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Executive Director Evaluation Survey Form
In the last issue of Blue Avocado, we discussed how board evaluations of executive directors (CEOs) are different from all other performance evaluations in the organization. These differences — including the limited ability of board members to observe …
Evaluating the Executive Director
Are you sighing just from having read the title of this article? Why does this topic make us all feel so tired?Virtually everyone agrees that boards should conduct performance reviews of executive directors (EDs or CEOs). Even so, the predominant pract …
Contract Wizardry: Conjuring Impact from Government Contracts
Have you ever tried to piece together eleven government contracts for overlapping programs, trying to make them fit together to fund all the costs? Or have you had six foundation grants, all for the same program area, but each requiring different …
The Governance/Support Model for Nonprofit Boards
Much of the confusion about board responsibilities is confusion between what the board does (as a body) and what individual board members should do. Most of the prescriptions for boards confuse the two, saying “The board should _____” without mak …
Foundation-Nonprofit “Partnerships” — Fact or Fiction?
We are pleased to publish this article simultaneously with the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: The question posed to me by NCRP for this article: “Is it possible for a foundation and a grantee to have an honest, real partners …
Should Staff Contact with the Board Be Restricted?
Not all nonprofit organizations need or have paid staff. But in those that do, a frequently thorny issue is that of direct contact between staff and board members: Should board members have contact with staff independent of the executive directo …
Psst! Want Your New Executive Director to Succeed?
Let’s turn our attention away from the departure of long-time executives to the arrival of the next executive directors. Here are 12 easy and important ways for board members to help a new executive get started fast and on the right foot: …
Ten Myths About Nonprofit Boards
It seems as if there's always somebody at the board meeting saying, "That's what nonprofit boards are supposed to do." Sometimes it's even the executive director. Here is a quick directory to the most common myths wreaking havoc i …
The 7 x 7 Board Member Briefing
Very often the only time a board member is given the "microphone" at a board meeting is when he or she is making a committee report. But wait a minute! Why do we ask people onto boards because of their knowledge and perspectives, but never gi …
Four Ways to Remove a Board Member
Occasionally, a board member needs to be removed from the board. In some cases, a conflict of interest or unethical behavior may be grounds to remove an individual from the board. In other cases, the behavior of a board member may become so obst …
