Helps board members to lead wisely, effectively and efficiently.
NONPROFIT FUND-RAISING BY BOARD MEMBERS & CEOS
Trustee Responds to Charge of Being Willfully Blind or Incompetent!
Trustee Responds to Charge of Being Willfully Blind or Incompetent!
By Eugene Fram
The organization in which Andrew Purkis served as a trustee had been dissolved. Purkis and his colleagues were cited as “…willfully blind or incompetent.” * Such strongly negative pronouncements inspired him to write an essay in which he listed four reasons why his British group had been unsuccessful in exercising their oversight responsibilities.
A review of his rationale provides some fodder for American nonprofit directors/trustees to consider the reasons that led to his organization’s downfall– and more importantly, to assess their own board strengths and vulnerabilities. The following, in my opinion, are areas that have relevance to the Purkis exposition.
(more…)
Radio Program Tomorrow–March 11th.
You may find this radio program in which I am interviewed of interest.
Can Groupthink Hamstring Change on a Nonprofit Board?
Can Groupthink Hamstring Change on a Nonprofit Board?
By: Eugene Fram
Dictionaries typically define groupthink as “…the lack of individual creativity, or a sense of personal responsibility that is sometimes characteristic of group interaction.” In my opinion, the process is as lethal to the nonprofit board as smoking can be for humans. It ties boards to past experience and discourages experimentation. Since many nonprofit charters require boards to “conserve assets” and board members are characteristically volunteers, the nonprofit culture inevitably defers to groupthink–it’s in their DNA! “One goes along to get along.”
(more…)
Can Nonprofit Boards Learn from the Recent Carnegie Hall Disruption?
Can Nonprofit Boards Learn from the Recent Carnegie Hall Disruption?
By: Eugene Fram
The costly upheaval between Carnegie Hall board and staff appears to be slowly moving toward resolution. * But, for decades, other types of large nonprofit organizations have imperfectly resolved the issues that have arisen at Carnegie Hall without similar spectacles. Examples: university boards know they have to fully rely on faculty to develop up-to-date curricula. Hospital boards know they have to retain skilled physicians or face the potential of due care failure liabilities.
I suggest that nonprofit directors need to consider three actions to help eliminate the type of spectacle recently evidenced by the Carnegie Hall organization. (more…)
Board Members: Does Your Nonprofit Know How To Engage Business Donors?
Board Members: Does Your Nonprofit Know How To Engage Business Donors?
By: Eugene Fram
Fund development should be a partnership between board members and CEOs/Development Officers, if the latter is available. However, I have noted that board members don’t take sufficient responsibility to make certain that CEOs and Development directors are well prepared when they approach potential business donors. This, in my view, is the first step in building a relationship fundraising approach.
Many involved with NFP fundraising or management have spent their entire careers in the nonprofit environment, resulting in a gap in communicating with those in the business environment. Some may even privately believe that those in business contribute less significantly to society. While little can be done about the latter, here is what I think can be done to fill or reduce the unfortunate gap in cultures often found between for-profits and nonprofits, especially when it relates to fund development. (more…)
Suggested & Field Practices From Most Viewed 2015 Blog Posts
Suggested & Field Practices From Most Viewed 2015 Blog Posts
By Eugene Fram
Currently my blog-site has over 350 posts on nonprofit governance. Following are six 2015 posts that stand out based on viewer interest.
1. https://non-profit-management-dr-fram.com/2015/11/15/the-nonprofit-strategic-plan-is-finished-tools-to-move-forward/
The nonprofit’s 3 or 5-year strategic plan has been completed with the entire board management and staff reading from the same document. But what about the shoals that must be bridged before its benefits can be implemented? For example:
2. https://non-profit-management-dr-fram.com/2015/11/08/the-nonprofit-ceo-exceeds-hisher-authority-what-happens-then/
For a nonprofit organization, it is necessary to hire a president/CEO or executive in whom the board can place a high degree of trust. But along with the trust, the board must ROBUSTLY annually evaluate the CEO and the organization’s performance.
3. https://non-profit-management-dr-fram.com/2015/10/25/why-are-some-nonprofit-boards-missing-the-mark-what-to-do-2/.
For-profit organizations or nonprofit organizations, in my opinion, have five identical basic board guidelines. For Deloitte Partners, a worldwide accounting and financial advisory firm, these constitute board responsibilities that can’t be delegated to management. The board has responsibilities to have: a viable governance structure, annual assessments of (board and) organizational performance, driven strategic planning, improved management talent and assured organizational integrity. A relentless pursuit of these lofty goals will enable nonprofits to be “on the mark.”
4. https://non-profit-management-dr-fram.com/2015/08/02/how-often-do-nonprofit-board-members-need-to-question-strategic-norms/
Following are four nonprofit areas that call for strategic scrutiny and, if recognized by several other current board members as constraints on the future of the nonprofit, the process may allow individual directors to seek positive change:
5. https://non-profit-management-dr-fram.com/2015/06/14/once-again-how-to-keep-a-nonprofit-informed/
With high performing nonprofit boards, directors will rarely be invited by the CEO to participate in operational decisions. As a result, management will always have more information than the board. Yet the board still needs to know that is happening in operations to be able to overview them. The name of the game is for the CEO to communicate the important information and to keep directors informed of significant developments. Still, there’s no need to clutter regular board meetings by reporting endless details about operations. Following are some practical suggestions:
6. https://non-profit-management-dr-fram.com/2015/12/13/dysfunctional-levels-in-nonprofit-boards-organizations-2/
These data and comments can lead one to conclude that all nonprofit boards are dysfunctional. I suggest that nonprofit boards can generate a range of dysfunctional behavioral outcomes, but the staff can muddle through and continue to adequately serve clients.
Once Again! Nonprofit CEO: Board Peer – Not A Powerhouse
Once Again! Nonprofit CEO: Board Peer – Not A Powerhouse
By: Eugene Fram
Viewer Favorite: Updated and Revised
Some nonprofit CEOs make a fetish out of describing their boards and/or board chairs as their “bosses.” Others, for example, can see the description, as a parent-child relationship by funders. The parent, the board, may be strong, but can the child, the CEO, implement a grant or donation? Some CEOs openly like to perpetuate this type of relationship because when bad decisions come to roost, they can use the old refrain: the board made me do it.
My preference is that the board-CEO relationship be a partnership among peers focusing on achieving desired outcomes and impacts for the nonprofit. (I, with others, would make and have made CEOs, who deserve the position, voting members of their boards! Some state laws specifically outlaw it.)
There are many precedents for a nonprofit CEO to become a peer board member, some without voting rights, some with full voting rights. One nonprofit group is university presidents, where shared governance with faculty bodies can be the norm. For example, when General Eisenhower became president of Columbia, he referred to the faculty in an initial presentation as “Columbia employees.” Later a senior faculty member informed him “With all due respect, the faculty is the university.”
Another nonprofit group is hospitals where the CEO may also be or has been the chief medical officer. The level of medical expertise needed to lead requires that a peer relationship be developed. Also if the hospital CEO is a management person, he and the chief medical officer must have a peer relationship, which extends to the board.
Hallmarks of a Peer Relationship
• The CEO values the board trust assigned him/her, and carefully guards against the board receiving surprise announcements.
• The board avoids any attempts to micromanage, a natural tendency for many nonprofit boards.
• When a board member works on a specific operating project, it is clearly understood that he is accountable to the CEO for results.
• The CEO has board authority to borrow money for short term emergency needs
• The CEO understands need for executive sessions without his/her presence.
• The CEO understands the need for robust assessment processes to allow the board to meet its overview duties.
• Both board and CEO are alert to potential conflicts of interest which may occurs.
• Both value civil discussion when disagreements occur.
• The board realizes that nobody does his/her job perfectly, and it does not react to occasional CEO modest misjudgments.
Summary
Elevating a nonprofit CEO to a status of board peer does not automatically make the CEO a powerhouse. The board legally can terminate the CEO at will. However, in my opinion, the following benefits can accrue to the organization.
The peer relationship help will:
• Help the organization to build a desirable public brand.
• Allow a capable person to interface with the media.
• Define a role for the CEO to lead in fundraising.
• Allow the organization to hire better qualified personnel.
• Allow the organization to present a strong management environment to funders. After all, top people readily communicate with people in similar positions.
The Nonprofit President/CEO–How Much Board-CEO Trust Is Involved?
The Nonprofit President/CEO–How Much Board-CEO Trust Is Involved?
By; Eugene Fram
Viewer Favorite–Revised & Updated
The title, president/CEO for the operating head of a nonprofit, clearly signals to the public who has the final authority in all operating matters and can speak for the organization.* It is not an ambiguous set of titles. However, the terms “manager” or “executive director” can be quite ambiguous and do not generate the same external understanding or respect. An executive director can be the administrator in a small church or the operational head of a large arts organization. The public and some corporate directors often view managers and executive directors (because of the organizational history of nonprofit) as “hired hands,” not as professionals who, with strategic vision, are able to manage all operational activities. (more…)
Carnegie Hall Board Dissonance–What Lessons For Nonprofits?
Carnegie Hall Board Dissonance–What Lessons For Nonprofits?
By: Eugene H. Fram
Ronald O. Perelman (Carnegie Hall Board Chair) …was critical of trustees for placing “a premium on avoiding tensions and disagreement” and said he will leave (the board) in a month. The Problem: Clive Gillinson (Executive Director & Artistic Director) signed a $100,000 contract that might include a conflict of interest…to which Perelman (and two other directors) objected. The board agreed to engage an independent lawyer to investigate the situation, but Perelman, in apparent anger, reported progress has been too slow. *
Ronald Perelman’s abrupt resignation sounds a “clarion call” for all nonprofit board members. When an executive director appears to overstep his/h authority and/or when the board has not vetted a significant contract, nonprofit board members need to take proactive stands. Although the Carnegie Hall board is about 78 strong and tends to glitter with “star quality,” there are obvious parallels with nonprofit reactions to similar disruptions. How should directors of smaller nonprofits react to morale crises of this nature? (more…)
Nonprofit Management 