1. You are perfect. You’ve already chaired numerous similar organizations and absolutely everyone has said you are the best chair ever. I guess that’s why the top athletes in the world, after winning multiple gold medals at the Olympics, fire their coaches and go to future Olympics without one. And without trying to beat their … Read more
On Linked In, I recently described the NFP CEO role as similar to the Deputy Minister of a government department, except they report to a board of 13 instead of one Minister, have 3 staff instead of 3,000 and the same scope of work. A colleague replied, “terrifyingly accurate!” 1. Reporting Relationships and Decision-Making Yes, I … Read more
You’ve finally taken the plunge and hired a senior staff member, after years or decades of being proudly all-volunteer. Perhaps the leadership volunteers were burning out, or the organization grew too much too fast. Do you heave a sigh of relief, delegate a few tasks and carry on as before? Not if you want to … Read more
In my prior blog, I listed some of the main options facing a struggling charity. Let’s turn now to who might lead the consideration of such major changes, and what the decision-making process might involve. Leadership Options All the analysis below assumes the internal individuals involved are skilled, competent and dedicated to the mission. And … Read more
Many Canadian charities were already struggling to meet rising needs. They certainly didn’t need a postal strike during their biggest fundraising time of the year. [Update: or a big increase in postal rates right afterwards!] Even though many donors now give online, many of the older and more generous donors wait for a letter and … Read more