Board

I was recently asked to make a presentation at a hospital foundation’s board of directors meeting. The foundation executive director wanted me to speak on how to engage his board members in fundraising. I truly enjoy teaching and speaking to groups, so I was prepared. The secondary benefit for me in meeting with this group was to watch the executive director interact with his board chair and board members and see how the meeting was directed...

If you’ve ever worked or have been associated with volunteer leadership at a nonprofit board, then you are probably aware of a situation that can expose individuals to legal jeopardy. One of the most essential aspects of serving on a board and having board members is to ensure that everyone has an understanding for their legal and fiduciary obligations. Unfortunately, many do not realize that ignorance of the law is not a defense... 

The annual performance review date has come and gone as our board acted like deer in the headlights. We can’t really understand what to assess. And, to be honest, some board members who don’t really like or trust our executive only want to assess the behaviors and personality they dislike. What to do?...

You say your nonprofit board members are unenthused about everything? For some members, their lack of enthusiasm is so profound, they fail to attend board and committee meetings. And many more members are so unenthused that they are not inclined to play an active role to support the nonprofit in achieving success...

Teenagers are irresponsible. They are lazy and entitled and never look up from their smart devices. Wait, what about Jack Andraka, who identified an early detection mechanism for pancreatic cancer… while he was in high school? He not only invented it, he pitched the idea to 200 research professors to test it and earned workspace in a scientific lab...

Many nonprofits are stuck. They’re tethered to their early decisions—often made by others who came before them. But times change. Organizations evolve. Or they don’t...

In my first executive director position, I forgot about the board. Chalk it up to inexperience, but I didn’t yet understand how the board could make me a more effective executive, or how they could boost our success. While I met all the technical requirements and complied with the usual responsibilities, in my heart I felt the board was mostly a nuisance...

Yes, indeed, “on-boarding” has become the latest buzzword for what many of us older folks refer to as “board orientation.” Language aside, it is important to do something to orient new board members to their new positions...

I recently made a presentation to a group of fundraising professionals sponsored by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. During the presentation, I asked the class many questions. Some of these questions dealt with aspects of using volunteers to seek time, talent and treasure on behalf of their institution...

A nonprofit board’s fiduciary duty of care—aka risk prevention, management and compliance specific to program, finance and governance—can be effectively achieved by a nonprofit board through three activities: planning, policy-making and evaluation...