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.

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

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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.


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Quotation

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

-- Thomas Edison

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Pro Bono Legal help for Nonprofit Organizations

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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.

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"See you in Court . . ."

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. . . 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.

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California Nonprofit Integrity Act

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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

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Value of Volunteer Time 2005 and 2006

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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.

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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.

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Technology Consulting--Free

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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.

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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)

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Case Foundation: Make It Your Own Awards

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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.

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Urban Gardening

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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.


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Starting a charitable nonprofit

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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.

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When to make a good decision: quit or stick?

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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.

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Organizational Life-Long-Learning

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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.

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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?

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Board Member Terms and Term Limits

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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.

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Board Member Selection

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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.”

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