nonprofit governance

Managing Board Resignations

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The resignation of a volunteer board member or director is not an uncommon occurrence. Typically it is because the person finds themselves unable to fulfill their duties. Personal or family matters or new work commitments can unexpectedly get in the way of their continued board involvement. And, it can occur too as a result of a conflict on the board.  A person is unhappy with recent happenings or decisions and is unwilling to continue serving.

It is the latter kind of situation that recently sparked some advice from me to a group.  But the cause of a resignation, or preventing them, is not the focus of this post. Regardless of the reason for a board departure they need to be handled properly. This is not complicated governance territory but, much to my own surprise, I discovered that there are important considerations one should be aware of.((Helpful in writing this post was Mary Childs’ 2020 piece Canada: Directors of Not-for-Profits and Charities_ Resignation, Removal and Replacement published by Mondaq))

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Fathoming Policies

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In this photo two Halifax harbour ferries are passing each in the low-lying fog. The light on Georges Island is visible in the background. The ferries here look even more mysterious than in the image of them I used for my October 2020 piece on this subject, De-Cloaking Policies

This post is also about making sense of governing policies.  In my earlier foray into the topic I provided an outline of some foundational polices. Here, I turn to look at a few other good practices non-profits can adopt, and therefore, describe in policy.

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Governance Selection

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When it comes to candy my favourite choice is a box of Ganong’s Delecto Dark Chocolates. I am quite loyal to this brand. They are Canada’s oldest candy company.  Employing nearly 400 people, the family-run firm is the mainstay of the economy of St. Stephen, a small town on the Maine- New Brunswick border. It is just down the road from where I grew up.

A box of mixed chocolates can offer a variety of choices for those with a sweet tooth. Often you are not exactly sure what each candy offers even though you read the description before choosing. My Governance Selection, great articles by other governance nerds like me, tries to offers a similar experience.

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Law 101 for Boards

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I am sure that most non-profit leaders are aware that certain laws that need to be followed by their organization. But if asked, could a typical director name them, let alone describe what matters the laws cover? Possibly not. Can a board member easily become familiar with his/her organization’s legal responsibilities? Yes.

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Board Members as Ambassadors

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Your non-profit’s board members diligently show up at monthly meetings. They are interested in the work of the organization and engaged in the issues around the board table. But do board members have a role outside of board meetings in building bridges to the wider community? If so what does this look like?

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A Ready-Made Staff Survey

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So, you have full confidence in the ability of your executive director and have a good HR policy in place. But, as a board how do you know for sure that staff is happy and being managed well?  Isn’t part of your governance responsibility to ensure your non-profit is a good workplace? And, isn’t HR one of the key area of executive director performance evaluation?

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Executive Evaluation Abridged

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The evaluation of the executive director or CEO is one of the most important responsibilities of a non-profit board. It is recommended that these occur annually. But a carefully considered and meaningful evaluation is a big undertaking for a group of volunteers. What if there was an attractive option to help take some of the pressure off?

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Kindling Board Trust

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How well do you know your fellow directors apart from what you see and hear from them in your work together as a board? Possibly not well. This post is about increasing our familiarity with one another with the goal of building trust around the board table.

One often thinks about trust in the non-profit governance context as being about the relationship between the board and the CEO. Trust amongst board members is important too. Indeed, trust is increasingly important as boards strive to be demographically and culturally more diverse.

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Governance as a Bus

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In 2001 Jim Collins, an American consultant, became a star in management circles with his book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t. In it he compares a business to a bus and the leader to the bus driver. Today, people often say that business success is dependent on getting the right people on the bus.

A similar metaphor can help us in understanding the work of non-profit governance. As you will see though, it has a different twist.

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Yin & Yang and Boards

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The idea of my trying to connect the ancient Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang to non-profit governance predates the addition of Gracie, the border collie, to our household. As pervasive as pet photos are, it is pure happenstance that her looks provide a good visual metaphor. Perhaps the notion of Yin and Yang offers some insight into her character.

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