Archive for the ‘Board Development’ Category

So, you’ve decided to start a nonprofit! You have a great business idea that you want to share with the world, and have it publicly funded. I’ve talked to many individuals who have decided to start nonprofits, but with the idea that they’ll run it the way they want to. They will set the agenda, and decide the direction of the organization. I’ve advised those individuals to start a for-profit company.

Nonprofits are meant to be publicly funded; therefore, they need to be publicly governed as well. Boards of Directors govern nonprofits. Boards enforce the mission through goals and policies setting for nonprofits. Also, it is important to note that Boards are comprised of citizens with an interest in the organizations wellbeing. They are typically volunteers, and are usually passionate about the mission of the organization. So, consider wisely if you want to maintain the control over your “good cause” business. If you do, then what you really need to start is a for-profit business.

There are similarities between non- and for-profit businesses. You complete similar incorporation paperwork, you definitely put in the same creative energy, but it is the governing part that makes the hugest difference. For-profit business owners set their goals, and move full steam ahead. While, nonprofits have more layers to go through when setting goals and moving forward. The Board is not there to be a deterrent, but instead to be the heart of the organization. The Board ensures that the organization is meeting its goals and upholding its mission. So, an organization is only as strong as its Board. (I know that is such an old cliché, but so true.)

Consider a few things before deciding to create a nonprofit:
1.  Are there other organizations doing what you want to do? Would it be better for you to combine your efforts?
2.  Are you ready to give up your control for the betterment of the work, and the individuals that will benefit from it?
3.  How will you fund the initial costs of starting your nonprofit?

There are many more questions that you should ask yourself. These are just a few. Now that I’ve given you some food for thought, go think!

Every business needs a plan; therefore, you are encouraged
to create a business plan. Then you need a way to ensure that that plan is
implemented, this is where strategic planning comes into play. Strategic
planning, in simplest terms, is the process of taking your business plan and
making it into action items. Identifying what you’ll spend time accomplishing
in order to meet your business plan objectives.

You need a few tools as you start to create your strategic
plan, they are:

·        
Personnel roster – know who is on your team and
what their skillsets include. You’ll create jobs for personnel, and need to
know what job is best suited for that individual.

·        
Calendars – make measurable milestones. At the
end of this process there should be a timeline with clear milestones as ways
for you to measure the success of the process.

·        
Time – allow yourself, and your staff, time to
develop this plan. Many organizations make an event out of strategic planning
by having an office retreat, or conference, and spend at least 8 full hours
working on it.

·        
Creativity hat – this is an opportunity to think
outside the box. If you’ve had an idea that you’ve wanted to try, now is the
time to share and brainstorm more innovative ways to reach your target market.

·        
Open mind – this goes hand in hand with being
creative. All ideas should be considered as this fosters sharing.

·        
Physical tools – there are some actual tools you
should have around the room during a retreat, such as: paper, pens, poster
pages, markers, tape, and the mission statement should be posted everywhere.

·      
Your mission statement is a key element to
accomplishing anything for your organization. Every staff person should clearly
know the mission statement. It should be reiterated in every activity. So, have
it posted clearly.

While it isn’t mentioned as an essential component, it
should be, there should be a facilitator present. The facilitator should be a
non-staff person as they will be the most objective. Their job will be to keep
the conversation moving forward. They are not there to control the
conversation, but to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to join in and
share. It should be a safe place for people.

Strategic planning can happen whenever you deem it
necessary. If you take time to do this before you start looking at next year’s
budget, then you can perhaps add new ideas into your funding process. This will
give your strategic planning more of a business development approach, and your
creativity and new business strategies will really come into play. Now, if you
decide to do your strategic planning at the beginning of a new fiscal year, you
may not have the opportunity to manipulate the budget; therefore, you’ll have
to make sure your new business development stays within your allotted budget for
each department. As you can see there is no right or wrong time to do strategic
planning, and no one will say you can only do it once a year. However, as I’ve
already mentioned, it is imperative that you 
keep in mind that strategic planning is directly tied into your budget.

Here’s
a resource that I found that may be helpful as you are walking through this
process. If you need a referral for a facilitator, please contact me as I
know several.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in 2002 in response to scandals involving several public corporations such as: Enron, Tyco International, and WorldCom just to name a few. The reason why this is important to your nonprofit is that it is a public company, and is therefore subjected to the regulations within the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Now, I’m neither a lawyer nor accountant, so this blog post is in no way giving you advice. However, my intention is to expose you to websites that will assist you in increasing your understanding of this Act. Thus, I think it is always best to start at the beginning, and here is the full Act. Then next I would just visit a few blogs to see what people are saying.

Happy reading!

Directors & Officers Insurance (commonly referred to as D&O insurance), is often overlooked by nonprofits for the simple reason they are uncertain whether or not they really need D&O coverage. Read this article noting compelling reasons to protect your organization. This should reassure you that D&O insurance has significant value to even the smallest nonprofit organization.

When a person becomes a board member, she assumes a level of responsibility for the organization and thus exposes herself to claims for not managing the organization properly. Even if the case brought against a board is thrown out, the organization still bears the brunt of having to pay the legal fees. Legal expenses could be brutal for a small organization and could even put them right out of business.
In general, D&O insurance includes coverage of an officer or director in the discharge of his/her duties. This includes but is not limited to:

• Any actual or alleged act
• Misstatement or misleading statement,
• Neglect or breach of duty
• Omission and/or error

As with all insurance policies, read the policy carefully to ensure it includes all the necessary components for your organization. Here is a checklist of issues to review when looking to purchase D&O insurance.

Brainstorming new ideas may be your passion; implementing new ideas on the other hand may be where projects breakdown. When bringing your key leaders together your organization can gain passion and purpose in utilizing true collaboration.

Here are a few key strategies to assist you in seeing those well-dreamt projects through to fruition.

• Include your entire team in gathering ideas. You never know where a great idea may come from, and it could very well be the part-time volunteer that comes up with the next best thing.
• Check with the community that you serve to see if anyone has a suggestion for how your organization can improve its current services, or implement something new. A suggestion box is a great way to gather ideas from community members.
• Surveys are effective in helping organizations gauge the successfulness of a program. We recommend surveys that also gauge the interest of the community and staff members. This sort of questionnaire will assist your organization in not only considering what new ideas to try, but will also tell you what current programs are working well.

Remember to include everyone; it helps to grow a stronger organization if you get the buy-in from as many people as possible. In addition, it is very important to make sure that whatever new ideas you implement fit with the organization’s mission statement and strategic plan.

Check out the organizational assessment tool offered free through The Hartford Foundation’s Nonprofit Support Program.