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…)
Nonprofit Boards 2014 – Two Recurring Concerns of Directors & Managers
Viewing responses to my blog-site over the past year has provided me with a window to topics that obviously interest nonprofit directors and managers. An unusually strong surge of viewing responses to the following two blog-posts convinced me that both issues were universal to the nonprofit governance environment. (more…)
Can the Deloitte® Governance Framework Be Applied to Nonprofits?
By Eugene Fram
I have been impressed with the Deloitte® Governance Framework (Copyright-Deloitte®), and following are my opinions on how nonprofits might benefit by understanding the model.
The lower four sectors of board governance chart are functions that can be delegated to management. The level of delegation should depend on the stage of the board’s development. However many boards unfortunately continue to micromanage the nonprofit, long after it has outgrown the start-up stage. (more…)
Markers For An Open Culture Within Nonprofit Boards
By Eugene Fram
Board Culture is really about having chemistry that works. Is there transparency, and by that I mean openness? It is very intangible but critical. Is there a spirit of inquiry? That means, for example, that a director can disagree with another director or with the CEO without actually being hostile or being viewed as hostile. All should be able to have civil but active discussions. Does the board have a few really insightful board members who spark real dialog? I’m talking about people who have an ability to smell and “opportunity” or “problem” or “roadblock.’ Do the organization exude creativity – from the CEO and from board members? (more…)
Once Again: What Makes for a Successful Nonprofit Board?
By: Eugene Fram
Successful nonprofit boards come in a variety of organizational structures and sizes, largely determined by the their mission, vision and values. However, Carter Burgess, Managing Director & Head of the Board Practice at RSR Partners, an executive recruiting firm, suggests three of the most prominent success factors. Although his article is directed to for-profit boards, there are many suggestions that apply to nonprofit boards. (more…)
Changing Nonprofit Board Structures: The Place of Process Directors
By: Eugene Fram
When changing, or even just modifying, a nonprofit’s board structure, the typical nonprofit board will be divided into several groups on the issue: 1) directors who want change, 2) directors opposed to change, some strongly opposed and 3) what I call process directors.
Process directors like to sit back and examine issues. (more…)
What’s required to develop a positive nonprofit board culture?
Directors & CEO Alert: Never underestimate the power of the established board culture as a barrier when attempting to make changes. However in some instances culture can be an asset in change management.
Source: “Policy vs. Paper Clips” Third Edition, 2011, pp. 156-157.
Nonprofit Management 