33 min
Tips on How to be an Effective Board Member for Your Non Profit Answers That Count - Hosted By Charles Musgrove
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- Management
In this episode, Charles Musgrove talks with nonprofit expert and consultant, Alyce Lee Stansbury about effective boards. Board members play a vital role in the success or failure of nonprofits. Alyce Lee talks about the importance of nonprofits in a community and she shares her tips on what should be done to enhance the success rate of a nonprofit board. Learn how to be a better board member and how to improve the board that you serve.
Other topics discussed on this episode:
Importance and role of nonprofit sector
Nonprofits are businesses [501c3 is a tax designation, not a business plan]
Role and purpose of nonprofit Boards
What to ask/consider before agreeing to serve on a nonprofit Board
Do you have a passion for the mission and time to serve?
Need for regular board self-assessment
Importance of paying competitive salary for chief Executive
Why Boards fail [i.e. good, bad & the ugly of board service; what can go wrong]
What high performing Board members need to know/do to be effective & enjoy the experience
Alyce Lee Stansbury, CFRE, Founder & President of Stansbury Consulting, is a nonprofit expert, 25-year fundraising veteran, and seasoned advisor in nonprofit management and board development. She has raised millions of dollars and helped her clients grow fundraising results by over 200%, build high-performing volunteer boards, and exceed campaign goals by 45%.
She is nationally certified by Association of Fundraising Professionals as a Master Trainer in Fundraising, past President of the Big Bend chapter of AFP, and the chapter’s first recipient of the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award. She has maintained the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential since 2002.
Alyce Lee is a well-respected, trusted advisor and sought-after speaker throughout Florida and the Southeast. She co-writes a weekly column called, “Notes on Nonprofits”, for the Tallahassee Democrat – USA Today Network. She is a founding Board member and Past Chair of the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence in Tallahassee and has served on numerous state and local boards.
Top 15 Non-profit Board Governance Mistakes
Posted on October 5, 2009 by Ellis Carter
This list was started as the inaugural post to CharityLawyer Blog. The post struck a nerve, was mentioned by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Nonprofit Quarterly, and numerous bloggers and twitter users. San Francisco tax-exempt organizations lawyer and publisher of the Nonprofit Law Blog, Gene Takagi, reviewed the list and added five more governance mistakes from his own experience. The expanded list is instructive and therefore I have posted it in its entirety here.
Failing to Understand Fiduciary Duties. When you volunteer to serve as a director or officer of a non-profit, you accept the responsibility to act with the duties of good faith, due care and loyalty. You also accept the potential liability for failing to fulfill those duties. Increased scrutiny from the I.R.S., Congress, state attorneys general, the Department of Justice, donors and the media require vigilance at every step. It is no longer sufficient to rubber stamp committee or staff recommendations or to simply “abstain” from dicey decisions. Today, board service comes with real responsibilities and real consequences for those that fail to live up to them.
Failing to Provide Effective Oversight. Boards are entitled to delegate tasks to committees, officers, staff, or in certain cases, professionals, but only if they perform sufficient oversight. Oversight is commonly exercised through policies and procedures so long as the board ensures that the policies and procedures are actually followed. Common oversight mechanisms include review of financial statements and the annual Form 990 as well as the implementation of various governance policies. Popular governance policies for nonprofits include conflict of interest policies, executive compensation policies, travel and expense reimburs
In this episode, Charles Musgrove talks with nonprofit expert and consultant, Alyce Lee Stansbury about effective boards. Board members play a vital role in the success or failure of nonprofits. Alyce Lee talks about the importance of nonprofits in a community and she shares her tips on what should be done to enhance the success rate of a nonprofit board. Learn how to be a better board member and how to improve the board that you serve.
Other topics discussed on this episode:
Importance and role of nonprofit sector
Nonprofits are businesses [501c3 is a tax designation, not a business plan]
Role and purpose of nonprofit Boards
What to ask/consider before agreeing to serve on a nonprofit Board
Do you have a passion for the mission and time to serve?
Need for regular board self-assessment
Importance of paying competitive salary for chief Executive
Why Boards fail [i.e. good, bad & the ugly of board service; what can go wrong]
What high performing Board members need to know/do to be effective & enjoy the experience
Alyce Lee Stansbury, CFRE, Founder & President of Stansbury Consulting, is a nonprofit expert, 25-year fundraising veteran, and seasoned advisor in nonprofit management and board development. She has raised millions of dollars and helped her clients grow fundraising results by over 200%, build high-performing volunteer boards, and exceed campaign goals by 45%.
She is nationally certified by Association of Fundraising Professionals as a Master Trainer in Fundraising, past President of the Big Bend chapter of AFP, and the chapter’s first recipient of the Outstanding Fundraising Professional Award. She has maintained the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential since 2002.
Alyce Lee is a well-respected, trusted advisor and sought-after speaker throughout Florida and the Southeast. She co-writes a weekly column called, “Notes on Nonprofits”, for the Tallahassee Democrat – USA Today Network. She is a founding Board member and Past Chair of the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence in Tallahassee and has served on numerous state and local boards.
Top 15 Non-profit Board Governance Mistakes
Posted on October 5, 2009 by Ellis Carter
This list was started as the inaugural post to CharityLawyer Blog. The post struck a nerve, was mentioned by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Nonprofit Quarterly, and numerous bloggers and twitter users. San Francisco tax-exempt organizations lawyer and publisher of the Nonprofit Law Blog, Gene Takagi, reviewed the list and added five more governance mistakes from his own experience. The expanded list is instructive and therefore I have posted it in its entirety here.
Failing to Understand Fiduciary Duties. When you volunteer to serve as a director or officer of a non-profit, you accept the responsibility to act with the duties of good faith, due care and loyalty. You also accept the potential liability for failing to fulfill those duties. Increased scrutiny from the I.R.S., Congress, state attorneys general, the Department of Justice, donors and the media require vigilance at every step. It is no longer sufficient to rubber stamp committee or staff recommendations or to simply “abstain” from dicey decisions. Today, board service comes with real responsibilities and real consequences for those that fail to live up to them.
Failing to Provide Effective Oversight. Boards are entitled to delegate tasks to committees, officers, staff, or in certain cases, professionals, but only if they perform sufficient oversight. Oversight is commonly exercised through policies and procedures so long as the board ensures that the policies and procedures are actually followed. Common oversight mechanisms include review of financial statements and the annual Form 990 as well as the implementation of various governance policies. Popular governance policies for nonprofits include conflict of interest policies, executive compensation policies, travel and expense reimburs
33 min