Upon completion of a 25-year career with International Paper, one of America’s leading multi-national corporations and after the successful conception, launch, operation, and ultimate sale of his own business to a Fortune 100 company, Mike Allen entered a 3rd phase of his career – nonprofit management.
In late 2010 he joined Catholic Charities of West Tennessee (CCWTN) as its President / CEO staying until December 31, 2016. CCWTN is a Memphis Tennessee based, social services agency with a $4M annual operating budget that works in the areas of homelessness, substance abuse, mental health, emergency services (food and clothing), Veteran services, and more. Upon arrival, the agency was hemorrhaging cash, had depleted its financial reserves and increased its levels of debt owed to the Catholic Diocese of Memphis. After a series of difficult decisions that included the sunsetting of some programs, growth of others, and the start of one new program (Veterans), the organization was working with a balanced budget, reduced debt levels and increase financial reserves at Mike’s departure.
On January 1, 2017 he began his new role as Executive Director of the Memphis Botanic Garden (MBG), a City of Memphis owned and privately (Memphis Botanic Garden Foundation, Inc.) managed 96-acre greenspace in the center of Memphis, TN. MBG operates with an $8M annual budget and 50 FTE’s. The Garden had significant financial issues including an out-of-balance budget, depletion of cash, maxed out line-of-credit, and significant debt. MBG has a strong emphasis on Horticulture, Youth and Adult Education, Rental Venues (weddings, etc.), and an 8,000-person outdoor live entertainment stage / venue. During Mike’s tenure he managed MBG’s COVID response which kept all employees gainfully employed with zero loss to their personal income, introduced seasonal traveling exhibits, and led two different capital campaigns raising over $14M. He implemented and oversaw a series of capital projects to deploy most of those funds, with the balance being added to the Garden’s financial reserves. He retired from the Garden and full-time work on June 30, 2024 leaving MBG debt free and with a modest operating surplus.
Mike now works on a part-time basis through his firm Strategic Alternatives assisting nonprofits with their fundraising and / or interim leadership needs.
Mike offers a unique combination of corporate, entrepreneurial, and nonprofit leadership experiences along with a strong network of corporate, community, philanthropic, and nonprofit relationships.
LinkedIn: Michael Allen