Talking Information Center

Facing a shift in their government funding, TIC worked with ESC to strengthen the new government relationships and develop a strategic plan to strengthen the board and other sources of revenue.

ESC of New England often works with clients that rely on government funding, helping them to stretch tax payer dollars further and better serve Massachusetts residents. To that end, we have met with state officials to see if a more formal relationship could help organizations cope with budget cuts.

In 2015 the Massachusetts Commissioner for the Blind reached out to ESC, asking if we could help the Talking Information Center (TIC), which had been overseen and substantially funded by the commission for 38 years, transition to the Executive Office of Elder Affairs where funding was likely to be reduced. TIC “provides human-voice(d) broadcasts of local news, articles and items of interest to visually impaired and otherwise disabled listeners throughout Massachusetts to promote independence and enrich quality of life.

Our team worked diligently to help TIC develop a strategic plan that would grow revenue, increase staff effectiveness, strengthen the board, and prepare for leadership transition. In the end, the client was thrilled and felt they had a solid plan to help them transition both to working under a new government agency and away from such heavy reliance on state funding.