Risk Management in Uncertain Times

Categories: Best Nonprofit Practices · Good Board Practices · LeadershipTags: · · · · · · 1 Comment

In today’s uncertain times, everyone needs to think about risk. This includes financial fraud or cyber security risks, which I wrote about in my last post. Additionally, economic downturns can increase the demand for services while simultaneously straining donors’ financial capacity. I hope to address this in a future post. In this post, I want to focus on proactive steps organizations can take in case they come under government scrutiny.  Thorough preparation and attention to detail minimize your risks.  I have actionable ideas for both boards and staff. I also addressed some of these issues in a previous post. Governance… Read more

Eight Steps to Getting Your Board in Order

Categories: Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Conflict of Interest · Good Board PracticesTags: · · · · · · · · · 3 Comments

Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday and all are staying healthy! A new year is an opportunity to get your organization and your board organized. Here are eight items to consider. Some you will want to do every year, others periodically. 1. Create, Update, and Approve Committee Charters If you have Committee Charters, each committee should review them at the first meeting of the year. If you do not have them, ask each committee to develop a Charter that spells out responsibilities, membership, terms, leadership, and meetings. For example, responsibilities for a Board Development… Read more

Reimagining Governance – Interview with Co-Leads

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We all know that the standard, one-size-fits-all model of governance does not work for every organization. In fact, it probably does not work for most organizations. In my reading, I came upon the Reimagining Governance Initiative of the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) in Toronto. I reached out to the co-leads, Linda Mollenhauer from Ignite NPS and Erin Kang from ONN to hear more. Here is what I learned: How did Reimagining Governance get started? Linda: About three and a half years ago, a few governance consultants were talking about our frustrations with the way governance was working and it occurred… Read more

How Do You Know That?

Categories: Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Good Board Practices · LeadershipTags: · · · · · · 6 Comments

After my last post which encouraged board members to ask hard questions, several readers asked what questions? Board members need full information to make good decisions. And that means asking lots and lots of questions – the ones that break out of group think, that uncover hidden issues, and that get to the essence of unseen problems or opportunities.  I started brainstorming questions and came up with a very long list. So, I decided instead to share just a few really key questions. I organized them in five areas: finance, program, funding, staff, and board. But you will see that… Read more

The Story of a Controlling CEO and a Weak Board

Categories: Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Good Board PracticesTags: · · · · · 2 Comments

Organizations can have great CEOs and weak CEOs and manipulative CEOs. Organizations can have strong boards and weak boards. In today’s post, a former staff person describes an organization with possibly the worst combination — a controlling CEO and a weak board. The story also raises the question of intersectionality. Is it distracting for a woman’s organization to analyze data about women of color, women with disabilities, gay women, rural women, poor women? Does intersectionality diminish the focus on women? This staff person insists – and I agree – that if you don’t address intersectionality, if you don’t dig deeply… Read more