By Valyrie Laedlein, CRE Co-Director - Nonprofit leaders are hard-wired for accountability.
The tax-exempt sector was structured to assure accountability to the public since its very beginning. Nearly all the leaders whom CRE has had the privilege to work with drive themselves to be sure they are doing right by their communities. And in this moment of terribly constrained resources, all of us are conscious of how important it is that we make every dollar matter in terms of its rightful and effective use. Read more >>
News & Views
A blog for those interested in what affects, motivates and drives the New York City Nonprofit Sector — written by CRE’s crackerjack consulting team. We hope you use this space to share your thoughts, ask questions and engage in conversations about our city, social justice and the nonprofit sector.
Accountability Versus Effectiveness
Looking Beyond the Obvious as You Select Your Next Board Treasurer
By Jeff Ballow, Senior Consultant - Recently I met with a client, an executive director of a small youth development organization, who was concerned about an impending leadership transition on her board of directors. The long-time treasurer, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), was set to leave the board, and this ED did not see any natural replacements among her current board members. “I guess I need to go find an accountant who can immediately step into this role,” she said glumly. Read more >>
My Board Member Wants to Work for me. What Should I Do?
By Jeff Ballow, Senior Consultant - You have just posted a new position on a variety of job sites, circulated the position description to colleagues near and far, and among the initial wave of inquiries is an e-mail from a current member of your board of directors expressing interest in the position. You stare at your computer monitor and wonder, “How should I handle this situation?” Read more >>
Succession Planning and Performance Evaluations: Two Sides of the Same Coin
By Jean Lobell - In an earlier post, I outlined Three Key Issues in Succession Planning. Today’s post is a continuation of the insights I shared on the key elements of a successful succession planning process. Read more >>
One Size Does Not Fit All Boards
By Valyrie Laedlein, CRE Co-Director - The recent publication of Daring to Lead 2011, the national survey of over 3,000 nonprofit executive directors about their organizations and experiences in leadership, makes plain the nature of the challenge in getting a Board of Directors to make a solid contribution to the nonprofit it governs. The small to medium nonprofits participating in the survey (roughly 2/3 of respondents had organizational budgets of under $3 million) face a particular set of constraints. Read more >>
How to Leverage Nonprofit Board Matching Services
by Randall Quan - Board development is a regular topic among CRE clients. Nonprofits are always looking for that perfect mix of folks who care deeply about their missions, take their oversight responsibilities seriously, attend meetings, and add value to their organizations’ overall effort. Oh, and groups would love for their Board members to fundraise—both to write large checks themselves and to get their friends and colleagues to write large checks. Read more >>
When and How to Create Nonprofit Board Committees
A committee is simply a group that can carry out tasks on behalf of the full Board. A committee is often a subgroup of the Board itself, but it can also include non-Board members such as outside experts or even volunteers. Read more >>
Preparing for Succession
by Valyrie Laedlein-A search on the internet on the topic of succession planning yields considerable guidance and commentary for and from the corporate sector. Just this week, Forbes.com ran a story on the Chief Information Officer for Equinix, who has been with the company since 2008 and is already preparing his successor, even though the CIO has no intention of leaving anytime soon. Raising questions related to who will follow the CEO, the COO, the CIO or any other company’s leader is not considered impolitic in that sector. Indeed, it is expected and seen as exercising good business judgment. Grooming rising talent for executive positions is not disrespectful of those currently holding those positions. Failing to do so is considered irresponsible and short-sighted. Read more >>
Making Change
by Valyrie Laedlein - I spend a fair amount of my time working with nonprofit Executive Directors (ED) and Boards on workplans intended to make change happen within the Board of Directors. Much has been written on leading a change effort and managing change, but something I came across today made great sense in the context of some recent client challenges. Read more >>
The ED’s Lament: How Do I Get My Board to Perform?
by Mohan Sikka - Executive Directors frequently tell me that they are dissatisfied with the performance of their boards. Read more >>
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