N.B. I wrote this as a memo to a friend who was considering joining a non-profit board for her first time. Summary In organizations with a governing board, the chain of command looks like [...]
The main role of the board is to govern the organization. To see that is has a clear mission, a clear plan to make progress toward achievement of the mission, and the resources to carry out its [...]
Many times a board will recruit another member with a specific role in mind. The recruiters may seek the prospective board member’s connection to a donor base, technical knowledge, ethnicity, or [...]
In his 1995 book Revolution from the Heart, Bill Shore has one powerful message for fundraisers: ask the donor for what she has to give. He uses the example of a restaurant, which has a physical [...]
Different board members have different things to give. The executive director and board chair who know who can give what can run a better board. One kind of board member can tackle and [...]
The most important thing that a board can do to assist the success of the organization is to hire the right executive director. If you have the right person in the job, there isn’t much [...]
All the traditional wisdom about teams is that they require four things: a goal worthy of striving for and which requires a team to accomplish it. good team processes of communication, [...]
“Dissidents anywhere have an interesting time, particularly on boards of directors.” Walter Cronkhite, A Reporter’s Life, p 371. Every board needs one member who is contrary, [...]
Ask any bunch of executive directors what they want from their boards, and most will say, “Be more engaged.” Many times, they mean that they would like to have their individual board [...]
If the executive director is strong, does the board have to be weak? And if the board is strong, does the executive director have to be weak? Many (most?) organizations seem to fit in one [...]
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