How are you doing? How is your organization doing? As we navigate the challenges of COVID-19, many nonprofits are taking tactical steps to serve and survive: implementing anti-infection measures, working from home, moving programming online, taking a hard look at their budgets, and so forth. In this new environment – which changes … [Read more...]
A conflict-of-interest game — for your board
Nearly all board members assume their responsibilities with good intentions and a degree of humility. If they weren’t concerned about a community issue – maybe one that affects them personally – they wouldn’t have joined the board. Perhaps they want to reduce pollution in their neighborhood, or create opportunities for their kids to … [Read more...]
Board members: It’s not a life sentence
Once upon a time, I served with a skilled, committed, hard-working board president: a great strategic thinker and also attentive to detail. This is a rare combination. If I could clone this person for other boards, I would absolutely do it. Our president, however, was always dancing on the edge of burnout. Lacking an obvious … [Read more...]
Design yourself a better board
Imagine the following exercise. Gather your board members around a flip chart. Ask the following question: "If we could design the perfect board for our group, what skills, qualities, and representation would we want in prospective board members?" Skills, qualities, representation Skills include specific expertise to help the … [Read more...]
Hospice care for nonprofits, part 2: The board’s role
Because not every group is designed to last forever, I recently shared a post about end-of-life care for nonprofit organizations. Regardless of your role – staff, volunteer, consultant, or supporter – it’s helpful to understand organizational life cycles. Board members have a unique responsibility for life-and-death decisions. To my … [Read more...]
Hospice care for nonprofits: Diagnosis and treatment
How healthy is your organization? What’s your trajectory? Are you growing, shrinking, or treading water? What’s the energy level among staff and board? Is your mission still relevant and inspiring? More than a decade ago, I participated in volunteer training at our local hospice agency. As the Great Recession rolled through the … [Read more...]
Succession planning: Leading by sharing power
In 1986, I killed my first nonprofit organization. That wasn’t my plan. In fact, there wasn't any plan. When our vibrant, all-volunteer nonprofit was ready to hire its first employee, the board chose me. With staff in place, our group took a big step forward: more programming, new audiences, bigger impact. While I was merrily … [Read more...]
The big (bad) shift in fundraising
A year ago, I wrote The Big Shift in Fundraising, an upbeat post about changing trends in giving. To sum it up: After decades of gradual “wealthification” of U.S. philanthropy – a greater percentage of the philanthropic pie contributed by wealthy and uber-wealthy donors – donors flipped the script in 2016. Most of the growth in giving … [Read more...]
Training both sides of the brain
Take a look at these two photos. Which one looks like the more engaging learning experience? Given a choice between the two, where would you rather be? Your answer may depend on how your brain works. Your brain isn’t one thing In the 1960’s, psychobiologist and Nobel Prize winner Roger W. Sperry proposed that the brain’s left … [Read more...]
Is Your Board a Cost Center – or a Profit Center?
What does it cost you to have a board of directors? Is the cost worth the effort? Provocative questions, right? Let’s start by acknowledging the basics. If you're a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in the U.S., you are legally required to have a board. There’s a thoughtful reason for this: the board is the legal owner of your … [Read more...]