Board Cafe

Should the Board Hold Executive Sessions?

Jan Masaoka — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:54:08 -0700

Nonprofit boards are often criticized for a lack of vigor, being subservient to their executive directors, and for weak evaluation of their chief executive. The need for frank and informal discussion about staff performance, and the importance of the board developing a sense of itself, are just two reasons why many boards hold executive sessions.

An executive session is a meeting (or part of a meeting) of the board without staff present. In some cases an attorney or other advisor may be present, but not staff. Executive directors are often sensitive to the idea of executive sessions because they think that important matters necessitate input from them (and they just don't like the idea--period!).

Because one of the board's chief responsibilities is to assess the performance of the agency and its executive director, boards often need to discuss sensitive issues without staff present. Some instances needing candor and confidentiality:

Annual meeting with the auditor
Evaluation of the executive director, and establishing the executive director's salary
Conflicts between two board members, or serious criticism of a board member by another
Investigation into concerns about the executive director, or a report from a management consultant
Review of salary schedule, compensation policy, etc.

Some organizations establish a type of "semi-executive session" during which the executive director is present, but no other staff. Such sessions may include discussions concerning:

Lawsuits, complaints, or grievances from staff or former staff;
Individual staff situations
Evaluation of the executive director with the executive director.

If the chief executive is also a board member, as a matter of law, he or she is entitled to participate in any board meeting, even an executive session. In order to exclude a chief executive who is also a board member from a session, the executive must agree. This is one reason many boards feel it best not have the chief executive -- or any staff member -- on the board.

Despite a certain awkwardness that occurs when staff are asked to leave the room, and despite the frequent need to overcome resistance on the part of the executive director, there are some discussions that are appropriately held just among board members, such as those listed above. For example, one board member might want to raise a concern about the Development Director to see whether others share the concern or whether his negative experience was the exception. Another board member might want to discuss an issue involving herself and another board member without getting staff involved. A frank discussion of the executive director's strengths and weaknesses usually results in both sides being more clear about each other's expectations.

Executive sessions as regular practice

An executive session is also an important way in which a board develops a sense of itself as a body, rather than the more common feeling of being a group of individuals who listen to and advise the executive director. This "sense of self" is an intangible yet critical underpinning for board leadership.

But calling for an executive session without warning in the middle of a meeting can send any executive into paranoid shock. An effective way to avoid the feeling that "executive session means bad news for staff" is for board chairs to routinely put executive sessions on every agenda or on four agendas per year. That way, the board can meet privately without having to raise tension simply by doing so. In any case, the board should not feel uncomfortable asking staff to be excused for part of any meeting, and the executive director may even volunteer: "Would you prefer to excuse staff for this next agenda item?"

The minutes of the meeting should indicate that the board met in executive session, and report on the topic of the discussion, although the specifics (such as the amount of a lawsuit settlement) may be confidential and appear only in a set of confidential-to-the-board minutes or other notes.

Special thanks to Michael Schley, pro bono attorney and Editorial Committee member of the Board Cafe, for his assistance on this article.

See also from previous Board Cafe articles:

* How Much to Pay the Executive Director?

* Ten Quick Ways to Invigorate Board Meetings

Board Meetings by Phone: Legal? A Good Idea?

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:25:17 -0700

With gas prices rising and everyone getting busier, more and more board members want to participate in board meetings by telephone. The advantage: more people participate. The disadvantage: there's a lot lost in human interaction for both the board member and the board-as-a-whole when the meetings aren't face-to-face. Consider this policy a member can attend by phone only twice per year, and new board members can attend by phone only after they've been to at least three meetings in person. Some boards don't permit participation by phone at all. If you do decide to have some people phoning in to meetings, don't just use the speakerphone option on a regular phone. Invest in a dedicated speaker phone with "duplex features so that sound can travel both directions simultaneously and everyone can actually hear.

What are the laws on board meetings by conference call?

Such matters are regulated by states (not the federal government) but fortunately there’s a helpful compilation of state laws at http://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/documents/teleconf_definitions.html

Eric Mercer's links take you to the section in each state's code that describes the rules (remember, the law of the nonprofit’s home state applies, not the law where a board member lives). For example, a California excerpt reads: "Participation in a meeting through use of conference telephone… constitutes presence in person at that meeting as long as all members participating in the meeting are able to hear one another." The meeting minutes should show, at the start of the meeting, that all persons attending confirmed they could hear everyone else.

All Hands on Board: the Board of Directors in All-Volunteer Organizations

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:26:07 -0700

This booklet was originally published by the National Center for Nonprofit Boards and the Support Center for Nonprofit Management, which are now respectively known as BoardSource and CompassPoint Nonprofit Services. The hardcopy is now out of print.

> Download the PDF here

What should boards know about insurance brokers?

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Considering how insurance costs typically constitute a sizable chunk of a nonprofit budget, this significant cost is remarkably un-examined. A key part to getting the lowest costs, the best coverage, and the best service is getting the right insurance broker. But what exactly is an insurance broker and what do they do? What should we look for in a broker? How do we find a good one?

To find out we asked Pamela Davis, founder and president of two major nonprofit insurance companies-- Nonprofits' Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC) and Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance, Risk Retention Group (ANI-RRG).

Blue Avocado: Pamela, to start with: What is a broker, anyway, and how are brokers different from insurance companies?

A: Brokers are professional advisors/consultants who are intermediaries between nonprofits and insurance carriers. This is somewhat similar to the way a financial advisor might work with you to help you understand the type of retirement program that might be best for you, and then recommends investments and savings vehicles.

Brokers work with nonprofits to determine:
* Types of coverage needed (do we need social services professional insurance? Volunteer accident insurance?)
* Coverage limits (should our vehicle liability be set at $1 million? $3 million?)
* Services needed (assistance with personnel policies? Training for volunteer drivers?)

Based on these guidelines, the broker approaches various insurance companies for price quotes, from the all-purpose firms such as Aetna or AIG, to insurance companies that specialize in nonprofits such as NIAC and ANI-RRG. The insurance companies determine the premium (cost) at which they will offer a certain policy, and if selected by the nonprofit, then issue the insurance policy and are responsible for adjusting and paying covered claims.

How does the broker get paid? By the nonprofit?
A: The insurance companies pay the broker on commission. This can lead to a situation where brokers might be tempted to recommend an insurance company or a type of insurance that gives them a bigger commission rather than the company that is best for the nonprofit. For instance, some companies give brokers extra commissions at the end of the year if they establish and then meet a commitment to a level of premiums sold from that insurance company.

I am not sure why it is, but many nonprofits seem to treat insurance brokers differently than they do other independent consultants. For example, how often do you hire a consultant to advise you on an important financial decision and not ask them how much they will be compensated or whether they have any special relationships with the company they are recommending?

So what questions should we ask prospective brokers?
First, the bottom line is that the broker is there to provide a service to you. Don't settle for a broker who doesn't return phone calls promptly, doesn't know nonprofit insurance needs, or who doesn?t treat you with respect. You deserve better. I suggest asking brokers the following questions:

1. How are you compensated for your work with us? What percentage commissions do you receive from the insurance carriers you most commonly work with? (Typically brokers receive commissions of between 10% and 15% on liability and property insurance, and 3% to 7% on workers compensation insurance.) Will there be any additional fees? (Additional fees are uncommon except for special services.)

2. What financial or other incentives can you receive based on which insurance carrier you recommend? (They might not tell you the full truth, but they might tell you about incentives such as vacations to exotic locations from a company if they bring them enough business.)

3. How much experience and knowledge do you have with nonprofit organizations like ours? How would you compare the terms and services of Directors & Officers liability insurance among the insurance companies you most frequently recommend? How do the companies you recommend handle claims made by volunteers? What are the pros and cons of the sexual abuse forms offered? Can you provide us with client references?

4. What kinds of risk management resources can you recommend, either from the insurance company or elsewhere? For example, does the carrier offer free unlimited consultation on employment concerns? Free driver training? Free resources on volunteer liability? (We at NIAC and ANI-RRG offer a good many free services to the nonprofits we insure, but every company offers different resources. Be sure your broker helps you get the most out of whatever insurance company they recommend.)

5. How much do you know about how the insurance carriers handle claims? Can you give us an example of another nonprofit that had a claim that was either covered promptly and fairly, or was covered poorly or with difficulty? When recommending an insurance carrier to us, how strongly do you weight your knowledge about how they handle claims compared with their prices?

What are some common mistakes you see in how nonprofits choose their brokers?
As CEO I hear two complaints all too frequently. First is that the executive director feels stuck with a broker who is a friend of a board member, and may well be a good insurance broker, but who is unfamiliar with the special insurance needs of nonprofits. Second, I hear that a nonprofit is putting up with bad service and poor rates because the broker gives them a donation every year. The question should be the total value of the insurance and services package, including the donation, and in some cases that might be a broker who doesn?t make donations.

How can these mistakes be avoided?
In organizations with sufficient staff to evaluate and monitor a broker's performance, it is often the senior staff who selects the broker and manages the relationship. However, in smaller organizations, or even periodically in larger organizations it's a good idea to have the board or a board committee select the insurance broker (or at least review the selection), so that the executive director doesn?t feel pressured by a board member who has a friend who's a broker. And of course, if there is such a board member, he or she shouldn't be on the committee.

When is a good time to consider changing brokers?
You can change brokers at any time, but typically it is done within 60 days before the annual policy renewal, because the new broker will not get any compensation until the policy renews. Remember that an insurance company will provide a quote to only one broker for you. So if you change brokers but want to stay with the insurer (carrier) you are with, you'll need to sign a Broker of Record letter for the new broker to use. Signing this Broker of Record letter stops your "old" broker from procuring a renewal quote for you from your current insurance company, and allows the new broker to obtain the quote. This is a common misunderstanding. A nonprofit should not sign a Broker of Record letter just because the new broker claims he or she can get a better price from the existing carrier. That is seldom the case. The broker decision should be made on an evaluation of which broker will give your nonprofit the best service throughout the year.

How do I find brokers to interview?
Other nonprofits in your area will be good referrals, and nonprofit associations are also good sources of referrals. We at ANI-RRG and NIAC have lists of brokers who have indicated an interest and demonstrated track record in working with nonprofits. You can phone us and we can recommend brokers for you to consider..

Any other suggestions?
In my 20 years as CEO of NIAC and more recently ANI-RRG, I have had the privilege of meeting many, many professional, caring and thoughtful insurance brokers. They value the work nonprofits do and they work hard to make sure that the nonprofit is with the insurance carrier that is best for them. On the other hand, more times than I like to admit, I've seen insurance decisions being made because of friendships and financial considerations unrelated to what is best for the nonprofit.

In addition to making sure your nonprofit has the right broker to advise you on your insurance purchase, it's important to have the right staff or volunteer work with the broker. Too often the task of procuring insurance is assigned to the administrative person that drew the short straw. That person may not have the time or full knowledge about the nonprofit's operations to provide all the needed information to the broker on a timely basis. Not getting timely, accurate and complete information to your broker can make it harder for your broker to make your best case to the insurance company.

Thank you, Pamela! Any last words?
A: I founded NIAC twenty years ago because I believed--against conventional wisdom--that nonprofits are better insurance risks than for-profits. We've proven that. We are proud not only to serve the nonprofit sector exclusively, but as 501(c)(3) nonprofits ourselves, to be part of the sector. Our boards of directors are elected by our members and our boards are dominated by leaders from our nonprofit members.. Our motto is, "A head for insurance, a heart for nonprofits."

In addition to posting a comment to this site, you can click here to email a question directly to Pamela Davis. It will not appear on this website unless Pamela chooses to write about it in a future article. If you want to add a comment to this article, please use the "Comment" link below.

In Search of Unicorns: Finding and Hiring Outside Grantwriters Part 2

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 16:34:29 -0700

In Part 1 of this article, Wes Mukoyama of Yu-Ai Kai asked the question: "As a small agency . . . how do I look for a grantwriter? I have talked to a few who either want to be paid by the hour or receive a percentage of the grant. Any suggestions?" We discussed why hiring outside (contract) grantwriters seems to work so seldom - either for the community nonprofit or for the grantwriter. We also suggested two additional choices: hiring support staff to free up your program managers and executive director to write grants, and growing your own grantwriters.

In this issue's Part 2, we’ll discuss how to find grantwriters, select them, how much to pay them and what kinds of payment arrangements to choose. (And in Unicorns Found, we profile two of these elusive creatures.)

A. How to find one

1. Use your internal channels first: ask board members, volunteers and friends if they are grantwriters, know grantwriters, or are interested in becoming grantwriters.

2. Call executive directors in your field for suggestions. “We’re looking to expand our grantwriting team by working with a very part-time grantwriter. Can you suggest someone? What did she do for you? How much did you pay her? What advice would you have for me if we decide to work with her?"

3. Call recently retired executive directors and development directors. “I always admired your work at the YWCA. Here at the Bicycle Coalition we’re talking with some of the same funders that you worked with and we thought that bicycling might be a cause of interest to you. I know you haven’t put out a shingle announcing that you’re doing grantwriting, but you’ve got the skills, you could make some money and it might turn out to be great for bicyclists in our town.”

4. Go to networking sessions of fundraisers, such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) or the Foundation Center and announce that you’re looking to hire a grantwriter. Many of the attendees will be fundraising consultants.

5. Ask through channels such as Young Nonprofit Professionals Network, your LinkedIn or MySpace connections. “I’m looking for a grantwriter who is familiar with and committed to health access. Get involved with social justice health care and make $55/hour. If that’s you or you know someone, please send writing sample and rate to ____.”

6. Call the local technical assistance provider, United Way, a nonprofit association, or other group and ask for suggestions. Some local associations may have listservs where you can post a query.

7. You can try resource sites such as craigslist, Idealist and others. In the research for this article very few of the people we contacted through these channels called us back.

B. How to interview and select a grantwriter

1. Have the right person in the organization call prospects. Ideally the executive director or whoever will be working with the grantwriter should make the calls. Whether and how they call you back will be part of how you assess their fit with your organization.

2. Prepare your questions before you call: One way to start - “You might know that we’re an organization that produces films and accompanying educational curricula on discrimination against gay and lesbian people. We currently receive about five foundation grants each year totaling about $220,000. We’re looking for someone to help us by writing two or three additional foundation grants and we hear that you’re wonderful. Is this something you’d be interested in talking more about?”

3. Meet in person after having reviewed writing samples. In the interview, pay as much attention to the questions that the grantwriter asks as to the answers he gives to your questions. Does he ask about your relationships with the funding targets and talk about how to incorporate those into the grantwriting process? Does she need materials that you don’t have already and would be time-consuming to create? Does he seem more interested in how your organization needs to change than in helping you get successful grants as you are? Is this person sensitive to your constituents and how to portray and discuss them? (Example: does the grantwriter understand the difference between “a person in a wheelchair” and “a person who uses a wheelchair”?) Do you feel comfortable revealing your fears and warts to this person?

4. Ask for two references and call them. “How much of the proposal was written by the grantwriter and how much was drawn from your own materials? Was there the right amount of back-and-forth? What did you like best about this person’s work? Worst? Do you have reservations about hiring them again? How much did you pay them and what was the fee based on? If I hire this person, what advice would you have for me?”

5. Propose an initial try-out project perhaps a short proposal for corporate support of a program for which you already have a long government proposal and contract. Agree on a fixed fee and timeline for this work.

6. Be careful with big promises: “Your organization is perfect for Bill Gates.” The hope for a big grant and the desire to believe in its possibility can make it easy to let go of one’s better judgment.

C. How much - and how - to pay a grantwriter

Contingency: Community nonprofits often hope to find a grantwriter who will work on contingency – she will only get paid if the grant is successful. Grantwriters seldom agree to this, because there are so many variables other than the proposal quality that go into whether the grant is awarded. [Contingency fees combined with percentage compensation are often attacked as unethical when a fundraiser might be tempted to ask a major donor for a $100K gift this year instead of a $1 million bequest. Grantwriting is a different situation.]

Hourly: Most grantwriters charge by the hour. Rates range from zero for volunteer grantwriting to $150/hour or more. The experienced freelance grantwriters we interviewed averaged around $65 - $85/hour. For a first-time engagement, you should agree on a range of hours at a certain rate, such as 6-8 hours @ $45/hour, including one hour of meeting time at the beginning. It may not be easy for a grantwriter to know how much time a proposal will take.

Percentage of grant proposal: Proposals for multimillion dollar grants are typically longer and much more involved than proposals for $15,000 grants. As a result, it’s understandable that grantwriters would want to be paid more for larger proposals. On the other hand, since the grantwriter’s fee can’t come out of the grant award (except in rare circumstances), percentage payment doesn’t have the same rationale as it does, for instance, in retail sales. Instead, agree on a range of hours it will take and the hourly rate. For example, a large, multimillion dollar government proposal may be bid at 35 hours @ $75/hour and an agreement reached where the proposal will be written for $2,275.

Should you have the grantwriter research targets as well?

The all-too-common experience for community nonprofits is that the grantwriter identifies foundations and corporations that may look like a fit according to their official guidelines, but are such long shots that paying to have proposals written to them turns out to be a waste of funds.

A better approach is for the community nonprofit to identify some potential targets (whether foundation, corporation or government) and ask the grantwriter to do phone (and web) research to explore how best to approach the target and whether it’s worth it. Ask him to pay attention to other prospects that might come up in the course of his research. But unless you and the grantwriter have worked together for awhile, don’t pay for a web or library search.

D. The Contract

Many experienced grantwriters will have contracts that they will suggest to you. Be sure the following elements are included:

Services and products to be delivered, preferably identifying the target institutions and the type of grant that will be sought
Deadlines for drafts and final documents, and a first check-in date
Materials, resources and time from your agency that the grantwriter will require
Fee and when it will be paid
Other expenses: agree that the grantwriter cannot incur any other expenses for which you will reimburse without your prior, written, specific approval
Confidentiality: an agreement that the grantwriter will not share information about the proposal or your organization with others
Independent contractor status: confirmation that the arrangement is one of independent contractor (not employee) and meets the governmental definitions for independent contractor status
Ownership of documents: any materials developed will be the agency’s property
Termination of agreement: how either of you can back out

Sample grantwriter contracts

Just like looking for a good dentist, auditor or attorney, you may not get it right the first time. But a thoughtful and patient search for a grantwriter is worth the effort--finding a person who produces good proposals efficiently and who represents your organization well in writing will maximize your grantwriting efforts and benefit you, your organization and your constituents.

Unicorns Found: Meet Two Grantwriters

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:31:03 -0700

In Part 1 of Blue Avocado's series on hiring grantwriters, we compared grantwriters to unicorns: elusive, seldom-seen miraculous creatures, possibly mythical. In researching this article we reached out to dozens of grantwriters. Here you have a chance to meet two of them.

Anthony Izzo, a one-time English teacher, worked in Las Vegas real estate and other businesses before becoming a grantwriter.

How did you get involved in grantwriting?

My friends who were involved in the nonprofit world would show me proposals to companies they had written and honestly, I would cringe when I read them. So I just started helping people.

The most inquiries come from new organizations. A common misunderstanding is that they expect people to do it for free. I always ask them if they have a board, a lot of times they say, "Not yet." Because I say, "sometimes you have a board member who would do it for free."

For example, someone might think, "I've got a teen crisis center, here's somebody who funds children and families, they'll give to us." They don't know that maybe this foundation or corporation only gives to education. I have to see if they "get it." Is this really something they are dedicated to or is it a tax shelter for their husband's real estate company?

Let's say I'm a community nonprofit and I'm asking you to write a proposal to a local foundation for $15,000. How would you charge?

I charge up to $75/hour for research, writing, consulting, or doing a webinar. I'd ask them if they've looked at the guidelines, already sent in a letter of inquiry, whether they've had grants from them in the past and if they have someone for me to work with. If I don't have to do the research, it might take 20 hours but I might have one of the ladies on my team do it, charge them half, say $35/hour. That would come to $2,500, which is a lot for a $15,000 grant. It's a tough call for them whether it's worth it. A lot of times I tell people, "You know guys, you really aren't ready, it's premature for a grantwriter." But if you were an established organization, I'd probably charge around a couple of grand.

What should people look for in a grantwriter?

How organized they are. Their body language. Are they on the Internet or in a book? Are they "jiving" me or are they "on the square"? They [the nonprofits] need to be clear about what role they want me to play. Do they want to point me like a gun and then that's the last time they want to consult with me?

What else should we know about you?

I had a bit part in the movie Casino. I was one of [actor Joe] Pesci's friends.

You can reach Anthony Izzo at info@grantwriterusa.com.

Goodwin Deacon of Seattle, Washington, like Anthony, is a former English professor turned grantwriter. Either as a staff member or as a consultant, she has helped raise funds for colleges and hospitals, musicians and gardeners. She’s written proposals for grants from $10,000 to $100,000 as well as multi-million dollar capital grants. She and the Puget Sound Grantwriters Association also hold conferences and maintain a directory of freelance grantwriters in the area.

Let’s say I’m a community nonprofit and I’m asking you to write a proposal to a local foundation for $15,000. How would you charge?

Let’s assume the foundation doesn’t have overly complex guidelines and wants a proposal of about 4-5 pages. I have to know how prepared the organization is: will I need to put together a basic description of activities and the organization? Have they thought through the needs statements, objectives, the budget? If they’ve done none of that, it might take 20-25 hours. If they’ve done everything, maybe 5-10 hours. The first grant always takes much longer than the next grant. I have to get to know them. It’s really fast when they already have a strong development person who just needs a hand.

What’s your advice to nonprofits when hiring a grantwriter?
Don’t ask about the success rate. Whether a grant succeeds depends on several things outside the grantwriter’s control, such as the organization’s track record, how well it knows foundations. Two organizations can be doing similar work, and one can be at 85% and the other much lower, because they didn’t have the connections.

What do you like about your work?

I’ve helped a lot of good organizations to get the money they need.

You can reach Goodwin Deacon at (206) 524-3679 or through the Puget Sound Grantwriters Association at www.grantwriters.org, where she is a co-founder.

While we are grateful for Anthony and Goodwin’s willingness to help Blue Avocado readers, please note that their inclusion in this article doesn’t represent an endorsement by Blue Avocado.

Board Cafe: Meaningful Acts of Appreciation for Boards and Staff - 7 Do's and 2 Don't's

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:33:03 -0700

“We [board members] do this huge amount of work, and we’re volunteers, but the staff never seems to have any response but criticism for us not doing more!”

"I’m the executive director, and the board just seems to focus on what we haven’t accomplished, instead of giving me credit for all the things I have accomplished!"

How many times have we heard (or thought) something similar? Despite admonishments to "give positive feedback," it often seems that efforts between board and staff of appreciation feel trivial at best, and even hypocritical or enraging at worst. What are some ways to express authentic appreciation that are meaningful to the recipient, and send the right message about values? Seven quick ideas:

1. The day after a board meeting, whatever your role, phone the two people who helped make it a good meeting—the board president, the executive director, the treasurer or anyone who helped move a discussion forward. A quick phone message can be remarkably encouraging.

2. To acknowledge a board member: write a proclamation unique to the board member, and print and frame it, celebrating the board chair’s running the board meetings especially well, or a member negotiating the new lease, or the treasurer helping to choose new accounting software.

3. For the staff as a group: as part of understanding that attracting and retaining the right staff is crucial to an organization’s success, have an annual board discussion on the subject. Start (for instance) with a report from the executive director and Finance Committee on current salaries and what comparable salaries might be. They can also bring a plan to board, perhaps taking a two-pronged approach: some near-term raises for the positions that are the most underpaid, and undertake a 3-year process to increase salaries in an affordable way. Make sure this is communicated to staff so that the seriousness with which the board takes the matter and the reality of budget constraints are understood.

4. Ask the executive director to suggest to the board individual staff for recognition by the board. The board can then pass a board resolution detailing accomplishments, and have a board member present it and read it aloud at a staff meeting.

5. As a new board president or at the start of the year, attend a staff meeting. As a volunteer leader, explain how you and the board see your most important tasks over the coming year, and invite questions and comments.

6. For a coalition or an association where board members work at other organizations and also spend considerable time in board service, consider grants to their organizations to show the value of the board service, and help pay, for example, for substitutes or overtime work performed.

7. Where possible, have the organization pay for travel expenses for board members, to demonstrate that board membership is not based on ability to pay.

On the other hand, keep in mind some things not to do:

Staff should not say, “Board members, thank you for helping us.” Unintentionally this implies that the staff is the core of the organization and board members are ancillary participants who are the helpers to staff. Instead, say, “I’m proud to work for an organization with a board that __________ as effectively as ours does,” or “I’m grateful to work for an organization where board members contribute so much.”
Board members shouldn’t say, “Thank you, staff, for doing all the administrative things we hate doing” (heard, for example, in a mostly volunteer organization). Instead, say, “I really value the way your work makes it possible for volunteers to do so much more.”

Celebrate accomplishments and getting through tough periods. Present small gifts and certificates, for example, to all the members of the board-staff strategic planning committee, or to the executive director search committee, or the group that “successfully got us through the accreditation process.”

These quick ideas are, of course, only part of a larger picture for how both appreciation and criticism are shared. Consider taking up just one or two these ideas, and see how people can bloom in their roles when given meaningful thanks and praise.

Abolish Board Committees?

Board Cafe — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A fresh and radical idea: consider eliminating all (or most) of your board committees. Too many boards are bogged down by committees that are inactive or maybe even semi-fictitious. And board members can feel compelled to be on three or four committees each!

The reality is that very few committees need to exist in perpetuity. Instead of a permanent Personnel Committee, for example, create a time-limited HR Task Force to oversee policy revision and then disband. In place of a standing Program Committee, form a time-limited Library Committee that tackles reviewing library usage—and then dissolve the group. The same folks might volunteer for the subsequent Newsletter Overhaul Committee to reinvent the newsletter, and then move on after four months.

One permanent (standing) committee you'll probably need is the Finance Committee, which must oversee financial performance on a continuous basis. Some organizations might also want to keep a Fundraising Committee, while others might replace this body with two task forces: one to coordinate the fall luncheon and one to plan and manage the county fair booth.

Task forces, ad hoc committees and temporary committees all have specific tasks to accomplish in a specific timeframe. Signing up to work on a project with a clear goal and a termination point always trumps the prospect of indefinite service on a committee weighed down by a vague purpose.

An added bonus resulting from shifting to temporary committees is the changing mix of team participants. Interaction among a variety of members on the board will result in having the right people "on the bus" more often, and by board members getting to know more people on the board. And isn't getting to work with more people in new settings one of the reasons we join boards in the first place?

Go for it!

Reasons to have - and reasons not to have - an attorney on the board

Mark J. Goldstein — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 22:40:30 -0700

“We should have an attorney on the board.” It’s conventional wisdom we’ve all heard. We expect that an attorney would bring legal expertise (so we wouldn’thave to pay a lawyer) and that she’ll have a skill set, personality, and community stature that would benefit our organization. Attorney Mark J.Goldstein of Milwaukee shares some thoughts . . .

Not all attorneys are wise, expert, facilitative, financially generous and well regarded. (You knew that!) With more than one million lawyers and 196 law schools in the United States, it may be hard to find the Abraham Lincoln's and Atticus Finch’s of the profession. As a result, and because a board’s success depends upon its gestalt as much as the traits of its individual members,boards should think a bit about the contributions an attorney might make:

Advantages of having an attorney on the board

1. Professionalism, conscientiousness, attention to detail. Notwithstanding all the lawyer jokes, attorneys are learned professionals. They are typically detail-oriented, conscientious, and risk-averse. Many are citizens and activists committed to doing the right thing (admittedly a fluid concept). Such an attorney is an asset to any board.

2. Legal knowledge and skills. Attorneys are trained in law school to take in legal and factual information, to analyze that information, and to make recommendations based upon fact, law, financial risk, and other factors. There are many instances where—short of serving as the organization’s attorney—this point of view can be very helpful.

Disadvantages of having an attorney on the board

1. The wrong specialty. The constantly increasing rules and regulations mean that the law is far more specialized than ever before. How helpful will an intellectual property attorney be with respect to nonprofit lobbying rules? What might a real estate attorney contribute to a discussion on responding to allegations of harassment? The attorney herself may not know what she doesn’t know

2. The “smartest guy in the room” phenomenon. The good traits of attorneys (such as the ability to form a convincing argument) may compel other board members to give unreasonable weight to the attorney’s point of view, and other board members may even feel that to disagree is to risk legal exposure. The attorney himself may feel a need to be the expert, or to imply that his way is the only legalway.

A good attorney board member will acknowledge the boundaries of her expertise and defer to outside counsel on issues beyond her own areas of knowledge.

3.Serving two masters, and over-legalizing issues. More common than some might think, an attorney might encourage the organization to hire his firm or push for a position that benefits his firm, such as taking a stance that leads to costly litigation as opposed to working creatively to avoid litigation. In other cases an attorney may insist on (paid) legal review of documents for which such review is unnecessary. Such actions can be done with the best of intentions, but the attorney may have prompted the organization to take a position that is justifiable in a strictly legal sense but not in the organization’s financial or other best interest.

Three tips on how best to work with attorneys on your board

1. Do reference checks with boards on which the attorney has served before. Does the attorney bring the best of the profession to the board room?

2. When recruiting attorneys as board members, consider which types of issues your organization regularly confronts, and seek an attorney with expertise in those areas.

3. Give the attorney (and the board chair) a copy of this article!

No doubt, a good lawyer on the board is an invaluable resource. But one that doesn’t know her limitations, or takes a combative, overly-legalistic approach to the deliberative process, can be demoralizing to other board members and can lead a board to poor decisions. Make sure you get a good one.

Mark J. Goldstein is an attorney practicing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition to helping his clients (and their boards) resolve business and employment issues, he serves as Vice President of his local School Board. He can be reached at (414) 446-8800 and Goldstein@mjglegal.com.

What Do I Say to a Donor or Funder?

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:51:47 -0800

Let's say you're at a reception, a conference, or a holiday party and across the room you see someone who has made a donation or a grant to the organization on whose board you serve. What do you say?

First, thank the donor: "Glad to meet you. I want to thank you for all the support you've given our organization. It means a lot to us."

Second, introduce yourself: "I'm a board member. I got involved because I think this cause is so important."

Third, ask why he or she gives: "I'd like to ask you a question . . . what is it about our organization that made you decide to a contribution/grant to us?"

Fourth, ask for advice: "If there were one thing you wish we'd change about our organization, what would it be?"

Got it? TIA-1: Thank, Introduce, Ask why, and 1 thing.