The more I work with boards of directors, the more the topic of board governance versus management comes up. That is, there seems to be an ever-present issue of organizations navigating the very sensitive notion of where board responsibilities end and where the executive director’s duties begin. It is obvious that many boards are unclear of their role within an organization.

We’ve all heard horror stories about members of the board coming into organizations and managing and/or directing staff. While staff interaction with the board should be encouraged, those aforementioned instances are wildly inappropriate. It is absolutely imperative that the board realize its role in an organization, and that role is not to manage employees or to be involved in any of the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit, but to steer the organization in accordance to its mission; to govern.

Peter C. Brinckerhoff, in The Mission Based Management Newsletter writes, "The executive director works for the board. All the other employees work for the executive director. Period." It’s simple: the only employee of an organization that reports to the board of directors is the executive director, no one else. While board members are obviously valuable and insightful, that venerability should be used to govern and not to guide staff or their roles. Not only is it confusing for a staff member for a…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing series, we invite a nonprofit scholar, student, or professional to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

While driving to work recently I heard an NPR report about philanthropic giving in the US; but it was not the numbers I had just read in Giving USA 2012 published by the Giving USA Foundation and compiled by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Listening further, I learned this was a report of a study just recently published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, using data on giving from 2008. 

Both Giving USA and The Chronicle of Philanthropy are reputable sources of information, but the way each measures philanthropic giving for their reports differs – significantly. Both provide valid information, although in this instance it was for two different years, thus it is important that we know these differences, understand them, and appreciate what learnings we can glean from them.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s report follows on the heels of Giving USA’s 2012 report for 2011 giving, where the total current individual giving was reported to be $217.79 billion.1 But let’s compare their numbers for 2008, the year for which the Chronicle recently reported.

Giving USA’s number for individual giving in 2008 is $214 billion. The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s…

A recent post by Isaac Kiehl highlighted social media, and in particular the use of online photos, as a means by which nonprofits can improve interaction with the community. Online video takes this interaction one step further.

A report by tech giant Cisco found that 51% of all consumer internet traffic in 2011 was video traffic. The figure is expected to rise to 54% by 2016, at which time video-on-demand traffic will have tripled.

A particular benefit of videos for nonprofits is that, unlike the written word, or even still photographs, video uses moving imagery and sound to convey a message that in text often appears dry and disassociated from the viewer. The visceral experience allows the viewer to be effectively immersed in what it is you are trying to convey. Content is king, and according to content marketer Joe Pulizzi, nonprofits are the easiest of all to develop a content marketing strategy for, because they can tell the best stories: “All they have to do is go to their customers and do a short video or tell a story in words or pictures about how that person’s life was affected, as well as a short bit about how…

"We want/you need a social media campaign—Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+... and... and... and..."

If you have worked with associations within the last 7 years, chances are you have heard this at some point or another in a strategic planning meeting—somewhere. In an age where everything is at your fingertips and people are tweeting about what they had for dinner and checking into their favorite places in a blink of an eye, it has become taboo for someone to admit they don’t use social media in some capacity or another.

However, depending on the association you work for, getting the group to join the 21st century is more like getting a root canal than holding puppies. The challenge is explaining to your board the benefits of having the organization use social media tools, but also wondering how you are going to get a fan base when your members aren’t connected. Essentially, how do you start a social media campaign when your members aren't able to support you, virtually?

Justifying the means—for the naysayers.

The gentle, association staff response: Social media is the ultimate cost-effective grassroots movement—a word of mouth campaign that allows the world (if we want) to “hear” our mission, explore our causes, and essentially learn about our association in a matter of seconds.

The typical board member response: Why not…

Have you ever been asked what you do for a living and when you responded, the person reacted as though you were Mother Teresa?

Some believe that nonprofit work is more of a calling than a career, but when one considers that this ‘calling’ is responsible for literally billions of dollars changing hands each year in our own country alone, it’s a calling of high importance. Not to mention one in which the skills set must be honed and finely tuned.

It’s rare to learn of someone who entered a nonprofit career having always known that this is what they were born to do. But, when considering helping young graduates transition to a career in nonprofit or even helping a mid-career professional make the leap from a for-profit vocation to one in the nonprofit sector, there are a few basics to keep in mind when mentoring a new nonprofit worker.

Encourage the employee to spend a few days doing information "downloads" from fellow staff members or if it’s a smaller nonprofit, from key volunteer leadership. Meeting with the people who have been active in the areas in which the worker will be assigned is invaluable. Urge them to become a listener and learner at first, rather than a talker. Have them prepare a list of contacts throughout these discussions that they should spend time reaching out to via telephone or, at times, in person, to acquaint themselves with these key people.

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