Reflecting on my tenure as Executive Director
Back in late 2019 when we first co-founded the CoCo, I had no idea what it took to run a nonprofit. As a player, I was oblivious to all the behind-the-scenes work, hours of toil, personal and financial sacrifices, conflict resolution, and event planning skills needed to run a Scrabble organization. No one asked me to do this job, but I stepped up and took it on - and in the years since, I've found that the role brings moments of fun, sadness, madness, and breakthrough.
The most satisfying work has been hatching initiatives to expand our community and reduce barriers. In this role, you can bring the vision, tools, and resources together to launch initiatives like our Newcomer Discounts Program, Access Fund, and Refer-a-Friend program. Knowing that those programs have helped people who would otherwise be unable to play CoCo tournaments is fulfilling.
The harder parts are the tough conversations and decisions that come with any leadership position. I'll be honest that this job can be hard on friendships. It's a lot easier to be happy-go-lucky friends with someone when you don't have to (1) ask them for receipts for that big tournament expense they need reimbursed, (2) explain why they have to do something a certain way to ensure that they and their event are protected by the CoCo's liability insurance, or (3) follow up five times to finally get that pairings training scheduled for them.
I stepped into the Executive Director role as a way to give back to the Scrabble community that gave me such a fun tournament experience and so many new friendships. I want the tournament scene to grow and thrive, or at least still be here 10 years from now. To that end, my goal has been to build and strengthen the systems, programs, tournament resources, funding, and volunteer capacity to make that possible.
Recently, I paused to reflect and write a summary for our board members of what I've done in the Executive Director role since I was first elected back in 2020. As an elected leader, I'm sharing that summary with you here.
Laying the foundations: 2020-2021
I characterize the CoCo's first years as "scrambling to establish an organization that fulfills legal requirements you didn't know existed, so you can serve hundreds of people coast to coast, with no budget or staff." Simple, right?
With guidance from a handful of wise friends who founded their own nonprofits, here's what I undertook:
Built the CoCo's entire website from scratch on Squarespace. My only training in website design was a one-hour YouTube video. Perhaps you can tell.
Legally incorporated the CoCo as a nonprofit organization and secured federal 501(c)(3) status. This was an arduous paperwork process and one that I'm relieved we navigated successfully.
Wrote (and later rewrote) our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, the Directors' Handbook, the Players' Handbook, and seven policies on everything from how to legally handle player data from minors, comply with privacy protections, and address harassment reports.
Quickly pivoted to online play during the pandemic by co-directing the 2020 Virtual World Cup, 2021 World Blitz Scrabble Championship, and eight other online tournaments.
Enlisted Martin DeMello to write the CoCo's pairing software, a system that has proven highly customizable and user-friendly for directors with no coding background. (Stay tuned for some exciting news about the evolution of our pairing software soon!)
Set up a digital results submission system with automated live coverage to prepare us for the eventual return to in-person play.
Growing the game: 2022-2023
The next couple of years were all about growth. We grew our director base and expanded to new cities. I spearheaded efforts to diversify our player base and funding sources. Here are some key achievements:
Solicited and secured corporate sponsorship from Scopely for the 2022 Word Cup and tripled the size of the Collins division at that event.
Registered the CoCo as a charity on the Benevity corporate giving platform, making the CoCo eligible to receive matching donations from companies like Google. Every year since then, the CoCo has received hundreds of dollars in donations via Benevity.
Directed the first-ever North American Collins Championship and raised more than $4,000 in donations.
Envisioned and rolled out the CoCo's Newcomer Discounts program to welcome new players.
Hired professional designer Shan Liu to create CoCo bookmark and art designs, enabling us to launch our merch store and reach new Scrabble enthusiasts by distributing free bookmarks to bookstores and Little Free Libraries nationwide.
Strengthening our team: 2023-2025
As we moved past the startup phase, my focus shifted to building internal capacity and our volunteer team. For my own sanity and livelihood, I could not sustain spending 20 hours every week on CoCo efforts. It is impossible for one or two people alone to indefinitely run a nonprofit that hosts ~25 events each year around the continent. You want to grow and survive? Recruit people to help you do it. Here's how I've gone about doing just that:
Trained more event organizers and tournament directors and set them up with the resources to run their own events. Check out our directors list for the full roster of 40+ people who've joined our team. Forty volunteers! We wouldn't have tournaments without these individuals. Thank them every chance you get.
Enlisted the help of unsung heroes including Becky Dyer, Carson Ip, and Wayne Dyer. They do the data entry, website updates, and crucial behind-the-scenes work that we'd be lost without. I cannot overstate how important their contributions to the CoCo are. If something goes smoothly, it's because of them.
Envisioned and launched the Access Fund to broaden socioeconomic diversity and reduce financial barriers to tournaments. More importantly, I also convened a group of volunteers to serve on the Access Team that reviews those applications. We couldn't run this program without them: Nits Chagti, Eric Fox, Yukiko Loritz, and Melissa Routzahn.
Convened a Conduct Team to provide fair and objective review of conduct reports and harassment complaints. Big thanks to everyone who has served on that team: Jan Cardia, Nits Chagti, Zachary Dang, Mary Goulet, Scott Jackson, Jason Keller, Yukiko Loritz, Mike McKenna, Nova Ryks-Robinsky, and Geoff Thevenot.
Created and launched the Refer-a-Friend incentive program to entice players to play Collins.
Supported establishment of the CoCo's first local partnership, resulting in monthly Scrabble meetups co-hosted and financially sponsored by the DC Public Library System. Shout out to Nits Chagti for making this partnership happen.
Consulted with an expert grants manager to formulate a strategic plan for CoCo grant fundraising. I also submitted the CoCo's first grant application, again with an able assist from Nits Chagti.
Many of these milestones would have been unattainable without this community supporting and pushing us. It's been a learning experience for sure - full of surprises, daily grinds, spreadsheets, and occasional fun. I still feel that we've barely scratched the surface. There are so many more ideas I want to implement, more grants to land, more ways to raise the profile of Scrabble worldwide and attract new players.
There is only so much that one person can do, and that's why I'm trying to expand our capacity through new funding streams and volunteer or paid staff support. If you're looking for a way to give back to the Scrabble community, we'd love to have you join a team or do some research or even do something random like photograph tiles. Truly, we can find a way for anyone to contribute in ways that work for them.
To everyone who has stood with us over the years, played in a tournament, directed an event, donated to keep us going, written code, volunteered, edited our website, bought a shirt, or entered data - thank you from the bottom of my heart. Let's make the next few years even better.