The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) are holding their 2023 Charities Conference virtually on October 11-12, 2023. The conference is unique in its targeting of attendees representing government regulators, nonprofits, and professional advisors. The cost of registration is $100. Register here through Monday, October 9. Wednesday, […]
governance
Fiscal Sponsorship and Board Governance
On July 11, 2023, Fiscal Sponsor Conversations (“the weekly form for fiscal sponsors”) focused its discussion on governance for fiscal sponsors. What role does your Board of Directors play in your organization’s fiscal sponsorship work? How is it working? What could be improved? As with most things in fiscal sponsorship, there isn’t one single “right” […]
The Nonprofit Board Member You’d Love to Recruit
Shortly after writing The Nonprofit Board You’d Love to Join, it seemed important to look at this issue from the other direction. The following is a list of ten attractive characteristics of a board member from the perspective of a charity: Ten Attractive Characteristics of a Nonprofit Board Member Deeply connected to the mission This is […]
The Nonprofit Board You’d Love to Join
If we accept as given that a nonprofit has a mission that resonates with you, what makes a board one you would want to join? Likely, the principal reasons are your existing relationships to the organization and its leadership. But for organizations seeking board members, the following list of ten attractive characteristics of a nonprofit […]
Leading with Intent: 2023 Nonprofit Board Survey
BoardSource recently launched its survey in connection with the updated Leading with Intent: BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices for 2023. Who serves on today’s nonprofit boards? What matters most when it comes to the board’s roles and responsibilities? What impact are they having on organizational performance? How do boards conduct their work? How well […]
Legally Compliant Bylaws – Good Enough?
It’s easy to find a copy of nonprofit bylaws on the Internet. Fine tune it a little bit – like by changing the desired number of directors and the number of meetings – and it can seem like you’re good to go. But just in case the bylaws you used are not legally compliant in […]
Nonprofit Board Member Conflicts of Interest
A board member of a charitable nonprofit organization may find themselves in an awkward position where the board is voting on a matter in which the board member has a conflict of interest. Perhaps the matter has to do with contracting the board member or their company, paying the board member for some service they […]
NPQ Webinar: Boards as Social Movement Spaces
On July 28, 2022, the Nonprofit Quarterly presented an intriguing and highly insightful webinar, Changing the Subject: Boards As Social Movement Spaces. It featured Dr. Carmen Rojas, President and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Makiyah Moody, Founder and President of Kairos & Heart LLC, and Jenifer Gager Holland, Founder of JLG Consulting. Below is […]
Compensating Nonprofit Board Members
Many of us serve as volunteer board members of a charitable nonprofit organization. But some nonprofit board members get paid for their service. There are strong feelings about the propriety of compensating nonprofit board members that are worth exploring before arriving at any conclusions. The Law Federal tax laws applicable to public charities do not […]
BoardSource: Putting Purpose First
Late last year, BoardSource published an important new book on nonprofit governance, Putting Purpose First: Nonprofit Board Leadership Today. The book incorporates the governance framework first introduced in the article The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership written by BoardSource CEO Anne Wallestad for the Stanford Social Innovation Review. This highly influential piece sparked several […]