Building good relationships with your board

Welcome back!

In the Coalitions Online Newsletter, Larry Hermen, long-time expert on senior management development, points out that the old way of thinking that a CEO's relationship with the board chairperson may not be a good substitute for relating well to the whole board. This is, in my opinion and the opinion of the writer (click on the title of this post to read the whole article), consistent with the Policy Governance principle of the whole board being responsible for its activities, outputs and job products. His article is short and worth a couple of minutes to read.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Governance responsibilities and job outputs

Welcome back! [originally published 2005]

Most descriptions or list of governance responsibilities include activities. In Policy Governance the emphasis is on job outputs.

These board products are the unique job contribution of the board and are undelegable. The board cannot responsibly govern without accomplishing this list of job products.*

1. The board's first direct product is the organization's linkage to the ownership. The board acts in trusteeship for someone, usually a group, as the "ownership", and serves as the legitimizing connection between this base and the organization.
2. The board's second direct product is explicit governing policies. The board has the obligation to fulfill fiduciary responsibility, guard against undue risk, determine program priorities, and generally direct organization activities
3. The board's third direct product is assurance of organizational performance. Once the board has explicitly stated its values as policy, it must ensure that the staff faithfully serves these.

There are other optional, delegable outputs. These include: Fund raising, public image, legislative impact, etc.

What kind of activities are required for a board to accomplish these outputs?

* Derived from the writings for John Carver and Miriam Mayhew Carver

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Board Governance Class at the Center for Nonprofit Management

Welcome back!

I will be teaching a workshop on board governance: "Board Development and Governance Process" on Thursday, January 17, 2 PM until 5 PM at the Center for Nonprofit Management, 1000 N. Alameda, Suite 250, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Registration and a fee is required and can be submitted by fax or mail.

NOTE: if you receive Nonprofit Directions from the Center for Nonprofit Management the correct start time is 2 PM. 2 AM is an error.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

New IRS Compliance Requirement for Small Nonprofits

Starting January 1, 2008, all public charities, regardless of size, are required to file with the IRS. For organizations that do not currently file a “regular” Form 990 because their annual revenues are normally less than $25,000, there is a new, simple online form (Form 990-N) that must be filed. The new form asks a few basic questions about the organization, such as name, mailing address, website address, EIN, name and address of an officer, fiscal year, size of budget, and whether or not the organization is still active. Unfortunately, the form is not available yet because the IRS is still finalizing the online system.
The form must be filed 4 1/2 months after the close of an organization’s fiscal year. Failure to file the form for three consecutive years will result in termination of an organization’s tax exemption. To reinstate tax-exempt status, an organization must reapply (and pay a hefty “user fee”) and provide a good reason why it did not file earlier.
For more information, visit the IRS web site. Keep up-to-date with all IRS charity and exempt organization issues on their website here.


Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Recommended reading for board members

Welcome back!

For a quick introduction to the basics of Policy Governance(r), I suggest this 24 page booklet. It distills it all into 10 principles. It's worth a read even if you've read Boards the Make a Difference. I recommend this one for everyone who serves on a Policy Governance board.



For the next step the basic textbook for an in-depth treatment of Policy Governance is this:



Later, I'll write my own book.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

$1.2 million to aid flood victims in Tabasco

Welcome back!

Wal-Mart, Inc. contributed $600,000 and leveraged an additional donation from the United Nations Development program in Mexico to total $1.2 million in relief funds to Visión Mundial Mexico. Wal-Mart Foundation Mexico presented the donation to Josue Gonzalez of World Vision Mexico that will be used in relief projects aimed at re-activating the economic systems that contribute to the wellbeing of families in the region of Tabasco affected by the flooding.

Source: Reuters and AlertNet.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

US Poverty Guidelines, Research, and Measurement

Welcome back!

The Federal Government publishes guidelines indicating what level of income defines poverty in the United States. The Department of Health and Human Services publishes their requirements here.

LIHEAP Clearinghouse has the 2008 numbers published here. This site also includes levels of poverty above the poverty line in a useful chart. LIHEAP is Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. This is important information as organizations search for appropriate funding sources and information to benefit people in their communities. Have a question? Leave a comment.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

When is a best practice just a quick fix?

Welcome back!



Many of the board members that I talk to tell me that they use "best practices" as the normative principles for their work as a board member. When the work of the board is assessed there is a lack of underlying principles that help the board understand what it should have accomplished. Something like fixing these mailboxes with duct tape. OI have heard that duct tape can fix just about anything. (As long as these mail boxes don't need to collect mail, it worked!)

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.


photo © Kimmo Palosaari for openphoto.net CC:PublicDomain

Advantages of doing governance right

Welcome back!

There are certain advantages to doing governance right:

1. Focus on the right thing--organizational results
   
2. Accountability for results and all of the important issues of finances, treatment of people, risk management--it goes on and on.
   
3. Linkage and accountability to the community that owns the results.
   

The only systematic, comprehensive approach to these and other other board governance issues is found in the Policy Governance(r) approach. You can add as many "best practices" as you want, but unless to foundation is there, there is no there there.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Policy Governance for the Busy Executive Director

Welcome back!

Do you need a refresher on the role of the Executive Director or CEO in an organization utilizing Policy Governance(r)? I recommend these 16-page summary booklets:



Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Grant Funding Opportunities

Welcome back!

More information is available on the Internet by clicking on the links provided. The information is provided to you from the sources. Any links are the responsibility of the source.


Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program – Deadline: December 13, 2007
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking applications for funding under the G.R.E.A.T. Program. The Program is a school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curriculum. The Program’s primary objective is prevention and is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence, and gang membership. Funds of up to $150,000 will be awarded to state, local or tribal jurisdiction or law enforcement agencies with an active G.R.E.A.T. Program, or committed to starting a G.R.E.A.T. Program, in cooperation with a local education agency. All awards will have a 12-month project period.

Entertainment Software Association Foundation Grant – Deadline: April 15, 2008
The Foundation is dedicated to supporting positive programs and opportunities that make a difference in the quality of life, health and welfare of America’s youth. The Foundation seeks to harness the collective power of the interactive entertainment industry to create positive social impact in our communities which supports geographically diverse projects and programs. Applicants must seek funding for a specific project or program that is or will be in two or more states and serves youths 7-18. Applicants must also provide youth programs in one or more of the following areas: Skills & Personal Development, General Health & Welfare, Risk Behavior Prevention, Education, Multimedia arts/ technology related or applied.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

2007 Federal Poverty Guidelines

Welcome back!

2007 Federal Poverty Guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Quote of the Day

Welcome back! Quote of the Day

"One must be able to get indignant."

- Abbé Pierre

“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.”

- African proverb

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

One Size Fits All Governance

Welcome back! The question is a good one, is it possible to define governance function in its most theoretical sense that can be used by any governing board. This is John Carver with Miriam Carver explaining the answer.



Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Recommended books [UPDATED]

Welcome back!

I've been asked a couple of times recently about what books I recommend for nonprofit professionals. Here is a sampling of what I recommend.




Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Board Member Recruitment, Selection, Election, Retention

Welcome back!

The most important issue for selection of board members is to first define what the board is to do, then determine the kind of person needed to do that job with a group. Most boards that are frustrating their staff because the are micromanaging were selected for their management skill. It does not see too surprising that they would therefore manage things.

• These are sample characteristics that I recommend when looking for good board members:
• Ability & discipline to think
• Recruited for demonstrated commitment to the values and mission of the organization
• Connections to the “moral ownership” and resources
• Creative Thinker, Open Minded, Team Player
• Time and energy to meet
• Strong Ethics, Possess Integrity
• You might think of some others…

Look for board members who will help the group produce the job outputs that your organization needs, the board’s contribution must include:

• Linkage to “ownership”
• Explicit governance values
• Assurance of organizational performance

Additional tasks that the board may assign itself may include:
Donor fundraising

• Personal/corporate donations
• Legislative impact
• You may think of others. . .

If you need the board to do these things, establish characteristics of people who have that capacity. If you are looking for legal help, you likely do not need another board member, you need to find pro bono legal help. If you have in Los Angeles County check with the nonprofit Public Counsel.

Increasing the board's size cannot ensure that the board will do more. Especially if the board has not articulated what it should produce as a group.

How the board elects and installs new members is in your bylaws. Look there first. If it does not serve the needs of the organization, revise them within the limits of the laws of you state or province.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Key Principles of Policy Governance®

Welcome back! These are the foundational principles upon which we build a comprehensive system of governance.

• Governance is a function of ownership not management.
• Boards are the highest authority under ownership.
• Boards are the initial authority within the organization
• Board authority is group authority
• Boards are accountable to the ownership for everything within the organization
• Boards need to empower those to whom they delegate authority while remaining fully accountable for the use of their authority.

I will be speaking about these principles and their application on Thursday, October 4 at the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership. More information here.


Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Fund raising is not begging

Welcome back!

In a great discussion with a good friend who is the Executive Director of a new organization that he has founded about fund raising I said, it's not about begging for money. In fact, I said, it is giving people the opportunity to participate in what we are doing through giving. I stumbled across this article this evening at The Extreme Fundraising Blog.

Click here to read!

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Board Goverance Workshop at Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership October 4

Welcome back!

"Board Leadership - Governance Excellence" is the 3-hour workshop that I am presenting at the Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership on Thursday, October 4, 2007; 3 PM until 6 PM.

Your participation is welcomed and encouraged. There is a rather nominal fee of $30 for LBNP members and $45 for “not-yet-members for the workshop and you need to pre-register at the lbnp.org.

This is what the workshop is about:

How can you attract, motivate and retain good board members? Give them the right job and the right tools. Governance is the highest level of organizational leadership. The role of governance needs to lead with values and vision, and empower both board and staff, and practice the strategic ability to lead leaders. The board’s role is servant leadership. Participants in this workshop – board members and staff leaders will:

• Access value for leadership through governance with Policy Governance® model
• Focus contributions to fulfill their role as servant leaders and avoid meddling or “rubber-stamping”
• Define roles of management and board distinct from one another
• Identify a conceptually complete system of governance that ensures organizational results on behalf of the moral ownership

This workshop will not be a rehash of information that you have heard before and will not be a lot of stories about how boards have failed to do their job. It will provide an introduction to a comprehensive system of board governance that when used well will ensure that the board accomplishes its job outputs, keeps the organization on track with its fiduciary responsibility and makes a difference in the world.

The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership is located at 3635 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90807; (562) 290-0018

I am giving a shorter version of this workshop in St. Louis, MO on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. Please contact me for further information. The workshop is also available for organizations and their boards of directors in 90-minute, 3-hours, and all day formats. The training is also included as part of a complete package of board development services that in addition to training includes technical assistance to define the boards role, the writing of board level policies, monitoring of organizational activities and production of results.

For more information, check out our capacitypartnership.com and contact me gpeterson [at] capacitypartnership [dot] com.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Should the executive director, especially the founder of an organization also serve as Board Member?

Welcome back!


This is a question that I get asked often. There are a lot of passionately held opinions about this. It is really a question about clarity of roles.

When an organization’s founder suggests to me that he or she should be a voting member of the board it is because that person perceives that there is a need to vote as an exercise of power. Frankly, I cannot think of a situation that this kind of power to vote against other board members either to break a tie or to exercise a dissenting vote against the majority would ever be a good idea.

The real answer is that the executive director, founder or not, has a role distinct from that of the board. The role of the board is to govern the organization, first articulating what the organization is to be for and then holding it accountable for accomplishing what it should while avoiding unacceptable situations and circumstances. The role of the ED is to carry out that direction from the board. The founder of an organization will be prudent to have well articulated what the expected results are to be produced, from whom those results should be produced and something about the value of how competing results should be prioritized.

A wise board will ensure that the person in the role of the ED will have the expertise required to accomplish this. The ED will likely be the most informed person in the room when the board is ready to learn what it needs to know to make a good decision. The ED is a colleague and expert to the board of directors.

We provide training and technical assistance to boards of directors to help them fulfill their governance responsibilities, write explicit board level policies, represent the moral ownership and hold organizations accountable. Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions or need assistance. Because poor governance costs more than learning to govern well, the board ought to invest in its governance capacity—the best time to do this is at the start-up stage of any organization

Note: When asked this question recently, it was suggested that good conflict of interest policy would make it ok to have the ED serve as a board member. Having a good conflict of interest policy in place is wise and prudent regardless of whether the executive director has a voting position on the board of directors. Again, the real question is that of clear role distinction and serving those roles.


Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Quotation

Welcome back!

"If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves."

-- Thomas Edison

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Pro Bono Legal help for Nonprofit Organizations

Welcome back!

Lots of questions at our workshop on Friday. That is good. Some of the questions were related to legal issues that I declined to answer, even though I may have expressed my opinions or told you what I had heard attorneys say to others. For real legal help you can contact Public Counsel.

Nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County can access pro bono (free) legal help for your organization through Public Counsel.

For organizations working in the area of community development, you can go directly to this. Other areas of specialty areas are listed here and include immigrant rights, consumer law, child care law, children's rights, and homelessness prevention.

You may want to get legal counsel before entering into a contract, incorporating, developing a partnership where two parties will have responsibilities and benefits. Realize that it may take some time to get your legal counsel. But if you are not in a hurry, this is the place to go. Public Counsel may choose not to help with issues that are already or going to litigation.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

"See you in Court . . ."

Welcome back!

. . . promises to answer these questions:

• What is conflict of interest?
• Can nonprofits hold a raffle?
• What constitutes wrongful termination?
• Are the independent consultants you use really employees?
• Do you know what the penalties are for these and other management mistakes?

You can find more information here.

Speakers such as Kafi Blumenfield, President/CEO of Liberty Hill; and James Cordi, representative from California's Attorney General's Office will answer your your questions and more in "See You In Court" on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 from 9 AM to 12 Noon at the Center a Cathedral Plaza.

When we talked Friday about training programs and sessions we noted that not all are as good as they should be. One of the ways that I try to determine the potential quality of a workshop is to look at the person who is presenting it. In this case, I would want to hear what these people have to say about these topics.

I found this information in Nonprofit Directions (Vol. 14, Issue 31), a publication of Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

California Nonprofit Integrity Act

Welcome back!

There is a variety of information for charities and nonprofit organizations on the website of the California Attorney General's office here. You can find important information on the California Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2005 as a pdf:

http://caag.state.ca.us/charities/publications/nonprofit_integrity_act_nov04.pdf

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Value of Volunteer Time 2005 and 2006

Welcome back!

The estimated dollar value of volunteer time in the US is $18.77 per hour for 2006. For California it was $20.36 in 2005.

The estimate helps acknowledge the millions of individuals who dedicate their time, talents, and energy to making a difference. Charitable organizations can use this estimate to quantify the enormous value volunteers provide.

Learn more about these figures, including how they are calculated and how nonprofit organizations often use them, at the Independent Sector website.

The dollar value of volunteer time for 2006 is estimated at $18.77.

More information about this value and how to use it can be found at Independent Sector's Research on Volunteer Value page here.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

CAPACITY BUILDING: Financial Systems

Welcome back! I am teaching a one-day seminar on Financial Systems for Nonprofits for:

EXECUTIVE SUPPORT NETWORK
Management Training Series
Friday August 10, 2007
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Washington Mutual, First Floor Training Room
4401 Crenshaw Blvd,. Los Angeles, CA

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Executive Director, COO, Bookkeeper, Board members

Make Check Payable to: "SCPIP"
Facilitator: Glen Peterson.
Mail to: 4401 Crenshaw Blvd., Suite 315
Los Angeles, CA 90043

REGISTRATION DEADLINE August 8, 2007
Fee: $70.00 ESN Members
$85.00 Non - members
$95.00 On Site Registration

OBJECTIVE: Participants will learn requirements and regulations of nonprofits finance and budgets.

Continental breakfast & Lunch Served
SPACE IS LIMITED TO THE FIRST 30 TO REGISTER

For additional information contact: Eddie Mae Williams (323) 290-3593

SOUTHEAST COMMUNITIES PREVENTION & INTERVENTION PROGRAMS, INC.
4401 CRENSHAW BLVD, SUITE 315 (323) 290-3593 Phone (323) 290-3594 Fax

I plan to cover how to understand various financial statements, audits, governance role and staff role, certain legal issues such as the California Nonprofit Accountability Act, how to demonstrate accountability and generate confidence among donors and other constituents.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Technology Consulting--Free

Welcome back!

I have a friend/client with a technology consulting business who will take a look at your current technology costs and what you are receiving for that cost, and make recommendations on how you can save money. Other clients have saved considerable amounts on what they spend for internet access, web-hosting, telephone service and equipment, wireless, etc. I will be happy to connect you with him if you request in a comment below.

Additionally, your community organization could become an affiliate for wholesale services and earn money for your nonprofit cause. Let me know so I can make the connection for you.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Welcome back!

"We have to step out of this charity model, and as nonprofits, we have to start being involved in the political discourse. Hunger's not about food."

- Robert Egger, anti-hunger activist, founder of D.C. Central Kitchen, and recent recipient of the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award. (Source: The Washington Post)

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Case Foundation: Make It Your Own Awards

Welcome back!

From the Case Foundation, Make It Your Own Awards:

Our mission is to achieve sustainable solutions to complex social problems by investing in collaboration, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

Jean and Steve Case founded the Case Foundation in 1997 to reflect their family's heartfelt commitment to finding lasting solutions to complex social challenges. Today, the foundation is pursuing a number of initiatives, and is particularly focused on three strategies:

* Encouraging collaboration;
* Supporting successful leaders; and
* Fostering entrepreneurship in the nonprofit sector.

The foundation is applying these strategies to meet the needs of underserved children and families; create thriving and sustainable economic development for communities; bridge cultural and religious divides; expand civic engagement and volunteerism; and accelerate innovative approaches to health care.

The foundation's work stretches across the United States and around the world. To date, we have supported more than 150 organizations that reflect our commitment to collaboration, leadership, and entrepreneurship -- and, ultimately, to improving the health and well-being of children, families, and communities.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Urban Gardening

Welcome back!


This is an edible green space in the parking lot of an urban client. It is an experiment to see if we can pull neighbors and the organization together through gardening. The same guy who planted this will begin a larger garden at a nearby mental hospital where out patients will be able to work to contribute to the project and the food will serve the needs of those who garden.


Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Starting a charitable nonprofit

Welcome back!

This question comes from Northern Ireland, United Kingdom:

I would like information about setting up a charity, can you advise? I am based in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Any help or advice would be appreciated. Can you point me in the right direction?

I am afraid that the most common answer to this question would be related to the mechanics of setting up a government sanctioned nonprofit corporation. This is my answer:

Clearly there will be the technical aspect of papers to file and government agencies with regulations to follow. Those things will be specific to wherever you exist and do your work. The real questions in my mind and the place to start, is to answer these questions, and to do it with some other people who share your passion.

1. Who is it that will benefit from the the charitable activity?
2. What will that benefit be?
3. Among competing values, what will be the most important thing to accomplish considering the costs?

In other words, when all the effort, money, passion, tears, work, have been accomplished--what will be the exchange in the world? Will it be worth the effort? Answering my three questions above will be the start of getting to the that bigger answer.

Even answering these questions may not be of much value unless the answers are somehow put into force to guide the organization to accomplish what it should, for whom and at what relative value.

Our consultancy services add value by setting up a systemic approach to implement this accountability structure: Hold the organization accountable for what it should accomplish, avoid unacceptable situations and circumstance.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

When to make a good decision: quit or stick?

Welcome back!

From Guy Kawasaki's blog: 10 Questions with Seth Goodin

What’s the worst time to quit? When the pain is the greatest. Decisions made during great pain are rarely good decisions.

--Seth Godin

Seth has a new book out called The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) about how to work through the hard times and know when to quit on things that area dead-ends. I have quit a couple of dead-ends recently. Some, there was no pain at all.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Organizational Life-Long-Learning

Welcome back!

We are seeking organizational leaders in Pomona and Los Angeles, California who are committed to life-long-learning who would like to participate in a 3-year capacity development project. The organizations must have working experience in a minimum of one of these social service areas: gang activity, youth violence, or child abuse and neglect.

We will form a collaborative effort with formal roles to meet your capacity building objectives. Collaborating organizations focus on learning in these areas:

• Leadership Development
• Organizational Development
• Program Development
• Revenue Development Strategies
• Community Engagement

Would you like to be considered for participation? Contact us by leaving a comment or click here to go the the contact form.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Writing for Publication

Welcome back! It's time to get something published. It has been 10-years since my last article as published.



So, what kind of article would you like to read?

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Board Member Terms and Term Limits

Welcome back!

An excellent question about terms and term limits for board members.

A quick survey of some of my client’s bylaws show that most boards have a term of 3 years; most limit the number of terms allowable to two or three. One group recently eliminated the term limit after investing heavily in board development and training. The justification was that if a board member is well equipped, serving well, and willing to continue, they wanted to continue taking advantage of their important volunteer resource.

There is a clear advantage for an organization to have trained, experienced and well disciplined board members. A second and third term for members may allow the organization to enjoy just such board members.

A healthy, growing organization will likely have a strategic initiative to constantly renew and find new linkages within the community. One tactic to accomplish this important goal may be to find new board members who rotate onto the board to provide those new connections and new perspectives.

Boards should carefully consider the advantages and disadvantages caused by its limits to member terms and term limits.

Related to this is board evaluation and discipline of itself.

Board terms and term limits are sometimes suggested as a way to remove ineffective or antagonistic board members. While this may in fact happen. It is not a good strategy to enforce board discipline. The board chairperson and the board as a whole are responsible to evaluate the job outputs of the board and the effectiveness of individual board members. Those board members who are not willing to perform with the discipline and rigor required by the boards own explicit board process policy should be invited to resign.

Further, this task has sometimes gone to the executive director (CEO) when the board has failed to live up to this important responsibility. A well-designed board level policy will assign the task of evaluating the board and holding it accountable to the board.

Feel free to comment with your perspective or questions.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Board Member Selection

Welcome back!

I am often asked about how to populate a board of directors with the right people and there are often some assumed answers to the question by the questioner. Most recently this question was asked on the LinkedIn network:

What's the best way to find Board Members for a US based non-profit? We are looking for several individuals who have a passion for classical music and the resources and connections to support, sustain and expand our mission. Most meetings take place via teleconference.

I answered it this way:

“It is not entirely clear whether you are asking for people on LinkedIn to present themselves as prospective board members or if you are looking to identify a clear process for finding the right people to populate the board. When Capacity Partnership Group is helping an organization clarify the process, we suggest the following are the two most important indicators that a good board member is presenting him or herself: (1) the candidate has demonstrated commitment to the organization and its mission, and (2) the candidate has the discipline and the capacity to think abstractly to do the work of governance process. To find someone who will do the work of governance, that must be clearly defined and the practice of the current board of directors. Boards have specific job outputs that ensure that it is doing governance work. Among those job outputs are writing explicit board-level policy, linkage to the moral ownership, and organizational accountability to accomplish what it should while avoiding unacceptable situations and circumstances. It is our consulting practice to train boards and provide necessary technical assistance to put together and utilize a complete system to board governance. This is the essential prerequisite to finding the board members who can help with the outcomes you have described.”

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Welcome back!

Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.

- William Shakespeare

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Technorati Profile

Policy Governance® as leadership

Welcome back!

Policy Governance® as leadership
from www.carvergovernance.com:

Leadership is an important, yet elusive concept. It takes on different forms in different settings. The intent of Policy Governance® is to give operational definition to "leadership" as it applies in the specific context of a governing board.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Speaking on Governance at CCDA

Welcome back. I am looking for input on this.

I am planning a talk on board governance and leadership at the CCDA conference in St. Louis, MO, October 10-14, 2007. Last year's feedback included a comment on how it was too hard to read my projected presentation (Power Point) either because of the lighting in the room or the color of the background I had chosen, I didn't answer enough questions, and I answered too many questions.

What would you suggest for a brief talk about Governance process and Policy Governance(r)? Email me or leave a comment here.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Participatory action research

Welcome back!

This was one of the topics last week. As was hexagonal sticky notes.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

The New Wave of Leadership

Welcome back!

A human being is a part of a whole, called by us ‘universe’ – a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
—Albert Einstein

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Welcome back!

Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

--Margaret Mead

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

DHHS 2007 Poverty Guidelines

Welcome back!

To find the 2007 Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines click here.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Compassion Capital Fund Targeted Capacity Building Program

Welcome back!

Applications for Targeted Capacity Building Program are due April 10, 2007. $50,000 "mini-grants" to help promising organizations increase their corporate capability and infrastructure and bolster their sustainability.

The purpose of the CCF Targeted Capacity Building program is to help build the capacity of grassroots faith-based and community organizations that address the needs of distressed communities. The CCF Targeted Capacity Building program funds capacity building activities that produce measurable effects resulting in more sustainable organizations. Capacity building activities ensure that grassroots organizations have the tools to facilitate key changes within their organizations. By addressing issues that are critical to the long-term viability of organizations, non-profits are better prepared and positioned to understand and meet the needs of the communities they serve.

CCF Targeted Capacity Building grants will be awarded to grassroots faith-based and community organizations serving distressed communities. These grassroots organizations must use the funds in one of the four social service priority areas of need (e.g., at-risk youth, homelessness, healthy marriage, or rural communities) toward their organization's capacity building in at least one of five critical areas of capacity building: 1) leadership development, 2) organizational development, 3) program development, 4) revenue development strategies, and 5) community engagement.

Contact us right away for assistance conceptualizing a project, carrying it out and applying for this program.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Compassion Capital Fund Program Announcement

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Community Services (OCS), announced that applications will be accepted for new grants pursuant to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Compassion Capital Fund (CCF) Demonstration Program and will be due on May 16, 2007.

The Capacity Partnership Group is accepting engagements to conceptualize programs and apply for this funding program.

Pursuant to this announcement, ACF will award funds to experienced organizations to deliver capacity building services to faith-based and community organizations through the provision of training, technical assistance, and sub-awards.

Intermediary organizations will assist faith-based and community organizations with capacity building activities in five critical areas: 1) leadership development, 2) organizational development, 3) program development, 4) revenue development strategies, and 5) community engagement. Capacity building activities are designed to increase an organization's sustainability and effectiveness, enhance its ability to provide social services, and create collaborations to better serve those most in need.

South LA & Pomona Community Organizations . . .

. . . Discuss Local Action Plans at World Vision’s “Tools for Transformation” Training Celebration

February 10, 2007 – Los Angeles, CA – Nearly 50 leaders of South Los Angeles and Pomona community-based organizations today joined together at World Vision’s “Tools for Transformation” training event to celebrate and share plans on transforming their communities. World Vision designed Tools for Transformation to assist grassroots organizations in strengthening their capacity to enable children, families and communities move toward the fullness of life with dignity, justice, peace and hope.

Through Tools for Transformation, World Vision provided a 15-week training program for 40 community-based organizations serving Pomona and the South Los Angeles neighborhoods of South Central, Baldwin Hills, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Hyde Park and Windsor Hills. The training program equips local leaders and faith-based organizations with the skills and strategies necessary to mobilize resources and achieve their vision of transforming their communities. As a result of the training program, these organizations will be better able to foster a vibrant and vital community that cares for and engages youth, families and their neighborhoods.

“Simply put, if you want to have the maximum impact on individuals, you must do more than give them supplies and services,” says Michael Mata, World Vision’s National Director for Tools for Transformation. “Their environment needs to change to one where everyone in a given community can thrive, not just get by.”

World Vision Los Angeles recently received a Compassion Capital Fund Grant as part of President George Bush’s faith-based initiative. In collaboration with the Department of Health & Human Services Compassion Capital Fund project, World Vision Los Angeles awarded $300,000 to 27 of these community-based organizations that presented effective capacity building plans through a competitive application process.

One of those grantees is United Women in Transition, a South Los Angeles transitional home for women overcoming drug addiction. “The training program was quite valuable to our organization,” says Ruthie Gray, executive director of United Women in Transition. “It gave us the real support we needed.”

Kimberly Gunderson, who heads Pomoma New Community, another grantee that provides an after-school program for at-risk youth, also recognized the training program’s important value. “Even though our workers had passion and zeal, we were a fledgling organization because we didn’t have the best structure,” says Gunderson. “But the training program taught us how to be a sustainable organization so we could build an infrastructure that would grow.”

Mata points out that Tools for Transformation was formed based on WorldVision’s insight into the power of community building. “We have come to a holistic understanding that we can’t do it all,” he says. “It would be better to help develop the community’s capacity to create a better or more dynamic environment, and for them to define what that is.”

Founded in 1950, World Vision Inc. is a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. Domestically, World Vision currently works in 12 geographies in the United States in collaboration with thousands of local faith and community-based organizations and networks.



Photo Caption: Pictured at the Tools for Transformation event are (from left): Glen Peterson, Tools for Transformation Manager for World Vision Southern California; Michael Mata, World Vision’s national director for Tools for Transformation; Ruthie Gray, executive director of United Women in Transition; Kimberly Gunderson, executive director for Pomoma New Community; and Jo Carcedo Southern California Metro Director for World Vision US.


Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Tools For Transformation

Welcome back! A group of 27 organizations graduated from the Tools for Transformation project funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Compassion Capital Fund at World Vision.



Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

These are the great people of the Tools group wrapping up their projects February 28

Welcome back!




At least they are the ones who were at our final event on Saturday, February 10, 2007
Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

National Responsible Fatherhood

Welcome back!

Capacity Building Initiative. Click for more information.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

California Corporations Code

Welcome back!

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Volunteer Intern from Biola University's School of Intercultural Studies

Welcome back!

We thanked Catlyn Bauman for her outstanding volunteer support at World Vision's Southern California Regional office in Los Angeles today. She is back to school next week after her volunteer work with us over Interterm.

Pictured: (left to right) Catlyn, Karen Hamilton, Liz Gregory; front: Loretta Randle.

Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Participate in the 2007 Compensation & Benefits Survey for Nonprofits

Welcome back!

The Center for Nonprofit Management

invites you to participate in the
2007 COMPENSATION & BENEFITS SURVEY
of California Nonprofits!
What is the Compensation & Benefits Survey?

Available in a version for Northern California and a version for Southern California, The Survey is a comprehensive report of current salaries and benefits paid to nonprofit personnel. Hundreds of nonprofit organizations rely on the Compensation and Benefits Survey to set salaries and benefits for their employees, analyze their own jobs and wages, and evaluate industry compensation standards. The only one of its kind in California, the Survey has been published annually by the Center since 1990.

How Can My Organization Participate?

Participation is free. Please have your organization’s Executive Director or Human Resources staff fill out this simple, easy-to-use multi-page questionnaire (Excel).

· Download the 2007 Survey Questionnaire from our website at: http://www.cnmsocal.org/Services/SurveyParticipate.html

What Are the Benefits of Participating?

In return for your participation, your organization will be listed as a contributor to the 2007 Survey, and you would have had made a valuable contribution to the nonprofit sector! Participants can also purchase a copy of the 2007 Compensation & Benefits Survey at up to 70% off the regular price.

When are the Questionnaires due?
Questionnaires should be submitted by February 28, 2007.

· Northern California can be emailed to ncalsurvey@cnmsocal.org

· Southern California Surveys can be emailed to scalsurvey@cnmsocal.org.

What if I have questions?
If you have any questions about the survey or help completing The Survey, please contact us at ncalsurvey@cnmsocal.org, scalsurvey@cnmsocal.org or 213-346-3260. Visit our
Participation Page for free sample results from 2006!

We look forward to your participation in this year’s Compensation & Benefits Survey!



Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.

Assemblymember Karen Bass to speak

Welcome back!

EXECUTIVE SUPPORT NETWORK
JOIN US
FRIDAY JANUARY 26, 2007
9:00 TO 11:00 a.m.
GUEST SPEAKER:

Assembly Member, Karen Bass

Discussing Foster Care Issues on:
- Kinship Care
- Foster Care Youth Transitioning out of the system
- ESN members supporting Assembly Member Bass
in Sacramento and Los Angeles

Location: SOUTHEAST COMMUNITIES PREVENTION & INTERVENTION
4401 CRENSHAW Blvd., SUITE 315 L.A. 90043

IN THE WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK BUILDING

Please confirm your attendance
Contact Person Tina: 323) 290-3593



Your ideas matter here! Please leave a comment.