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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 …
Accounting Procedures Manual Template
Has “Create an Accounting Procedures Manual” been on your To Do list for several months now? For several years? You aren’t alone. We often stumble on this task for two, curiously contradictory reasons: Creating an Accounting Procedures Manua …
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 …
When Kids Volunteer: Liability Basics
Whether kids sell cookies or help clean up a park, they are welcome volunteers. Just be sure you know the basics of how to protect them and your organization when it comes to liabilities (at the end of this article is a link to a sample waiver): …
Nonprofit Personnel Files — A Guide from Ask Rita
Dear Rita: We've never paid too much attention to our personnel files, but we've just entered a contract with the county and we think it's time for us to get our act together on this. I know we need a personnel file for each employee …
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: …
Firing My Friend, the Founder
Blue Avocado's recent article, "The Board Just Fired Me, and I'm the Founder!" generated a huge reader response. For this issue we interviewed a board member from a different organization:My wife became friendly with someone she knew …
Regrets of a Former Arts Funder
As Program Officer for Arts and Culture at the San Francisco Foundation, I and philanthropic colleagues often bemoaned how fragile many culturally specific organizations were. One person would wonder why there were so few financially stable Afri …
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 …
Board Insurance: Do You Really Need It?
We wanted an expert’s view on what nonprofits need to know about Directors & Officers (board) liability insurance, so we asked Susan Bradshaw, VP at the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance Group. (And don’t miss the link to a free booklet on D&O at t …
