nonprofit executive director

Target More Specific Skills in Nonprofit Board Recruitment Plans

Target More Specific Skills in Nonprofit Board Recruitment Plans

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…)

Absenteeism at Nonprofit Board Meetings On the Rise? Technology Can Help!

Absenteeism at Nonprofit Board Meetings On the Rise? Technology Can Help

By: Eugene Fram

Dear Fellow Board Members: as you know, we have had to cancel recent board meetings due to a lack of quorum. It is imperative that we take certain annual administrative actions that require a duly called meeting and quorum of our board. To date we have been unable to do so due to our lack of attendance….

Twenty-four directors recently received this note from the organization’s volunteer president at the end of June. His sense of frustration was obvious. Lack of a quorum had precluded action on a number of important issues. And although no meetings are scheduled during the summer months, the president felt impelled to call one to take care of unresolved business.

From my experiences with a variety of nonprofits, this single case is indicative of continuing problems. What are the expectations of board attendance at these meetings? And why should it matter when directors have poor attendance records? Finally, what can be done to get a majority of the directors to the boardroom for what is usually no more than nine two-hour sessions a year? How can technology best assist? (more…)

Do Nonprofit Boards Have Viable 21st Century Options?

Do Nonprofit Boards Have Viable 21st Century Options?

By: Eugene Fram

Based on what has transpired so far in the 21st century, the typical nonprofit board in the United States appears to have acquired more constraints and fewer options to maneuver. Although charitable giving rose moderately in 2012, financial options remained constrained as increased operating costs and increased client needs cloud future prospects. (more…)

Do Nonprofit Board Fundraising Committees Really Work?

Do Nonprofit Board Fundraising Committees Really Work?

By Eugene Fram

Nonprofit boards have struggled for years to develop effective board fundraising committees. According to the BoardSource 2012 Governance Index, 46% of nonprofit CEOs gave their boards “D” or “F” grades for their fundraising efforts.

Simone Joyaux in a current NPQ Newswire* raises some pertinent questions related to the “struggle to get the board to carry out its fund development role.” I have listed her questions below in italics. My overall response to her questions is that fundraising committees are not always necessary for effective fund raising! Where the committee is doing a poor job (graded average or below), it is best to cultivate and support a few board members to drive fundraising. (more…)

The Nonprofit Overhead Myth – Devil Is In the Details?

The Nonprofit Overhead Myth – Devil Is In the Details?

By: Eugene Fram

Do nonprofits have to consistently report low overhead percentages for administration and marketing to satisfy donors? Do these modest overhead percentages do more long-term damage to the nonprofit’s ability to fulfill it mission than short-term good? * (more…)

Nonprofit Board Responsibility Social Media – What Needs To Be Done? Revised & Updated

Nonprofit Board Responsibility Social Media – What Needs To Be Done? Revised & Updated
By: Eugene Fram
Nonprofit boards, for several years, have been struggling to find proper uses for social media. Many of the decisions on this issue will become strategic board decisions because they will require using alternative promotional strategies, experimental trials and infusion of capital and human resources. The December 8, 2012 issue of the NACD Directorship* cites a Stanford study concluding that for-profit boards should develop a better understanding of this new phenomenon. Following are how I think the steps should be applied to smaller and medium sized nonprofit board decisions:
Assess current capabilities. (more…)

Nonprofit Chief Executives Should Have Title: President/CEO, Updated & Expanded

Nonprofit Chief Executives Should Have Title: President/CEO, Updated & Expanded

When nonprofit organizations reach a budget level of over $1 million and have about 10 staff members it is time to offer the chief operating officer the title of PRESIDENT/CEO. In addition, the title of the senior board volunteer should become CHAIRPERSON OF THE BOARD, and the title of EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR needs to be eliminated. Experience has shown that with a reasonably talented PRESIDENT/CEO at the helm, he/she can provide the following benefits: (more…)

Attn: Nonprofit Directors – Overview Points of Engagement

Attn: Nonprofit Directors – Overview Points of Engagement

By: Eugene Fram

Any nonprofit organization has a series of critical points of engagement. The nonprofit board has to make sure it is carefully over-viewing the most important ones. >

Spreading the Good Word: Nonprofit Board Protocol Needed?

Spreading the Good Word: Nonprofit Board Protocol Needed?

By: Eugene Fram

One of the pleasures of nonprofit organizational accomplishments is to communicate the very favorable impacts to their communities or trade/professional associations they serve. Yet frequently these positive results are hidden behind the proverbial bushel! The board and management lose sight of the progress made over a long time period, and the year-to-year successes are construed as routine occurrences internally and externally. (more…)

Harvard Grads Subsidized to Take Nonprofit Jobs: Good, Bad or Irrelevant?

Harvard Grads Subsidized to Take Nonprofit Jobs: Good, Bad or Irrelevant?

By Eugene Fram

According to the May 31, 2013 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, the Harvard Business School Leadership Fellows Program, a special MBA program, supplements its grads’ beginning nonprofit salaries of $45,000 with another $50,000. Over the last 13 years only 106 students have been placed with a total of 47 organizations. However, the 19 grads in the 2013 group is the largest one ever.

Is this a “canary in the mine” singing about coming changes in the backgrounds needed for nonprofit management? (more…)