waking up every day, looking in the mirror, and asking, ‘Am I proud of the guy who’s looking back at me?’”
Supporting a Small Nonprofit with a Big Vision
Muñoz is a GC at a large nonprofit, but he’s also helping smaller organizations find their footing. The lawyer is on the board of directors for Poetic, a nonprofit focused on breaking the cycle of revictimization for youth, particularly girls, in the juvenile justice and child protective systems. Poetic offers an onsite school, trauma therapy center, art therapy, and paid internships.
The GC has handled a lot of the nonprofit’s “boring stuff,” like establishing bylaws, resolutions, and attending to governance matters. As Poetic has become more well known, Muñoz has helped it expand organically.
Now, as chairman of the board, Muñoz says the need for Poetic’s services is outpacing its ability to provide help. He foresees continued expansion in the future.
“This board is a group of incredible people, and I feel fortunate that I’ve been part of this organization’s growth,” the attorney says. “I’m grateful that my work at Buckner got me familiar with nonprofit governance, and I’ve tried to apply some of my knowledge at Poetic.”
