Nonprofit Audit Committee Members Must Take Vigorous Actions
By: Eugene Fram
Many nonprofit board members overtly adopt a “nice guy” syndrome. Because of their community or industry connections, they inherently avoid internal or external conflict and consciously sweep red flags under the rug. (Remember Penn State.) (more…)
Many people believe as I do that a nonprofit board’s job is to find the best possible person to act as CEO of the organization, then stand back and let that person manage. If your board is in agreement, here are guidelines for action:
Topics Covered
* Recruit Widely
* Understand the Partnership
* A Nonprofit Board Has an Overview Responsibility
* Organization and CEO Measurement
* Nobody Does His/Her Job Perfectly
* The Board and CEO Must Partner on Fundraising
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-fram/a-nonprofit-boards-most-i_b_4839012.html
Nonprofit Board Recruitment: Can Google’s Process Apply to NFPs?
Following are Google’s hiring attributes that might be helpful to consider, if applied to nonprofit board recruitment as well as employee recruitment. * Nonprofits should especially consider them for board recruitment. Although nonprofits traditionally use an attribute matrix emphasizing skills such as finance, marketing and accounting, here are some others to consider. (more…)
Is Your Nonprofit Strategically Deprived? Updated & Revised
By: Eugene Fram
A vital concern to the future of any nonprofit organization is frequently neglected. Responsibility for the lack of strategic planning must reside with the chief executive, board members and the tactical challenges that inevitably flow to the board.
Before a nonprofit board can begin successful strategic planning, it must: (more…)
Target More Specific Skills in Nonprofit Board Recruitment – Revised & Updated
By: Eugene Fram
When the nominating committee sits down each year to fill vacant or termed-out board slots, their challenge is to identify the “right” directors for the organization. Typically, the group will work with a grid to define the types of skills they deem valuable to the board composition. While this kind of generic search (e.g. marketing, financial, human resource,) is adequate in many cases, the committee would do well to narrow the probe with an approach more focused on a candidate’s specific experience and skills. (more…)
After the gift is received, announced and celebrated, where does a nonprofit board and its management go from there? And whose job is it to see that the donor remains meaningfully engaged and involved in the organization? These are questions that I have been thinking about after a friend brought facts of his donor experience to my attention.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-fram/major-donor-has-remorseno_b_4783511.html
Wanted: Nonprofit CEOs with Entrepreneurial People Skills
The need for superior leadership skills is as critical to CEOs in nonprofits as it is in the entrepreneurial world. * Following are four such skills and the unique challenges they bring when employed in the nonprofit environment.
• The CEO’s Power of Persuasion
A nonprofit CEO and the board must take the lead in creating the organization’s mission, vision and values. (more…)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-fram/once-again-should-a-nonpr_b_4408917.html
BoardSource, a professional governance organization, reports that this question is one of the most frequently asked. Google reports five million citations related to the issue or related issues. A LinkedIn Group group, managed by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, recently had 191 responses to the question. Another LinkedIn group, Non-Profit Management Professionals, generated 40 comments. The question continues to be debated, and the need for comment and opinion seems insatiable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-fram/nonprofit-fraud-robs-char_b_4276111.html
“According to a Washington Post analysis of the filings from 2008-2012 … of more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations, … there was a significant diversion of nonprofit assets, disclosing losses attributed to theft, investment frauds, embezzlement and other unauthorized uses of funds.” The top 20 organizations in the Post’s analysis had a combined potential total loss of more than a half-billion dollars. One estimate, by Harvard University’s Houser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, suggests that fraud losses among U.S. nonprofits are approximately $40 billion a year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eugene-fram/are-nonprofit-board-chair_b_4640044.html
Nonprofits can strengthen their governance procedures by experimenting with new ideas that have been successfully implemented in the for-profit sector. Whereas most nonprofit board chairs are independent directors (not part of management) and can be legally described as non-executive board chairs, some for-profits have two executive leaders: a board chair with management responsibilities and an elected independent “lead director.” The lead director is responsible for helping to focus the board on strategic planning and is empowered to call meetings of independent directors without the presence of management.
Nonprofit Management 