Best Practices are Calling
In a recent discussion on DEAI and fundraising, one participant made the point that using wealth as the primary determinant of fitness for a board is dangerous and simply wrong.
As she was speaking, I kept thinking: “This isn’t new; this isn’t an ‘ah ha’ moment of recognition arrived at by DEIA coming to the forefront of everyone’s mind. This has always been a best practice.”
And while I know the speaker understood this as well as I do, that wasn’t the point she wanted and Read more
Where Have All the Good Board Members Gone?
Picture this: I’m about halfway through a virtual board training on the basic roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit board for one that desperately needs to learn what it is really supposed to be doing, instead of what the dissatisfied executive director allows it to do.
I may have mentioned “passion” a few times and how important it is for board members to be passionate about the organization’s mission in order to be that really good board member. I had just asked a question of the Read more
Searching for the Right ED
I’m frequently asked about the best way to build a board, but rarely about how to effectively find a new executive director. With the continued warnings about retiring baby boomers and the growing need for new executive directors that the sector will be facing, I feel compelled to share some advice, build on observing, talking with and mentoring hundreds of executive directors.
So, here is my list: short but important, based on observing, talking with and/or mentoring hundreds of nonprofit executive directors. In no order of Read more
Who put the Moron in Oxymoron?
My sister’s second career is as a fifth grade teacher in a Washington, DC public school. She is just starting the unit on the Civil War, and this year, as she has done for the last four, she introduces the unit by talking about oxymorons. Each year, some of her students know what an oxymoron is; some don’t. She gives the usual examples, jumbo shrimp, good grief, sweet tart. This year, she found a new example that we both found quite amusing:
This time next year, Read more
February 3rd, 2012 0 Comment 