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Tips for Surviving the Government Shutdown
The government shutdown is resulting in a severe funding shortfall for many nonprofits, both large and small, which is forcing many organizations to consider furloughs, decreased pay, and even layoffs. How can you determine your best and least painful …
You Can’t Fire Me, I’m a Volunteer!
If you’ve worked in volunteer management for any length of time, you’ve probably heard some version of this fear-inducing refrain. Your first encounter with it may be as a direct threat, a mild joke, or overheard when the volunteer speaking doesn’t kno …
I Followed A Founder: a First Person Nonprofit Tale
Too often the focus on nonprofit executive transitions is about the departing executive. We’re in the middle of interviewing 58 executives who followed founders or long-time leaders. Here’s just one of their stories; we’ll call her “Amanda”: The …
Extreme Board Makeover
Despite the complaints of executive directors that their boards “need training,” often the most effective way to change a board is to change the people who are on it. And sometimes, a board itself realizes it needs to change faster and more dramaticall …
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 …
Can We Fire Someone Who Comes to Work Drunk?
Dear Rita: Our receptionist reeked of alcohol when she arrived at work today. This is not the first time this has happened, especially on a Monday morning. We have spoken to her several times and, as in the past, her supervisor took her aside and …
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we know the individual and corroborated the key points of her story, and we understand why she has asked that her name not be published.Four weeks and five days …
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 …
Emma’s Disability is Hurting Performance: Can We Fire Her?
Dear Rita: Emma has worked as a case manager for our nonprofit for over 15 years. Lately, she has outbursts with clients and coworkers and she’s way behind on her paperwork. We designed a Performance Improvement Plan. A couple of weeks later …
How Did This Happen? Part 2 of the Vanguard Foundation Story
In Part 1 of this story on the decline and fall of the Vanguard Public Foundation, we reported on how Vanguard’s leadership became involved with apparent conman Samuel “Mouli” Cohen, and how millions of dollars disappeared into a get-rich-quick s …
