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Financial focus: You told us
In our April issue, we asked you to offer your thoughts on how the current political landscape will affect your organization’s funding. Your answers weren’t surprising, but they weren’t optimistic either. That’s understandable. It’s tough …
In the boardroom: Asked to join that board?
Asked to join that board? Here’s what to look for before you sign on the dotted line Most board recruitment is relationship-based. Often a friend or colleague, already serving on a board, will recruit you to join their Community Benefit Organiza …
In the Board Room: Staying In the Loop And Out Of the Weeds
Recently, a nonprofit CEO requested that I help him keep his incoming board chair “in the loop but out of the weeds.” A catchy slogan, but what does that really mean? Those who have been through board leadership changes know the de …
Building a More Diverse Board with Intention
According to a report from Boardsource, a third of 1,300 nonprofit CEOs surveyed say that their boards are 100 percent white. They also report that 45 percent of board members are women. That means that a lot of important voices never get invite …
Divorce and the Nonprofit Board Member
Over the course of seven years, I have served on the boards of two nonprofit agencies and on the education committee of a third. I’m a professional academic, with the organizational skills and the flexible schedule that make me valuable as a vol …
If Your Board Looked Like Your Community
Moving Board Diversity from a ‘Problem to Solve’ to ‘Something to Practice.’ Staff and Board Members Weigh in on Common Hurdles and How to Overcome Them. This story is part of New Faces New Spaces, a series by the Irvine Foundation exploring how …
The Definitive Nonprofit Board Book: Index (humor)
While the complete manuscript of this book on nonprofit boards were lost in a swamp, the title and index were salvaged for posterity:Book title: Strategic, Transformative Expertise-based Roles Emerging Out of Thoughtful Year-round Paradigm Evolution (S …
If You Give a Board Treasurer A Cookie . . .
Blue Avocado columnist Vu Le inspires us again with his ideas for nonprofit-themed children’s books. We should all be writing some! Today, I want to talk about children’s books. I am so sick of these children’s books that my one-year-old …
A Board Member’s Guide to Nonprofit Overhead
Calculating overhead rates and managing overhead expense are important staff roles. Board members are not required to know how do staff accounting work, but we do need to bring an informed perspective to our oversight: Harvard’s indirect cost ra …
Who’s the Boss? The Board or the Executive?
There is an abundance of advice for nonprofit boards and EDs that speaks to the advantages of “partnership” and “open communications.” But sometimes that advice just doesn’t feel like enough. Who’s the boss? The board or the executive director/C …
