Strategic Governance, Philanthropy, and Planning: David Mallery

http://www.nais.org/publications/ismagazinearticle.cfm?ItemNumber=152973 More about David from NAIS

Draft Your Top Picks-Recruiting New Board Members

A Google search for 'recruitment template' will produce a lot of information about Fantasy Football but very little about the search for new board members!  Upon reflection the process of building a winning team is much the same on the playing field as in the boardroom.

1. Recruitment must be constant, 24/7, 365. Sporadic efforts usually yield mediocre results.  Simply turning this process over to the owner/Board Chair and coach/Executive Director is insufficient.
2. Know what you are looking for. Don't just go for strength/wealth if what your board needs is agility/community networker or endurance/solid volunteer. 
3. Offer the best package. Insure that there is 'real work' to be done and use board time judiciously.
4. Make connections betweens between veterans and rookies. Team building requires conscious effort--hold a joint meeting of Finance and Program Committee, begin each season/cycle with a planning retreat, encourage rookies to develop their own objectives for the upcoming season/year.

Endowment Creation 101 Step 2-Endow your Annual Fund Gift

Chauncey Loomis was not only a noted scholar, author, and fisherman-he was a very sophisticated philanthropist. This linked article details Chauncey's $2.0 million gift to Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the 20+ organizations that will benefit in perpetuity-in effect his annual support will continue uninterrupted.

I have to assume that all non-profits interested in long term survival have taken

step 1-establishing a 'Legacy Circle' to recognize those who have already or who have the intention to make provision for the non-profit in their estate. [I recollect that some 85%+ of all legacies to NPO's come in the form of outright bequests.]

step 2-Identify your top X [5, 15, 50?] annual fund donors and determine if, how, when they might be asked to 'endow' their annual fund fund gift.

Some organizations rely on annual infusions from 1-5 annual fund gifts to make their operating budget for the year. It is a key board responsibility to help stabilize the funding stream and insuring that some % of key annual support is insured should be a top priority. For some donors an initial commitment to insure one's annual gift [say $25,000 to produce $1000] may serve as a 'starter gift'-for others this commitment would represent a major stretch. For higher risk organizations [arts people please take note!] it may be very important to partner with a community foundation or other 3rd party fiduciary [bank trust department] to reassure the quizzical donor that his/her money won't be inhaled by the operating budget!

Phil 3.0 Beta-Getting up to speed on Social Networking

The last three weeks have felt a bit like the first weeks on a new job because a recent interim ED/Head assignment prevented me from undertaking any substantial blogging or other social networking activity for 7 months [July 09-January 1, 2010]. In the interval it seems that the 'convergence' of web, phone, PDA has reached hyper-speed, at least if my recent on-line activity is any measure...

• My proud boast of five days ago that I'd signed up on Twitter was greeted with derision by one of my progeny who'd moved months ago to Tumblr.
• Having set up a 'Strategic Governance' page on Facebook two days ago, I instantly confronted the reality of speaking to a 'mixed' audience of relations, close friends, professional colleagues, and others; and linking the Facebook postings to Twitter, seems to insure an even larger, if somewhat random, audience.
• I discovered a new widget enabling readers to retransmit blog postings.
• I learned for the first time from Facebook about the death of a close friend and derived real solace from 'meeting' other mutual friends on his page.
• I made 2 contributions via text to Haitian relief.

In sum, I am more convinced, more than ever, that effective schools, social service agencies, arts groups etc. need to insure that they have a coordinated and nimble communications plan or else they'll be playing catch-up too!

David Mallery

The news of David's death a few days ago came via a Facebook posting and I could hear him say, "Don't you just love the way people spread the word these days!?" David embraced Facebook and just about anything or anyone else who might do 'good work.' I am one of several thousand [ten's of thousands?] people who would like to claim a special relationship with David---for almost forty years I was one of David's lucky recipients of phone calls and notes of encouragement. After a particularly rocky posting or tough assignment, it brightened my day to be asked what new 'adventures' were heading my way! As a newly minted administrator I attempted to model my professional development programs after David's and after some embarrassing missteps I realized that David's 'secret' had everything to do with his attitude and very little to do with technique. Empathy was at David's core. David will be missed and I wish him well on his own fascinating, fascinating journey.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate..."

Don't let your board become like Cool Hand Luke! Develop a Communications Plan!

Governance 2.0 A 2-phase Board Communication Plan

Board of Trustees/Directors are beginning to learn that today’s donors demand an ever larger degree of transparency and are no longer satisfied with anodyne statements –‘The Board is fully aware of the situation at hand….” Rather than wait for a crisis situation to force their hands, all boards are well advised to develop and implement a communication plan.

Phase One

• Review existing crisis communications protocols [Governance 1.0]. Who will speak for the organization in response to a media query? Do board members have key contact information in hand—such as staff cell phone numbers and email addresses?
• Review routine communications modes. What board information is available in print? On-line? Are there minutes available? Is the board current with statute requirements? Do board communications meet community expectations?

Phase Two

1. Conduct periodic Survey Monkey-style assessments of stakeholders.
2. Initiate or participate in a blog related to the institution.
3. Recruit board members interested in communications and new media.
4. Provide timely on-line updates on board activity including standing and ad hoc committees.
5. Establish periodic review of stakeholder perceptions of the board and report the results.

Loans as a Survival Strategy

Loans From Nonprofit Board Members

BOARD CAFE • BY JAN MASAOKA • MARCH 8, 2009 • EMAIL PRINT

In many nonprofits, a time comes when the question arises: should the organization accept personal loans from board members? This article does not try to answer that question. It does try to outline  -  very briefly  -  some of the choices in how such loans can be made. Use this article as a starting point for a discussion with the board or a discussion with your personal financial advisor.