nonprofits

The board president (or in some organizations, board chair) plays a large role in the success of any nonprofit organization. The president manages the board and its committees and sets the tone for the culture of the board. As the bridge between the board and chief executive, the... Read More →

As part of my work, I often talk with people about their ideas for a new business or service. Like so many potential entrepreneurs, the people I talk with are eager to do work that they believe in and feel good about. Many of the business ideas have a community benefit or social... Read More →

Nonprofit leadership requires a healthy partnership between the board and its chief executive. Organizations benefit from active, engaged board leadership coupled with a chief executive with strong leadership skills. Too often, however, the leadership in nonprofit organizations... Read More →

I frequently hear concerns from board leaders and nonprofit executives about lack of board member engagement in their organizations. Details range from poor meeting attendance to failure to participate in committee work, events, or fundraising. While every board faces its... Read More →

Our seven county Creative Corridor is home to over three thousand registered nonprofit organizations. Most of these are small and rely upon volunteers, rather than paid staff, to manage the organizations. Some intend to remain all-volunteer organizations; others are seeking to... Read More →

A retreat provides the opportunity to step away from the ‘meeting as usual’ approach to address larger organizational issues. This could mean developing a strategic plan, determining an annual work plan, or having a strategic discussion about the organization’s programming mix... Read More →

Relationships are hard. They take time, they require attention, and typically, they call for a little bit of patience and understanding. After that kind of investment in your relationships with board members, why throw it all away when a member leaves your board? For many... Read More →

Serving as a board member takes your relationship with an organization to the next level. Whether you have worked with dozens of nonprofits or are contemplating service on your first board, vetting an organization before joining its board can make a difference in how well that... Read More →

This post first appeared in the Corridor Business Journal. We’d never expect our public works departments to routinely repair our streets using shovels and wheelbarrows or our businesses to use manual credit card machines and typewriters to process customer payments. Yet, in many... Read More →

This post first appeared in the Corridor Business Journal. Running and managing a nonprofit is a challenging proposition because it’s a business model reliant, to a greater or lesser degree, upon human generosity. And there’s no time of year when this is more apparent than it is... Read More →