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NONPROFIT BOARDS HIRE AND CEOs MUST ACT!
By: Eugene Fram
Whenever the time is ripe to select a new nonprofit CEO, I think of the old joke that says “…every person looks for the perfect spouse… meanwhile, they get married.” By the same token, nonprofit directors seek perfection in a new ED or CEO– and find that they must “settle” for less. But there are certain defined attributes that are essential to his/her success in managing the organization.
With the 21st century pressures of increasingly slim budgets, fund development challenges and the difficulty of recruiting high quality employees the ED/CEO must be action oriented and come equipped with at least a modicum of the following abilities:
Visionary: It’s all about the organization’s future.
The ED/elect should bring or at least begin tocultivate a deep concept of where the nonprofit is, should be and what the trajectory should looklike. He/she can do that by immersing himself in the mission field—reading widely and remainingin contact with regional and national leaders in the field. A state-of-the-art CEO should beavailable for consultation with colleagues with similar issues. Included in his span of vision arepotential disruptions that might affect the organization– and how to help the board focus on andimplement appropriate change.
Board Enabler:
The new chief understands the limits of his/h operational responsibilities and the governance overview role required by the board. To build trusting relationships with the board, she/h realizes that transparency is key.
Fundraiser:
The optimal fundraising relationship is a partnership between the CEO and theboard. Board members must be alert to outside funding opportunities and the CEO, alert tofunding opportunities from sources related to the mission field. Once an opportunity is identified, the CEO and the board work closely together to develop a proposal and to meet with the donor(s).If the organization has a development director, the person filling the position must be brought intothe discussion at an early stage.
Communicator:
To be organizationally successful, the Board and CEO must be in a position to interact with a variety of stakeholders: government officials, donors, vendors, clients and theirs surrogates, foundations, etc. One area in which many nonprofit CEOs need improvement in communications is with the business community. It goes beyond simply joining the Rotary or Chamber of Commerce groups. Nonprofit CEOs must have rudimentary knowledge of many businesses so they can interact intelligently with business leaders they encounter in development efforts. This information can be about specific organizations they are approaching or general knowledge acquired from perusing publications like Business Week or The Wall Street Journal.
Spokesperson:
Although some suggest that the volunteer president must be the spokesperson for the nonprofit, I suggest that the Executive Director/CEO must hold this position for several reasons
1. If a volunteer becomes a president/CEO, he/s may acquire some liabilities that other board directors don’t have. Some nonprofits have given the chief operating the title of president/ceo and the senior board person, board chair. This eliminates confusion that often surrounds the ED title when contacting business or government officials.
2.The volunteer president typically does not work in the organization daily and does not understand its nuances as well as the CEO.
3.In a crisis situation, the media may contact board members. It should be clearly understood that the CEO is the only person to comment to the media.
4. In ceremonial situations, it may be appropriate for the president to be a spokesperson.
5. The CEO needs to become the “face” of the organization because volunteer presidents come and go, some annually.
Team Builder:
She/h needs to build a strong management team, some of whom, over time, may become capable of becoming an Executive Director. The CEO, as head of the management team, needs to be sure all staff are performing well with some being bench strength to move to higher positions.
Tone Setter:
The CEO needs to set an ethical tone where everybody feels free to express their suggestions for improving the organization. This tone, in various ways, must also be communicated to all stakeholders by the Executive Director.
Performance Monitor:
Hopefully the board has a rigorous and fair system for evaluating the CEO and the organization, and the values of this system that are embedded in staff evaluations.
Nonprofit Management 
Eugene, this is a thoughtful and practical framing, particularly your emphasis on action orientation and the CEO–board partnership.
In my experience hiring three nonprofit CEOs and three corporate CEOs, and chairing multiple search committees, I’ve found that boards often struggle not with identifying the right attributes, but with prioritizing them with discipline.
We typically define the top three qualities, experiences, or attributes required for success. In every case, however, the selected candidate had two of the three, not all three.
That is not a compromise. It is reality.
The critical issue is whether the “missing third” is truly essential on day one, or whether it can be offset by adjacent experience, learning velocity, and strong alignment with the board.
One of our CEOs lacked direct human services experience, which on paper was a gap. What he did bring was proven large-scale fundraising leadership, including raising $400 million during Hurricane Sandy. That translated effectively. Over his first few years, he tripled net assets from $25 million to $75 million and increased revenue from $8 million to $35 million. He later secured $10 million in federal funding through direct engagement, expanded corporate partnerships across 35 firms, and positioned the organization for long-term growth through strategic land acquisition and development of a national visitor center.
The lesson for me has been consistent. Over-specifying the role in a search often reduces the probability of success.
I would add a complementary point to your framework.
Boards do not just hire right. They must also partner right.
Even strong CEOs will underperform if expectations are not clearly aligned early, if the board drifts into operational interference, or if accountability is inconsistent. Conversely, I’ve seen situations where the CEO was not the first or second choice, yet the outcome was highly successful because both the board and the executive made an explicit commitment to work together, build trust, and stay in their respective lanes.
Your point on the CEO as fundraiser and communicator is especially important. In today’s environment, I would elevate fundraising from a capability to a non-negotiable leadership function, particularly in mission-driven organizations with capital ambitions.
I would also add that outcomes are heavily influenced by intentional board composition and structure.
I’ve been fortunate to work with a board that includes a national thought leader in nonprofit governance, a former chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, a Super Bowl champion, experienced operators, and several individuals with significant personal capacity to give. That diversity is by design. It brings multiple lenses to strategy, fundraising, and stakeholder engagement.
At the same time, we recognized that not every committed supporter is interested in governance. To address that, we created a Board of Benefactors for those who want to contribute financially and support the mission but do not want the responsibilities or accountabilities of board service.
That distinction has proven valuable. It preserves the governance integrity of the board, expands fundraising reach, and aligns expectations from the outset.
If I were to distill it:
Define the three critical attributesAccept two out of three with intentionEnsure the board is structured to enable successHold the CEO accountable for outcomes, not pedigree
The perfect candidate rarely exists.But the right partnership, supported by the right structure and priorities, consistently does.
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