According to the Standards for Excellence® code, the board should periodically review the appropriateness of a nonprofit organization’s overall compensation structure.  However, some nonprofit executives are reluctant to involve the board in decisions regarding employee compensation levels beyond approving the salary line in the annual budget.  If the board’s role is to manage the executive director and the executive director oversees staff, why should the board be involved at all? All great[…]

Conversations surrounding fundraising costs in nonprofits are often highly charged debates.  Some people feel that nonprofits must show that they have no or very little fundraising expenses.  Others draw a theoretical “line in the sand” for the maximum amount of fundraising that they believe is appropriate for any organization. My favorite article on this subject is “100 % Goes to Charity” by Lee Draper published in 2003 by Foundation News and Commentary. In this article, Dr. Draper states that[…]

I've  finally decided.  This weekend will be the weekend that I put together the scrapbook that will archive my summer memories.  Like all good scrapbooks, mine will tell a story. It will tell the story of the chocolate fudge ice cream that tasted so much better eaten from a cone on the boardwalk than from a bowl in front of my television.  It will boast accomplishments like surviving a road trip from the Mid-Atlantic area to the Deep South taken in just three days.  The scrapbook will be both a[…]

Many nonprofit organizations provide great services every day.  Counselors get glowing reviews on client satisfaction surveys.  Parents write teachers thank you letters on behalf of their three year olds.  But ever so often a program participant has a complaint to express. Sometimes it is as minor as a leaky bathroom faucet. Major complaints such as complaints of harassment from another client or employee, also occur.  Nonprofits that have procedures to address complaints from program[…]

One of my favorite summer treats is to enjoy outdoor theatre under the stars. Sadly, this year the entire season has come and gone and I did not make it out to my favorite open air theatre once.  Don’t let the debut of your fall fundraising season pass by without taking a few moments to assess your organization’s fundraising policies. Why not take some time to look over your organization’s policies addressing the privacy of donor information? In many ways, our donors value their privacy now more[…]

 The Standards for Excellence® code states that “nonprofits should periodically conduct an internal review of the organization’s compliance with known existing legal, regulatory and financial reporting requirements and should provide a summary of the results of the review to members of the board of directors.” But just thinking about the plethora of national, state, and local laws and regulations that nonprofits must comply with can make your head spin. Here is where we can help.  The Standards[…]

In this digital age, it is very easy to hold on to documents indefinitely – correspondence, memos, bank statements, employment applications, expired insurance policies – you name it.  The steps go something like, “Read.  File.  Forget about it. Repeat.”  Many of our files will end up in the paper graveyard, never to be retrieved again.  The likelihood of being able to quickly find something we really need quickly becomes harder as we amass more and more files. But how can we decide what to keep,[…]

Fall brings the start of a new academic year and a set of fresh beginnings for many students, parents, and even charitable nonprofits.While you are taking advantage of the terrific sales on school supplies and other back to school items, why not take some time to review your organization’s investment policies?  The Standards for Excellence:  An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector® encourages all nonprofits to have written financial policies—including investment policies as[…]

As colleges around the country are opening their doors for fall semester, many nonprofits will turn their attention to recruiting student and faculty researchers to assist with special projects.  There is no shortage of areas in nonprofit management, governance, fundraising, marketing, and operations where representatives of higher education may be able to provide assistance to nonprofits.  Program evaluation is one area where student and faculty researchers may be in high demand. Nonprofits can[…]

Many nonprofits are asking for concrete steps to take to manage during these uncertain and tough economic times.  And there’s no lack of good advice floating around.  Most experts will say that managing in uncertain times requires you do to a number of things, including reflecting, visioning, and most of all, planning.  As Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”The Standards for Excellence® code emphasizes the board’s[…]