“My board shows all the signs of NOT being ready to recruit. So what do we do?” That question came from a reader of my Board Recruitment & Orientation workbook. She was responding to a chapter that lists indicators for whether or not a board is ready to recruit. (There is a similar article at … Read more
I saw this ad for a Community Engagement Officer in Norwich, England, and I almost jumped up and did a happy dance. First, from the perspective of writing an enticing job advertisement, this is an ad that made me want to fly across the ocean and apply for the position. No government mumbo-jumbo. A truly … Read more
Greetings from Reno, Nevada! I thought it might be fun to share some of what we have been doing on this incredible trip, and figured I would start with the mini-workshop we did on Tuesday – Building an Energized Board. I love doing this particular talk. First, I love talking about boards, as I really … Read more
Kelly over at the Nonprofiteer had a great blog post today – a rallying cry to stop whining about board recruitment and just get out there and do it! (Ok, to be honest, Kelly always has a rallying cry to stop whining about this or that – she has no tolerance at all for BS … Read more
Have you ever wondered what it takes to sustain an organization’s efforts?* Is it just money? Or is it something more fundamental? I’m thinking about this because we spent time at the Diaper Bank last week – our “grandchild.” There is such an extraordinary energy surrounding the work they are doing, and that feels so … Read more
Several weeks ago, my friend and colleague Carter McNamara asked me for a brief description of the Community-Driven governance framework we have been using with boards. And as I was just looking over that document, it is so succinct, I thought I would share it here. Here is what I told Carter: – – – … Read more
I am so pleased to share another letter from Nora Lester Murad. (To read this series from the beginning, please click here.) Nora lives with her husband and three daughters in Israeli controlled East Jerusalem, in Palestine’s West Bank. In addition to her consulting work to NGOs, Nora has co-founded Dalia Association, a community foundation … Read more
My heart just sank when I saw that the Lodestar Foundation is offering a $250,000 prize for the most worthy collaboration. Yes, it sank. Why does the sector that should know better continue to insist on treating organizational and sector-wide symptoms? If we know that symptoms-based approaches accomplish little more in our communities than sprinkle … Read more
In this series, I have considered the logic flaws in the argument that organizations should be holding themselves primarily accountable to their donors. So far, I have considered the following questions: 1) Are fully funded / endowed organizations with no donors accountable to no one? 2) Should different levels of giving receive different levels of … Read more
In last week’s post, I likened Community Engagement to growing my vegetable garden in the front yard of my house. Instead of showing the community only your organization’s well-manicured fait accompli, Community Engagement invites members of your community to become an integral part of the work itself, engaging their hearts, their minds, and their hands … Read more