Posts Tagged ‘Barrie’

One of the greatest casualties among non-profits is the burned-out CEO. Being the head of a nonprofit has always been a challenging job. The long hours, inadequate resources, and sometimes uncooperative or negative Board members can all take their toll on a person. Still, most people make nonprofits their careers because they know [...]

Can you imagine trying to start a new non-profit during a Recession?
In recent months, I have been fortunate to be engaged by a number of new nonprofits who have just received their 501(C) 3 certification and want to get their new creation off to a good start.
In these difficult financial times, when many established nonprofits [...]

Why do people give up their precious leisure time and their accumulated wealth to become engaged in philanthropic endeavors?
There is a ton of literature on the subject, but I have a very practical and ground-floor view, which I would like to share.
1. To do what we can to make this a better world.
Whether it’s [...]

I’ve often wondered why live comedy-shows begin with someone coming out and kibitzing with the audience before they go live. Shouldn’t they be backstage getting ready? Now I get it! They do this so when the show begins, the audience has already been energized and laughing so the show’s jokes draw immediate [...]

In our rush to become efficient, are we paying too little attention to the glue that holds our voluntary organizations together?
These days, Much attention is focused on how nonprofits can become more efficient by being more business-like in their operations. I believe that there is a lot to be learned from successful businesses. Why [...]

“Why are we in need of committees? Our Board members have enough to do without going to extra meetings.”
That’s a common complaint I hear while consulting various clients. The answer is simple, committees are the work horses of the board.
Committees are where the board finds solutions to problems and challenges that represent [...]

“It’s that time again to plan this month’s board meeting agenda.”

If you are an Executive Director, you know that this task comes up at least once a month.
What happens?
We usually pull out last month’s agenda, see what is needed to be added or deleted, and send it out. Some ED’s don’t change anything, not [...]

Are you interested in building future board members who understand your agency and know how to be nonprofit leaders? I believe that this is vital to the continued success of any nonprofit. Here’s a interesting approach to developing these young leaders.
One of my current clients has created a Leadership Board. This is a group of [...]

How can we turn our successful business board members into nonprofit leaders?

We must recognize:
• People bring their business and life experiences to a new culture (nonprofit) where everyone is participating on a voluntary basis. While most volunteers are very committed to the agency’s cause, people are busy with work and their personal life and often put [...]

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where one issue absorbs the entire meeting and the other issues get pushed to the side?
The Executive and I were debriefing after the last Board meeting. The main item on the agenda was a consultant’s presentation on the pro’s and con’s of the unionization of the staff. [...]