Preparing A Nonprofit Board Welcome Kit and Check-off List:

Some nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations have Board Welcome Kits, material that helps a new board member begin the learning process about the intricacies of the organization.  Such Kits briefly tell the story and the history of the agency (and if the agency is part of a national body that history as well).  The board in most organizations is the leadership for creating and establishing policy, keeping the vision, passion and mission at the forefront.  In most NPOs the board members are expected to give funds and help raise funds for the organization.  The Kit should address the role of the board and list the functions as follows: 

• Establishing and reviewing the budget
• Selecting and receiving the report of the auditor
• Hiring, evaluating, and firing the executive director
• Setting the mission and broad policy for the organization
• Approving all grants and contracts (with recognition some applications have to be filed without board approval but are subject to later review)
• Overseeing accountability to clients/customers, funding sources, and other source-standards
• Participating in strategic and long-range planning
• Establishing priorities
• Evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization
• Establishing the role of individual board members contributing to the organization and in fund raising
• Understanding the legal aspects of board membership, fiduciary responsibilities, ethics of a nonprofit organization, loyalty, conflict of interest, and confidentiality.

There may be limits to the board's authority and responsibilities that are required by law, by ethics or by contracts.  The Kit can describe briefly how staff handles its activities and outline that client/customer information will not be provided to board members except statistically.  There are instances that individual board members may attempt to pressure staff to break policy to assist a relative or friend; the Kit should address the process for ALL clients/customers to receive assistance.  There can be pressure from funding sources and politicians as well to help someone outside of the intake process.  The Kit should address that, but there should be some conscious agreement how that will be handled as well. 

The Kit should address what insurance the organization has and its sufficiency of coverage, how board members may be reimbursed for agency business travel, which they serve without a stipend (although some organizations pay members). Does the budget include a line item for board training and travel?  There should be an indication of the effect of a board member seeking employment with the organization - resign before applying for a job.  A short section in the Kit about the management of the organization clearly stating the executive director hires, evaluates and fires staff, that there are staff meetings, and that there is supervision and formal evaluation of staff.  The Kit can have the following checklist with some detail:

• Information board members should have (list of board and contact information and staff, organization chart, budgets, etc.)
• The awareness of when a board may legally have closed meetings within the state and what documents are open records to the community and the media
• The good faith responsibilities of the board (attend meetings, receive and read material before the meetings, assure minutes are accurate, issues serving on other community boards, etc.)
• Awareness of organizational operations (incorporation papers, bylaws, human resources, conflict of interest, possible litigation, etc.)
• Knowledge of the human resources of the agency (clear personnel policies, staff reflective of the community diversity, adherence to all written policies, grievance procedure for staff and for clients/customers, board orientation process, etc.)
• Information about the finances (internal controls, regular financial reports and projections, annual audit, property inventory, tax forms filed timely and paid timely, role of board as contributor and as a fund-raiser, etc.)
• Involvement in planning (is there a 3-5 year plan consistent with mission, annual evaluation of program effectiveness and efficiency, etc.) and
• Participation in community relations (dealing with the media – whose responsibilities, clear guidelines on client information, assessment of community needs and priorities, relationships with other nonprofits and government service offices, representative board, etc.).

One discussion that has to occur periodically is the expectation as part of the corporate culture that board members contribute financially annually according to means and passion, the board historically and the staff that the board have to help raise funds and the board’s expectation it is not the staff's responsibility to raise the necessary money.  There is significant literature that citizens are tired of receiving letters to support this or that.  There are also significant studies indicating that for many nonprofits, the board disagrees with staff about the role of fund-raiser.  Without meeting that issue and having it clear and agreed upon as corporate culture, there will be an unhealthy aspect where the rubber meets the road, where the board perceives its role.

The board needs to have a clear understanding who will maintain the records and that the records belong to the organization, not the person.  The board needs to develop an accounting procedure for reconciling accounts regularly and auditing the accounts by members who are not handling the funds.  What paperwork will be needed in order to generate a check?

The board needs to develop written policies, procedures, forms and recordkeeping capability for fiscal accountability.  Who will maintain the corporate files for fiscal accountability?  How will the board know what is going on?   

If you are involved with a nonprofit organization as a staff member, volunteer, board member, or funder, are you sure that the organization is following all legal and contractual obligations?  Do you have written policies and are you following them?  Where do you place your loyalty, values, passion, vision – this nonprofit group or another nonprofit on whose board you serve? What community do you serve and represent?

As a board member or staff member do you know about your rights and responsibilities about advocating for pubic policy affecting your organization, its clients, customers and the community it services?

Are you thinking about incorporating a not-for-profit organization?  Do you or the organization have a business plan, a mission, a vision, goals and measurable objectives, appropriate activities and are they being met?  What roles are expected of the board or staff and are those expectations being met?  When was the last time the organization was given a wellness checkup?  Just as we humans need medical and dental checkups and our motor vehicle needs a checkup, so do nonprofit organizations need a checkup.  Are you part of a sick organization that needs a tune up or are you humming on all cylinders? Do you want to know how well your group is? 

Here is the start of an online library.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Implications for Nonprofit Organizations – 

http://www.independentsector.org/issues/sarbanesoxley.html

Audit Committee Toolkit - http://www.aicpa.org/Audcommctr/toolkitsnpo/homepage.htm

Checklist for Accountability - http://www.independentsector.org/issues/accountability/Checklist/index.html   

Article by Jeffrey S. Gittler, CPA for Guidestar in August 2011, Roles and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Audit Committee Members

http://www2.guidestar.org/rxa/news/articles/2011/nonprofit-audit-committee-roles-and%20responsibilities.aspx?hq_e=el&hq_m=1234478&hq_l=11&hq_v=e088500728

Insurance Questions for Nonprofits – http://www.idealist.org/if/i/en/faq/144-221/50-5

Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice: A Guide for Charities and Foundations http://www.nonprofitpanel.org/

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability Standards and Best Practices - http://www.ecfa.org/Content.aspx?PageName=ECFABestPractices

Maryland Nonprofits: Standards for Excellence - An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector - http://www.marylandnonprofits.org/html/standards/04_02.asp

Standards for Charity Accountability - http://us.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.aspx?site=113&id=4dd040fd-08af-4dd2-aaa0-dcd66c1a17fc  

2010 New Year’s Resolution – No New Nonprofits Unless…

http://dongriesmannsnonprofitblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/2010-new-years-resolution-no-new.html

Minutes: The Ongoing Record of Your Nonprofit Organization

http://dongriesmannsnonprofitblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Agenda

One Phase of Nonprofit Organizational Readiness for Grant Funding: Recordkeeping

http://dongriesmannsnonprofitblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/one-phase-of-nonprofit-organizational.html   

The Nonprofit Business Plan - Program Precedes Money. Planning Precedes Program

http://dongriesmannsnonprofitblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/nonprofit-business-plan-program.html

http://www.idealist.org/media/pdf/FAQ/080123NP_Biz_Plan.pdf  

Before you join that board... from the Wall Street Journal, November 28. 2011 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203716204577018071821606512.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments

Nonprofit Collaborative or Partnership Agreements:

It is no secret that for nonprofits (and the communities and constituents served) the major buzzwords are collaboration and partnership. For some nonprofits it may mean the difference between survival and dissolution. Is it clear what groups mean when these words are used? For instance, does the “collaboration” discussed in an application for funds mean a referral system, or does it mean a letter saying “we support” each other or is there something more in depth? How should a joint-project be addressed to commit resources together to resolve a community or a customer problem? What about a joint proposal for a grant; how will that be handled; how will the decision of who is lead applicant be made?

It is useful to consider developing good faith partnership agreements detailing who the partners are, what each will provide and to whom. The parties should perform due diligence in developing the relationship. There can be no secrets. The agreement should have a mutual hold-harmless clause, responsibilities for insurance, maintaining each other's independence and stating a beginning and ending date. A part of the agreement may include an authorization of release of information between the agencies for customers to sign. The issues of grievance and disputes between the parties and the process for handing them need to be spelled out, such as who has final say on paying bills, arbitration and so on.

In addition there should be solid discussion and written statements about most or all of the A-Z considerations below. These need to be put on the table, discussed and resolved.

A. Ethical issues – what are they for the partnership? Are there conflicting values or beliefs or corporate culture? Are there legally required ethical standards or professional standards? Is there a process for addressing these issues?

B. Conflict of Interest – What are they and how may they be perceived? Are the parties prepared to put them out front for discussion and resolution, how are they handled by each organization

C. Confidentiality- are there any issues of confidentiality; how will that be handled, will there be personnel and HIPAA issues?

D. How will referrals between the partners be made? Will they be different from current arrangements? Are there customer, legal or ethical barriers?

E. Are there new liability and insurance issues?

F. How will you plan and begin to balance the usual day-to-day activities and the new partnership work, will programmatic mission, vision, values, culture, spirituality, experience, competency and priorities affect the partnership?

G. How will leadership be determined? Will there be a plan for succession of leadership? How will leadership develop in the partnership? This can be an excellent opportunity to develop new leadership in both or all organizations.

H. Entrepreneurial spirit -- nothing is "free" – What budgetary needs are there for planning the partnership and for maintaining it? What will be the costs, what are the full (hidden) costs? How will administration and fiscal responsibilities be approached? Is there a business plan for this venture?

I. What are the goals, objectives and outcomes and how are they measured within the partnership? Is there a different view among the partners about measurement, goals and objectives? Look at monitoring results; customer and funder satisfaction; how will you publicize results?

J. Is there agreement about the use of written work plans, job descriptions and supervisory relationships for community work and developing/maintaining the partnership?

K. How do you organize and sell the partnership to other management personnel, staff, boards, current funders, other groups in the community? Have there been scans of the staffing for the day-to-day activities and the proposed new activities?

L. What if you propose the idea of a partnership with your management personnel and your office staff and they are not ready or willing to accept it? How will that be addressed? How will you handle the issues before they arise? How will rumors be handled? How will disagreements be handled?

M. How will the ambiguity in partnerships for staff who are management in the middle and not part of the negotiations creating the partnership be addressed? You will need top and middle management as leadership in the community, as follower in the community, handling failure and managing the partnership

N. What are the plans to handle the division of planning, tasks and fiscal aspects and other implications of the partnership - Communication, communication, communication

O. Is the technology between the partners sufficient to produce necessary reports and for communication?

P. How will the partners face diversity in the partnership, diversity of boards, staff and customers?

Q. How will you avoid stakeholders looking at the partnership as a threat to certain segments of the community; has there been a community scan of not only need but also the perceptions that exist now and can occur later? What are the potential economic, social and political repercussions for this partnership?

R. Has there been an assessment of the community’s readiness for the partnership, the value of local presence, co-location, job sharing and ubiquity -- how will the customers, their communities and nonprofit organizations roles evolve naturally and how will they change by the collaboration? How well do the leaders know the people and the demographics?

S. Is there agreement to viewing a continuum of services, involvement, tasks, roles, strategies, activities and feedback, feedback and feedback and evaluation

T. How will staffing issues in the partnership be developed – will there be an overriding concept about what is expected of staff; or expected of some staff; or a special unit; or no expectation at all for some staff – will there be joint staff meetings and planning sessions?

U. Will the partners seek grants and funding together and/or separately during the agreement, developing additional agreements and contracts between the parties on other issues?

V. How will training and orientation be developed for board and staff, management staff, fiscal personnel and support staff for partnering?

W. How and who will handle media and public relations during and the conclusion of the partnership; how will bad press be handled?

X. What steps will be taken to prepare the customers’ communities and partners as advocates supporting the partnership, shared customers and customer education

Y. What are the opportunities for partnering – employment, job training, housing, health issues,: Medicaid or food stamps outreach, homelessness, youth and children, technical assistance, domestic violence, self-sufficiency issues for customers, technology infrastructure and innovation for the customer communities, access to services, AIDS/HIV, lead-based paint, elderly, diversity, cultural and language-based activities, gay and lesbian initiatives, housing, poverty, disability-related issues, rural or urban activities, the arts, school/education/parent/community issues, drug and alcohol addiction, unsafe working conditions, migrant workers, the interface of employment and welfare, plant closing, community development, environment and many others

Z. What is the anticipated future? What will the partnership leave with the community for their own use in the future? What are the partners open to consider in the future? How will control and spin-off, future collaboration, partnering and cooperation, possibility for merger or alliance be viewed – how will you know when it is “over and done”? What are the benchmarks for the future?

The written agreement needs the assistance of an attorney to avoid pitfalls before they will happen -- and they will happen. Each partner should seek its own attorney for review or creation of documents. I hope the considerations above will assist in that preparation. It is an exciting movement and there should be every incentive for all to want to do it again.

RESOURCES

Community Partnership Toolkit - http://www.wkkf.org/Pubs/CustomPubs/CPtoolkit/CPToolkit/

Why Is It Important to Develop a Community Partnership? - http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/cf_pages/partnerships.htm

Three community partnerships celebrated –
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/april29/community-partnership-awards-042909.html

Community Partnership Initiative - http://www.communitypartnership.us/

Building Effective Community Partnerships - http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/resources/files/toolkit1final.pdf

The Real Clients of the Nonprofit CEO – It’s the Staff – Here Are 29 Reasons Why

We can make an argument that the clients of the CEO are the people served, the community, the board or the supporters and funders. And they are truly clients from time tom time for the CEO. For me, however, the number one client is – staff. Here are my top 29 aspects that the chief operating officer or executive director must exhibit for the nonprofit or nongovernmental organization employing her or him.

1. Listen to staff, board and community. There is a reason this is first. CEOs and other leaders have a tendency to always talk at meetings. Learn to be brief if it is necessary to speak. Learn to actively listen to others. Listening is more and demands more than hearing people. Take it all in – the words, the phrases, the inflections, the facial expressions, body movements or lack thereof, the context, the group in the room, the emphases. The worst line a manager can say to staff is “I have an open door policy.” No you don’t. You are always willing to arrange a suitable timely period to talk. Make yourself available in person when both of you can talk.
2. Provide leadership and encourage others to lead as appropriate and as needed. You are not the only person in the organization who can provide leadership. Use and let knowledgeable staff to develop and provide leadership when appropriate.
3. Maintain and translate an understanding of the organization’s mission, values, vision, ethics and culture. Stimulate the energy and focus of the staff about why the whole thing exists and their roles. Translate the mission, vision and passion to board, employees and volunteers
4. Know what everyone in the organization is doing to further the mission and he vision. You do not need to know how they do it, but you should know what they are doing and why they do it.
5. Guide the organization through though and good times. One of the most difficult times for a CEO is when she/he does not know the answers or a best guess about the future. In these hard economic moments the CEO has to find and look at the facts and make best judgments for the mission and vision of the organization. There is an old saying, make haste slowly. When facing decisions, which decision are you likely to regret the most; it may be the right decision to make?
6. Relate and develop relationships between staff and board. Avoid being the funnel between the board and staff. Make room in terms of paid time for some staff to attend board meetings. If the board and the staff are to be working on the same mission and vision, why should the CEO stand in the way?
7. Play a supportive role in downsizing. That is not a contradiction of terms. It’s your job. I don’t care what it is, freezing or reducing salaries and benefits, laying people off, closing offices, shutting down programs, reducing hours, giving some people lead time to leave their jobs – it is difficult. No one will feel good about any of the decisions. Morale will fall. Gossip will increase. Facts will be twisted. Lies will be created out of whole cloth. Know it in advance. During this entire maelstrom, the support you give is to stay focused on the mission and vision of the organization. Tell the truth. Tell the staff what the current situation is and what the future presents, no matter how bleak. You are dealing with human lives. Spend time with staff and their pain. See #1 above – actively listen and respond with understanding. They may beat you up, but the problem is bigger than you and you can be bigger than the criticism. Take the high moral ground. The attack may be at you, but not about you. It is about the bad decisions that have to be made. It is about the causes that may not be fully understood. But you have to do it. Often times not making a decision is worse than making a bad decision.
8. Develop fair, equitable salaries and benefits comparable to similar employment in the public or private sector. In good time and in bad times this may be my most critical point about our sector. We have bought into the myth that people work for nonprofits for personal satisfaction and they expect lower pay and benefits. As the CEO you should serve your clients much better than this. Salary comparability studies should be made. They are not difficult. I do not mean comparing your staff with nonprofit staff elsewhere. I mean compare staff salaries to comparable public and private wages and benefits at the local, regional or state levels. That comparability may be your staff is being paid currently at fifty% of the other sectors...are you satisfied and proud of that? What about mileage? In many nonprofits staff account for 70% to 85% of the budget. Generally the only salary out of that which is closest to comparable is the CEO’s. Yes, higher salaries will mean fewer staff members. That is the way it will be. Fewer staff members may translate into fewer case numbers. It may increase the quality for those cases handled. We have to do something here. We are cheating the staff, lying to funders about what the mission really costs and ultimately in my view the public. I do wonder if unionized nonprofits are faring well on this point.
9. Create good, clean, safe and appropriate work space, comfortable chairs, desks, file cabinets, desk top equipment, and comfortable and attractive public areas. Have accommodations for disabled employees and guests. I am not talking top of the line and hiring a decorator. I am talking about showing dignity and caring for the work area. Each employee should have her/his stuff. Paint sometimes can do wonders over a couple of weekends – yes, as work time if necessary. Some staff member or board member or volunteer may know somebody who can reupholster the chairs in the common areas for the cost of the material.
10. Provide sufficient and appropriate equipment and technology. Computers, monitors, calculators, printers, copiers, software programs, and other technology should be available, maintained and upgraded for staff to perform their work effectively and efficiently. And staff should be trained on how to use it.
11. Budget for periodic relevant and fair training for staff and yourself. Although not every employee needs to attend a training event annually, there should be budget line items for training and travel for more than the CEO and other top echelon people. There can be room for paying for continued education for licensed staff. But more than that, other training is available in nonprofit accounting, support work, dealing with difficult people, employee relations and more.
12. Assure productivity, goals and objectives are being measured and being met or revised as needed. You should be receiving regular reports showing the key features – not all features – about how the organization and individual staff members are producing, whether they are meeting goals and objectives in a timely fashion and you should assess where there are weaknesses, strengths and where changes may need to be made.
13. Oversee supervision and leave nothing to chance or favoritism. Do not assume the senior employee, the highest degree or licensed person or the most experienced are doing what they are supposed to do and with quality. Verify they and all staff are doing the job correctly, meeting contract or legal compliance and are timely with work and reports.
14. Know where the money is and where it is going. Receive and review fiscal reports including originals such as bank statements and check books. Check frequently that separation of duties for fiscal matters is functioning. Look at cancelled and voided checks for number sequential, payee and amount with billings. Review all payroll material.
15. Know and utilize the lessons from the past and be creative in the long run - your own and the organization. We all learn from the past. And for most of us we will repeat the mistakes from the past. This is a sensitivity you as CEO should exhibit and retrain yourself to avoid them.
16. Spend time planning fiscally along with the goals, objectives and activities of the organization. Look at the books in the context of what the staff and the organization are doing. What are you spending the money on? Do you have knowledge about the cost centers of the organization and why the money is spent that way? Do the priorities match the expenditures?
17. Lead by guiding, modeling, mentoring by following when others know more than you do. You do not know everything and you do not know more than your staff put together. You can model what expectations are with humility and grace and honor and silence for others.
18. Insist on evaluation of all employees on a regular basis including you. This starts with you. Help your board develop a legally defensible annual evaluation system with timely written evaluations for all employees and a written annual evaluation of you
19. Assure responsible hiring. Develop the written policies, procedures, forms and recordkeeping of written on recruiting, hiring, training, and firing, Develop written personnel policies and procedures.
20. Offer staff opportunities for growth, development and promotion. This can look to be next to impossible for a staff of 25 or less but it is not. Employees need to grow in their jobs and their accomplishments. Find creative ways to do this in consultation with staff.
21. Help create and maintain a cultural competent environment. Set the mood, the standards and the actuality for cultural diversity in the organization. Be sensitive and aware of activities that may create barriers to the diversity and those that encourage a natural environment for diversity.
22. Foster mutual respect and problem solving among staff. Set the tone and the skills for respecting differences of opinions and convictions. Provide the atmosphere for staff to resolve their own differences before heading to you or a supervisor - or the rumor mill
23. Encourage a corporate culture that fosters cooperation, initiative, creativity, partnering, honesty, open communication, behavior and change. A silent and an acknowledged corporate culture exists in every organization. Your task is to keep those two cultures carefully aligned for the results listed above.
24. Recognize and celebrate organizational and individual achievement, workable innovation and results. A negative environment may be productive but not without its costs. That is also true for a positive supportive organization – too much time spent on creature comforts of staff will have its costs. The staff is not the reason the organization exists but they are your clients. Salute them for work well done.
25. Consider openness to new forms of work including telecommuting, networking, communicating. These may help the organization function more efficiently and effectively. It does take time thinking and planning in order to save in the future. Consider these along with other ways to be a better program.
26. Partner at the top level with similar organizations working on the same mission in the region, state, country politically. Small and medium sized programs can suffer from being alone, not connected to other organizations that share similar missions, visions and history. CEOs should spend time looking for compatriots for partnering for support and even political support. You can gain muscle for the clients of the organizations and for your organization about public policies and funding nationally, statewide or regionally. You are not alone, why act that way? You can perform advocacy. Learn the rules. See Resources below.
27. Throughout the organization foster an understanding about partnering with other organizations. Lead staff to partner with others and to be aware of services and activities that can be used by the organization’s clients. Duplication is wasteful. Funders are looking for realistic partnering not just simple referrals or nice-nice between CEOs.
28. Find time for reflection, soul searching, contemplation, silence. I have a spiritual sense of our work in the nonprofit world. Our work is above us and guides us. I am not talking about religion or any God. I am talking about spending time with your soul and the soul of the organization. Think about you. Where are you doing well and where must you grow? Find a silent period on the clock or off it, but find it for the organization and for you.
29. Prepare for succession of staff, board and yourself. One of the most important concepts an organization’s people have to understand and live with is change. Staff and board members will reign. The great CEO -, and founding person – will lead for change. Succession planning at levels is important. There needs to be in place a process to develop corporate memory so that what is lost by the person is not also an information lose. It is very important that the board have a plan for your successor. That could be tomorrow. Plan for it. Plan on it.

Resources

Making Performance Management Work ... Better - http://compforce.typepad.com/compensation_force/2008/11/making-performance-management-work-better.html

Reducing the Fear Factor Workers look for reassurance from their employers as the financial downturn raises economic anxiety to new heights, by Ed Frauenheim and Jessica Marquez - http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/25/98/06/index.html

The Numbers behind Workers’ Financial Fears: From unemployment to home foreclosures to declining wages, employees’ economic fears are well founded. - http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/25/98/06/259812.html

Looking for the Exit on Wall Street, by Jessica Marquez - http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/25/98/06/259810.html

Most Employers Exercising Caution on Slashing Jobs, by Jessica Marquez - http://www.workforce.com/section/09/feature/25/98/06/259809.html

Lobbying and the Law = http://www.mncn.org/lobbylaw.htm

Nonprofit Advocacy and Lobbying - http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/advocacy_lobbying.htm

Alliance for Justice Worry Free Lobbying for Nonprofits - http://www.afj.org/for-nonprofits-foundations/resources-and-publications/free-resources/worry-free-lobbying-for-1.html

Lobbying and Advocacy Handbook for Nonprofit Organizations: Shaping Public Policy at the State and Local Level - http://www.fieldstonealliance.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=27

Introductory guide to policy & lobbying for nonprofits - http://www.slideshare.net/SSE/introductory-guide-to-policy-lobbying-for-nonprofits

Why Don’t Nonprofits Fire Poor Performers and Jerks?

24 Factors In Developing an Exit Strategy for Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organization (A Business Plan in Reverse)

According To My Crystal Ball, Your Nonprofit Organization May Be Toast In 2009

24 Factors In Developing an Exit Strategy for Nonprofit and Nongovernmental Organization (A Business Plan in Reverse)

Have you, the leaders, board and staff discussed an exit strategy for your nonprofit or nongovernmental organization? Are you working on a plan of exit or for at least significant change? I have been through it and these are some lessons I learned.

Here are four reasons why you should today begin outlining and writing an exit strategy:

1. Never in my life have I seen so many consultants and trainers and universities/colleges writing and offering classes about how to raise money in hard times. There are books coming hot off the presses about fundraising when money is in short supply. I receive 4-8 e-mails a day about one or more of them offering the inside information about getting grants and fundraising right here and now. That is a growth from about 1-2 every couple of weeks. Something important must be going on. Given all that, what I am saying is this is a sign of your need for an exit strategy. Can they all be correct?
   
2. I am quite familiar with what is happening in the U.S. and the stock market and socializing big business. But this is going on all over the globe. I read today that charities in Iceland are facing very dire straits. So the article shows three charities in Iceland are having some problems. That won’t happen to us - humbug. Then read the third reason you need a written exit strategy now. Link below.
   
3. This is from the October 6, 2008 Oregonian newspaper: “Rough economic times have temporarily closed a Portland-area charity that helped more than 1,500 cancer patients a year. Cancer Care Resources offered free services from counseling to legal and fitness advice. To put more money toward its work, the charity kept slim reserves, enough to cover about three months' operations, said Sue Frymark, executive director. Those factors usually left the charity low on cash by summer, before its autumn Bid for the Cause fundraiser. This summer, the economy scared off enough donors to erase the slim margin. "Some of the same sponsors could not (give) as much or at all," Frymark said. "We didn't want to accumulate debt, so we suspended operations."” Link below.
   
4. In Chicago the sheriff has stopped ordering his deputies from evicting tenants from foreclosed properties who pay their rent and have done nothing wrong. When an attorney sought a contempt order on the sheriff, the court upheld the sheriff’s just actions. The sheriff and the judge deserve our praise. Link below.

Without any of the above, you already knew you should be doing something…big. Perhaps you did not think about planning and outlining and writing a strategy for exiting.

Here are my 24 factors to be considered in an exit plan:

1. The chief executive officer, finance person, or a board member or two will resign. What is the plan for succession?
2. Do you know when to let go?
3. If your NPO or NGO has multiple offices how can you consolidate or close one or more?
4. How will you include the clients/customers/patients, community, constituents and stakeholders involved in that decision? How will you decide on that consolidation?
5. Whether you have a union(s) or not, how will you plan for layoffs? What factors, values and standards will you use for layoffs?
6. What are the reserves you have and how (soon) will they be used?
7. How will you maintain quality service or maintain the mission as you plan? How will you retain the values and the passion of the organization?
8. Should you close the office for a day for real exit planning talk?
9. How can you maintain innovation, creativity, advocacy and deep community involvement?
10. How will you deal with fear, tension and rumors in the office(s)? How do you communicate the truth about what is happening and will happen to the staff, board, volunteers and the community? Are there some things that will need timing to be disclosed?
11. How will you maintain the technology you own or have ordered?
12. What have you prepaid that can be recouped?
13. How will the administrative tasks from bookkeeping, bill paying and IRS and state reporting to contract compliance be kept at a high level?
14. How will the program’s cultural competency and language needs affect decisions?
15. What is the plan to respond to queries from the press and media or a nasty blog by a staff member?
16. What skills, jobs and talents are really necessary to continue operation under your mission? If someone with those skills and talents leaves voluntarily, will you and how will you fill that position?
17. How will you prioritize what you will continue to do and what you will stop doing? How do grants and their ending date impact that decision?
18. How will you maintain a close relationship with donors and funders to believe in you and what you are doing?
19. Are there alternative streams of revenue possible such as charging a sliding fee scale or per use fee? Have you consistently charged third party entities for the service provided, such as in health agencies, insurance, Medicare and Medicaid?
20. Will a funder or two help in a process to close down if that is the decision?
21. Can you merge with another similar organization? Can you share offices and equipment if not merging?
22. If or when the economy returns to a sensible period and funding is restored, how would you plan around the mission differently or would you do it the same again?
23. Who among you and the board will stick it out as volunteers to maintain a presence in the service community and seek funding for a renewed start up six to twelve months from now?
24. If closure and dissolution are the ultimate decision, how do you do that under state and federal IRS laws and regulations? Who knows how to do that and will do that?

This is only a starting list. You may have already thought of other questions for your exit strategy. Please let me know what they are.
Resources:
IRS Facts about Terminating or Merging Your Exempt Organization Publication 4779 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4779.pdf
From the Third Sector, 10 October 208: Charities stand to lose millions in Iceland banks crisis - Three charities fear they have lost reserves totalling £25m in the wake of the banking collapse in Iceland.
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/DailyBulletin/852552/Charities-stand-lose-millions-Iceland-banks-crisis/2B9488282227579AC7CD1ACD1BCEDCF0/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin
Cancer charity sees funds dry up, suspends operations by Andy Dworkin, The Oregonian, October 6, 2008
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/10/cancer_charity_sees_funds_dry.html
Sheriff in Chicago Ends Evictions in Foreclosures, The New York Times, October 8, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/09chicago.html?ref=business
Managing Nonprofits Under Financial Stress, http://literature.foundationcenter.org/2008/10/managing-nonpro.html
Is the Sky Falling? http://www.grantwriters.org/content/sky-falling
Welcome to TransitionGuides - Dedicated to sustaining and strengthening nonprofits through better managed leadership transitions and related organizational development. http://www.transitionguides.com/

Building Strong Organizations Through Sustainability and Succession Planning http://www.transitionguides.com/newsltr/LG_Sept%202008%20Bldg%20Strong%20Orgs%20Sus%20and%20Suc%20Plg%20-%20Feature.pdf

What Nonprofits Need to Know About the Zone of Insolvency - Are You Sitting on the Board of a Nearly Insolvent Nonprofit? http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitmanagement/a/insolvent.htm

Basic Guidelines for Successful Planning Process http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/gen_plan/gen_plan.htm
Nine Steps to Prevent Merger Failure http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/5271.html
Dissolution http://www.nonprofitlawblog.com/home/2008/10/dissolution.html
Thinking the Unthinkable: Maybe We Should Shut Down Board Cafe • By Jan Masaoka • September 14, 2008

http://www.blueavocado.org/content/thinking-unthinkable-maybe-we-should-shut-dow

Closing Down the Right Way, Board Cafe • By Jan Masaoka • December 14, 2008

http://www.blueavocado.org/content/closing-down-right-way
If you know of other factors for an exit plan or additional resources for this topic, please let me know through the comments below. Thank you.

The Mission Statement - The Spiritual Rudder

Some 40 years ago I developed the Camden Episcopal Community Center in the heart of Camden NJ. The center continues in existence serving the community as the Camden Community Center at Broadway and Royden. Back 40 years ago when I sought funding and prepared grant applications, no one talked about mission statements.

The times changed and the concept of a mission statement for nonprofit and for-profit corporations caught on. Looking back on the change, I say it is a great idea. When statements took hold, it was not very clear what it should and maybe not say. I remember the first mission statement I used I wrote myself. It did not dawn on me to include others in the process of creating it and celebrating it. It had some 4 paragraphs of multiple sentences. I have no idea what it was about now.

The idea of a mission statement is now so burned into me that I cannot envision a nonprofit that does not spend the time and energy creating one.

What is it? How do we define a "mission statement"?

I call it the spiritual rudder. It defines the purpose for the nonprofit's existence. It briefly describes the uniqueness of the organization, why it exists, what it will accomplish. It gives the board, the staff, the community and potential funders a sense of what the organization stands for. It keeps the organization focused and under control.

As the rudder guides and forces a boat, ship, airplane or submarine to stay on course when water, wind and weather attempt to move it off course, the spiritual rudder maintains the direction when inside and outside forces attempt to change it. It is strong. It is bold. It expresses the soul of the organization, the spiritual rudder.

Creating the mission statement is not a solo act. It can and should be considered and discussed by the leadership. The board and/or staff can participate in several ways including saying how the members want to proceed. My experience shows that it can be a slow process. That is it can be democratized for greater sharing and dreaming. I have been in a process that took six months and resulted in a universal agreement of what the organization was about. We celebrated the end - which was a new beginning.

We used the statement regularly. It had to be out front. We posted it at staff and board meetings. All or the heart of the statement was a watermark on letterhead. It appeared in all publicity, all grant applications. We created a portable, folding triptych poster display for community events featuring the mission statement at the top center. My last development of a mission statement, except for myself, predated websites and other wonderful ways to position the mission statement.

It was not important whether it was short enough for a baseball cap or too long to memorize. It was more important that it was accurate, honest, forceful and expressed our values.

The statement may have to be revisited every so many years. Organizations grow, slide, shift in focus. New people, changed circumstances may alter the direction with a better way to say the words for the spiritual rudder.

Every corporation, including nonprofits, develop a corporate culture. That culture should be influenced by the mission statement from as early a moment as possible, from the first board meeting onward if possible.

For experienced nonprofits that are considering a mission statement for the first time, the development process should have an effect on the culture and can have positive and negative implications that will have to be managed.

The mission statement is the "bottom line". It is one of the three Ms - mission, management and money.

Some resources for understanding a mission statement, a vision statement, marketing, positioning, and advocacy:

Tony Poderis, The Mission Checklist,
http://www.raise-funds.com/1101forum.html and
http://www.raise-funds.com/exhibits/exhibit46.html

Carter McNamara’s Basics of Developing Mission, Vision and Values Statements
http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htm

“So, when you are preparing your Mission Statement remember to make it clear and succinct, incorporating socially meaningful and measurable criteria and consider approaching it from a grand scale. As you create your Mission Statement consider including some or all of the following concepts.

1. The moral/ethical position of the enterprise


2. The desired public image


3. The key strategic influence for the business


4. A description of the target market


5. A description of the products/services


6. The geographic domain


7. Expectations of growth and profitability”

From Business Resource Software, Inc. Mission Statement http://www.businessplansoftware.org/advice_mission.asp

Often overlooked at the beginning of the development of a new organization is communication. Communication includes talking and listening. You will find some guidance through these concepts at Smart Chart 3.0 http://www.smartchart.org/ Free registration required.

Independent Center’s Mission & Market: The Resource Center for Effective Corporate-Nonprofit Partnerships
http://www.independentsector.org/mission_market/index.html

Ron Meshanko’s article at Idealist.com, What should our mission statement say?
http://www.idealist.org/if/idealist/en/FAQ/QuestionViewer/default?section=03&item=21

Joanne Fritz’s article at About.com, How to Avoid Mission Creep: 7 Hallmarks of Mission Statements That Stay Put
http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitmanagement/tp/Mission-Creep.htm

Joanne Fritz’s article at About.com, Mission Impossible? How to Write Your Mission Statement http://nonprofit.about.com/od/nonprofitbasics/a/mission.htm

Third Sector New England, Strategic Communications Blog Video: What is the difference between a nonprofit’s mission and vision?
http://tsne.wordpress.com/2008/05/30/vlog_mission/

Nancy Schwartz, The Nonprofit Tag Line Report
http://www.gettingattention.org/tagline_report.pdf

Vince Hyman, Positioning Your Organization for Success http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/npEnterprise/message/2094

Vince Hyman, Reputation Builders http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/npEnterprise/message/2131

Alder Consulting, Branding Your Organization through Your Website
http://www.alderconsulting.com/branding.html

SAMPLE MISSION STATEMENT

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national, professional organization for all certified public accountants. Its mission is to provide members with the resources, information and leadership that enable them to provide valuable services in the highest professional manner to benefit the public, employers and clients.

And how do you achieve this mission?
http://www.aicpa.org/MediaCenter/MissionStatement.htm

Use your mission statement for advocating for your organization and what it is doing. We do not spend much energy advocating for our nonprofits and we should . When you advocate for your organization, advocate with the mission statement involved.

Be at the helm of your spiritual rudder.