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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 Board Just Fired Me . . . and I’m the Founder!
We usually don't publish First Person Nonprofit articles anonymously. But in this case we know the individual and corroborated the key points of her story, and we understand why she has asked that her name not be published.Four weeks and five days …
Firing the Executive Director
Boards of directors tend to fall into one extreme or another when it comes to dissatisfaction with the executive director. Some boards let their dissatisfaction simmer for years without resolution. Other boards are too hasty and fire an executive at th …
How to Hire Your First Development Director
The only thing worse than not having fundraising staff is having bad fundraising staff. To help you avoid the mistakes many others have made in hiring development staff, we’ve stolen a script of a scene with consultant Leyna Bernstein as she talk …
What is Micromanagement and What Isn’t?
Micromanagement: whatever the board is doing that the executive director doesn’t like. :) From an executive director: “The board is micromanaging! They’re driving me crazy!” And from a board member of the same organization: “Every time …
How to Hire a Great Accountant for Your Nonprofit
For many executive directors, hiring an accountant is fraught with anxiety. How will we find the right person? How can I tell if someone really knows accounting? Will an accountant fit in with the rest of us? As difficult as it is to hire a good accoun …
How Much to Pay the Executive Director?
Nonprofit board members are often puzzled when it comes to setting the salary of the executive director. On one hand, we want to keep our talented staff; on the other hand, we know the budget is tight. Some legal and practical guidelines: It’s m …
Raise Money in 30 Days
Sometimes you need to raise funds in a hurry. It’s easy to think, “We should have established a fundraising plan earlier!” That may be true, but it doesn’t help now. Here are some ways to raise modest funds in a pinch. Because institutions like …
Golden Rule of Board Resignations
At some point you may resign from a nonprofit board before your term is up. You might be angry, disappointed, or just too busy. Don’t botch your resignation: do it right. Most often as board members we stick out our term limits and leave …
