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Does Your Board Deserve A Raise?

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Time for annual reviews. For many nonprofit organizations, this is the time to review staff performance over the last fiscal year and reward good performance or address poor performance. And, the same is true for your board members. Like your employees, your board members are critical human resources to your organizations and, like employees, they, too, require a performance review.In order to conduct an effective and equitable review, however, you must be very clear in your organization’s definition of “good performance” –  starting at the board level. Board member service isn’t easy.

The men and women who choose to serve as board members for your organization are making a tremendous personal gift toward the welfare of your organization. Their intent is to do good and to strengthen your organization. Honor that intent by ensuring that they understand what your organization needs from them, providing them with the information and education required to meet those needs, holding them each equally accountable to their responsibilities, celebrating those who serve the organization well and “thanking and releasing” those who do not serve your organization well.

Not sure how to start this discussion and review process?
Read Nonprofit Quarterly’s article “Enhance Attrition or Thank and Release? Firing Lousy Board Members” for great tips on how to improve the functionality and health of your board today.

Support Volunteers Who Drive Your Organization Forward

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CalNonprofits is notifying nonprofits of a little-known provision of the Obama Administration’s 2015 proposed budget: an increase in the rate at which volunteers can deduct the costs of mileage when they drive as part of their volunteer work.

CalNonprofits is encouraging nonprofits statewide to send a letter or message to their Congressional Representatives.  Here’s an easy way to get their contact information if you need it, and a sample letter is below.

CalNonprofits acknowledges that, while there are many issues in the budget that have higher impact than volunteer mileage reimbursement, it’s important for nonprofits to speak out on this issue to collectively raise the profile of volunteerism as an important economic and social force for communities.

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear ______

I/we write this letter in support of the Volunteer Mileage Reimbursement Rate portion of the Administration’s 2015 budget proposal. As documented on page 272 of “General Explanations of the Administration’s 2015 Revenue Proposals,” it states:

“Under current law, taxpayers may deduct unreimbursed expenses directly related to the use of an automobile in giving services to a charitable organization. As an alternative to tracking actual expenses, taxpayers may use a standard mileage rate of 14 cents per mile. This rate is set by statute and is not indexed for inflation or otherwise adjusted overtime. . . .  The proposal would set the standard mileage rate for the charitable contribution deduction equal to the rate set by the IRS for purposes of medical and moving expense deduction [23.5 cents per mile].”

We still believe that when taxpayers use their own cars as volunteers to drive patients to doctor appointments, deliver meals to the homebound, or to get to a Habitat for Humanity worksite, they should be able to deduct the same amount per mile that business owners can — which is currently 56 cents per mile. Nonetheless, an increase to 23.5 cents per mile is a helpful improvement from the extremely low and unfair rate of 14 cents per mile.

As was demonstrated in the recent economic impact study of California’s nonprofit sector — Causes Count — more than one in four Californians volunteer, and California volunteers do the equivalent work of 450,000 full-time workers. In nonprofits of all sizes, there are more volunteers than paid staff. In short, California nonprofits are not only major employers, they leverage the work of millions of volunteers in service of their communities. It makes no sense for a lawyer, for instance, to be able to deduct 56 cents per mile when she drives to see a client, but only 14 cents a mile when as a volunteer she drives to a school to talk about the Constitution to high school students.

We urge you to support the inclusion of this provision in the final bill that is passed.

Sincerely,

Name, Title, Organization

10 Tips for Better Board Leadership

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  • Understand Your Role
    Are you the champion, visionary, ambassador, auditor, consultant, or investor?
  • Ask Questions
    Play Devil’s Advocate/Devil’s Inquisitor to create transparency and clarity.
  • Remember Why
    Why does your organization exist?  Whom do you serve? Why is it important to you?
  • Be Present
    “80% of success is showing up!” ~Woody Allen.
    Make attending Board meetings a priority.
  • Partner with the CEO/Executive Director
    Mutual respect, trust, commitment and effective communication.
  • Self-Assess
    Conduct regular assessments to measure Board member satisfaction and overall Board performance.
  • Plan, Plan, Plan
    Continually scan the environment for shifts and plan to meet them.  A strategic vision is like a living organism and needs regular attention and care.
  • Focus on Deliverables
    Micro-volunteering, ad hoc committees, internal vs. external committees; define a governance structure that works for you and allows you to best deliver on your goals.
  • Mentor
    Find your replacement and make sure he/she understands his/her role.
  • Operate For Impact
    Evaluate and quantify program impact so that you can obtain partners and investors.

Want more insight on being the best Board Member you can be? Get in touch with us, we’re here to provide resources and solutions. email [email protected] or call 805-547-2244.

Good News Bad News for Boards & EDs

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Listen up, nonprofit leaders! I’ve got good news and bad news.

I’ll start with the bad: according to Harvard Business Review’s April 2013 issue, corporations share many of the same governance issues that nonprofits do.  It’s both disheartening and comforting to know that good Board leadership and governance is hard to create, manage and sustain in any sector.

The good news is that the issue – and specifically the article “What CEO’S Really Think of Their Boards” – offers some sound advice for both Directors and Executive Directors/CEOs.

First, the article suggests that Directors:

  1. Focus more on the risks that are the most crucial to the future of the organization. Don’t shun risk or see it in personal terms.
  2. Do their homework to understand the issue/industry the organization addresses.  And, stay consistently plugged in.
  3. Bring character and credentials, not celebrity, to the table.
  4. Do more to challenge strategy constructively.
  5. Make succession less, not more, disruptive to operations.

 

One of the most powerful revelations presented in the article came from former SEC chairman and Aetna CEO William Donaldson: “The Board is a social entity.  And the human beings on it – they act like human beings do in groups. The longer individuals are there, the more allies they have, the more they have their dislikes, the more irrational they become in terms of personal conflict.”  He’s amazed that more work has not been done to illuminate “the social contract within a board.”

Donaldson’s comments underscore two key similarities – and often functional roadblocks – in corporate and nonprofit Boards: ownership and the importance of relationship.  Directors of public corporations do not own the companies they are directing.  They sit in their Director roles in service to the shareholders of the company.  Nonprofit Board members also do not own the organizations they lead and are in service of their stakeholders (or beneficiaries of the nonprofits programs and services).

Regardless of the sector, Directors must put aside personal agendas when they step into a Board meeting and abide by the social contract they hold with one another and their shareholders/stakeholders.

The article concluded by identifying three key takeaways:

  1. The entire organization will get more value if the partnership between the CEO and Board is strong.  If governance isn’t working, it’s everyone’s job to figure out why and to fix it.
  2. Most boards aren’t working as well as they should.  Although governed by bylaws and legal responsibilities, interactions between CEOs and Directors are still personal, and improving them often requires the sorts of honest, direct and sometimes awkward conversations that serve to ease tensions in any personal relationship.
  3. The best leadership partnerships are forged where there is mutual respect, energetic commitment to the future success of the organization, and strong bonds of trust.  Great boards support smart entrepreneurial risk taking with prudent oversight, wise counsel and encouragement.

I encourage you to share this summary in your next Board meeting packet and set aside some discussion time to explore everyone’s thoughts and reactions to the article’s findings.  Perhaps doing so could present you with a wonderful opportunity to strengthen your partnership and refine your collective focus for the rest of 2013.

If you would like to read the entire article, please feel free to stop by Spokes.  And, as always, if your organization would like a little extra encouragement, coaching or assistance in facilitating these sometimes daunting conversations, Spokes is here to help.  Just call – 805-547-2244!

You Can’t Change the Tire When Driving 65 MPH

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My Board President, Jami Fawcett, and I attended the Community Foundation’s Annual Professional Advisors Luncheon recently, and were rocked by special guest speaker Kat Taylor. She is the true vision of an individual who does charitable work with a business mindset. She and her husband, Tom Steyer, are Founding Directors of One Pacific Coast Bank and TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, have been involved in numerous nonprofit organizations, and is very active in social business, public benefit and philanthropic ventures.

During her talk she made a statement that resonated with what Spokes aims to do everyday. She said “you can’t change the tire when you’re driving 65 MPH.” It is so easy for nonprofit and for profit organizations to get caught up in driving full speed toward their goals that they just can’t put the brakes on to analyze and implement the day-to-day operational changes so essential to their ongoing growth and success. While our clients are moving their nonprofit 65 MPH, it’s our job to help put the spokes in place so that they can be more efficient in their actions.

If you want to keep moving at 65 MPH, let Spokes be your pit crew and we’ll work together to get you back up to speed.

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