Trustee Boards

What Does Nonprofit Board Oversight Mean? Revised/Updated

Once Again! What Does Nonprofit Board Oversight Mean?

Every week, three or four nonprofit case stories surface in the meida related to inadequate oversight by nonprofit boards of directors. Many of the cases result six or seven figure dollar losses to the nonprofits. Following is my personal list of what reasonable board oversight means to attempt to help nonprofit boards of directors to avoid such losses.

  • At least half the board should be able to analyze the monthly or quarterly financial statements. Have voluntary information sessions available for those who do not have the skills. (more…)

Can a 9-Year Tenure Promote Nonprofit Director Effectiveness?

Can a 9-Year Tenure Promote Nonprofit Director Effectiveness?
Milestone:This blog-post is number 200, since late 2011, for my blog-site. Like this blog-post, I have attempted to show how board practice and research from other areas might help nonprofits to achieve better mission outcomes and impacts. In other posts, I have attempted commented on traditional issues, such as is the board or CEO primarily responsible for fundraising? That blog-post went viral on the Internet abut 10 days ago and continues to go viral today. Thanks to all who added their insights and experiences to my comments.

By: Eugene Fram

Having served on two nonprofit boards for a period of ten consecutive years, I was interested to read a current study of the optimal tenure for business board directors. The business study found that a director’s effectiveness peaked at nine years, after which it falls off.* If a parallel study were to be run with nonprofits, what conclusions might be drawn given that the usual nonprofit board tenure is two three-year terms? What, if any, might be the impact on nonprofits by extending directors’ term of office? Although there are differences in their missions, nonprofit and for-profit boards should be able learn from each other., (more…)

The NonProfit Overhead Myth – Devil in the Details

A frank discussion of the overhead myth may impact the very survival of nonprofits. Article in the September-October issue of Nonprofit World?

Click to access V310509.pdf

When Nonprofit Missions Get Muddled

When Nonprofit Missions Get Muddled

By: Eugene Fram

It happens over time. A passionately conceived mission starts to drift from its original intentions. Stakeholders begin to view a nonprofit’s purposes from a different angle. There is a discrepancy between how the organization is committed to act and external perceptions of its current actions. Nonprofit boards need to be on the alert to such misalignments that can go unnoticed in the perceptual “fog” of daily challenges. (more…)

Who in a nonprofit organization is responsible for fund-raising? Should the CEO follow or lead the board? Updated/Revised

Who in a nonprofit organization is responsible for fund-raising? Should the CEO follow or lead the board?

By Eugene Fram

The CEO is the advance guard when it comes to fund-raising. First and foremost, he/she has to be alert to all places where the CEO can raise funds on his/her own initiative. (more…)

A Nonprofit Board’s Most Important Job!

A Nonprofit Board’s Most Important Job!

By: Eugene Fram

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: (more…)

Bibliography: Articles Related to For-Profit & Nonprofit Governance

Bibliography: Articles Related to For-Profit & Nonprofit Governance – September, 2013

By

Eugene Fram, Professor Emeritus
Saunders College of Business
Rochester Institute of Technology
frameugene @gmail.com


Remembering it is the beginning of the school year, I have developed the following bibliography for those needing references on corporate governance. It is a list of articles I have published over the last several decades. You can easily access most by listing article title via a Google search. If you have problems accessing any, please send me an e-mail. Several additional articles are scheduled for publication, and I will add to this bibliography as they are published. (more…)

Important: Robust Evaluations of Nonprofit CEOs

Important: Robust Evaluations of Nonprofit CEOs

By Eugene Fram

Like any group, the vast majority of nonprofit CEOs are hardworking managers dedicated to the mission, vision and values of their organizations. The nonprofit evaluation processes of the past, typically involving a cursory examination of the financials plus a simple questionnaire to directors, simply isn’t sufficient for the 21st century. A much more rigorous process is needed if to keep the public’s faith in nonprofit world. I have been involved with these types of evaluations, and the professional CEOs involved understood their necessity.

Following are the steps I consider necessary for a robust CEO evaluation. (more…)

Nonprofit Directors Can Be Effective Ambassadors

Nonprofit Directors Can Be Effective Ambassadors

By: Eugene Fram

Directors are definitively not rock stars! Yet business boards are suggesting greater visibility for those individuals whose names are on their letterhead, according to a recent article in a Canadian magazine. * The commercial rationale behind this growing trend is that well regarded and knowledgeable directors can make the best ambassadors to a wide variety of stakeholders, the most important group being stockholders.

The nonprofit board, in my opinion, is uniquely qualified to emulate this new corporate board focus. (more…)

Reflections on Nonprofit Success Stories

Reflections on Nonprofit Success Stories

By: Eugene Fram

As a veteran business professor, former students occasionally contact me to recount how I may have impacted their lives. Some have become senior executives in Fortune 500 companies, others have become attorneys, have founded profitable businesses and a few successfully have followed in my footsteps into the academic world after some years of business experience.

I recently reviewed the comments on my book, Policy vs. Paper Clips, listed on Amazon.com and thought my blog post viewers might like to see some abstracted comments, showing successful use of the governance model in my book. Eight out of ten reviews were top “five star” ratings.

My boards recognized the danger of fiddling with paper clips while strategy burns.

We had no board turnover (because) of the change (moving to the Corporate Model of Governance.)

The model is intended to convey a sense of professionalism, discipline and organizational skill.

We were able to start acting on the core idea (focus on policy not operations) immediately.

The board’s most important job is to find the best possible person to manage the organization, then stand back and let the person manage.

An added benefit is that a Leader’s Guider is available (free from the author) to facilitate discussion.

But he (the author) gets you to think about things the board needs to address.

After 15 years, the board members love (the model) because they are engaged at a strategic level.

For more details see: http://amzn.to/eu7nQl