Crime and Punishment
When one has a past profession and a new one, there is the opportunity for those worlds to collide. And so it has happened. My decades as a professor of criminology have met my current world as a nonprofit executive. But the cause for the intersection is nothing to celebrate.
In the aftermath of a criminal conviction, as the judge is weighing sentencing options, victims, their family and friends, are allowed to testify or have statements read about the impact of Read more
August 13th, 2009 0 Comment Term Limits for Nonprofit Boards
In response to a recent blog, I was asked the following question: What is your opinion on term limits for board members and officers? Opinions are one thing of which I have no shortage. So, be careful what you ask!
The debate on term limits has been waging for decades, if not centuries. So, there is no “settled” answer to this question. But my own answer is very firm: term limits—both for board members and officers—are a must. My reasons underlying this Read more
August 6th, 2009 18 Comments Stressed ≠ Important
Before leaving on vacation, I foolishly allowed myself to agree to working with a client on my first evening back. But the client was most solicitous and understanding, and upon arrival asked about my vacation, even wanting to see pictures. She asked an interesting question: what insights did you gain?
At the time I laughed, as I rarely thought of work, but the question kept gnawing at me. My answer began to take shape over the course of the Read more
July 30th, 2009 0 Comment Corporate Social Responsibility is Good Business
What a brilliant idea! Robert Goodwin, co-founder of Executives Without Borders, has suggested that every corporation adopt a nonprofit, providing IT, marketing and logistical support, as well additional business expertise that could help nonprofits do better at delivering their mission. He sees this as a win-win situation, noting that:
“Companies that integrate altruistic activities into their core business model will have the competitive advantage that comes with delivering a social profit: They will retain employees, recruit top talent, and build better community relations and a stronger Read more
July 22nd, 2009 1 Comment A Fine Line Between Love & Hate
First a warning: Laura Otten is not responsible for the contents of this week’s guest blog.
She is on vacation and since her blog is read in more than 20 countries, I just might be hearing from her as to how I handled this sacred trust.
Since Laura encourages her staff to speak their minds, I’m taking this rare opportunity to use this space to give a rant 25 years in the making.
10 Things I Hate About Nonprofit Read more
July 16th, 2009 0 CommentA Tale of Two Boards
It wasn’t quite the best of boards nor the worst of them, either. But it was a lesson in contrasts. In the space of an hour, I got to shore up a newly minted board president struggling with a board that hadn’t yet listened to reason and also field the questions of a board that, once a table of bobble-heads, had morphed into a take charge board. God, I love my job! Chapter I:
a thoughtful, Read more
July 9th, 2009 0 Comment Four is Not Enough
Last week I got a call from a reporter from another part of the country asking for help. The reporter, whose normal beat is science and medicine, was stuck looking at a 990. And while she had gotten a lot of good information from the form, she wanted me to look at to see what I thought, see if she was on the right track, etc. One of the first things that easily caught my attention was the list of board members. Read more
July 2nd, 2009 2 Comments Calculating the Risk of Risk
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It is funny Read more
June 25th, 2009 0 Comment Of Baby Boomers and Boards
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According to Linda Crompton, President and CEO of BoardSource, the number of nonprofit board members needed each year is 26 million. Yup, you read that correctly: both the size of the need and the frequency of the need.
This in and of itself is a huge challenge. Couple Read more
June 18th, 2009 0 Comment Survival vs. Sustainability
As the daughter of two writers, I gained early on a deep appreciation for words. I learned early on the power of words and how subtle—and not so subtle differences—could be made by the mere substitution of one word for another. Meetings can energize or enervate, and I worry for those who equate the outcomes.
But my worry ascends to angst as I consider all of those in the nonprofit world who are making the mistake of seeing survival as a synonym for sustainable. They Read more
June 10th, 2009 0 Comment 