The Latest
Is it better to keep board meeting discussions private?
Years ago, at a board meeting, there was a pretty robust discussion about a hot topic. As the executive director, I wanted my board to have all the background information to make an informed decision. So, I spoke frankly, and provided a lot of detail, thinking it would be kept confidential....
3 Time-Off Ideas When You Can't Take a Summer Vacation
For some non-profits, summer is the busy season, and it isn’t possible to be away. If that sounds like your work world, let’s talk about other ways to take time off. When can you start using vacation time? Think back to when you first started working at your non-profit. Did you have to wait...
Don’t Let Guilt Ruin Your Holiday
Working as an executive director, we all share a desire to do the job well, and we put in the long hours to make it happen. When the time comes to take holidays, feelings of guilt for being away from the office take over. The indecision about taking this week or next week, can delay vacation...
Governance Policy: Easy Four-Part Structure
The board of a non-profit has a complex job. It is accountable to the stakeholders to meet the strategic goals, while at the same time governing the organization and monitoring management. No experience, no time, no problem! Non-profit board members rarely come to the position with a wealth...
Employee Files: Why Privacy Matters
Your non-profit likely has a privacy policy. If your non-profit has a website, you for sure have a privacy policy. The policy likely talks about how you will collect and store information about your customers, clients, and maybe stakeholders. But have you thought about a version of a privacy...
How to Apply for the Grant When You Don’t Qualify
Funders are in the business of granting money and they welcome applications from groups or organizations that help to meet their mandate. Funders also have a handful of requirements that an applicant must meet to qualify to apply for funding. Sometimes those requirements state an organization...
Easy Non-Profit Bookkeeping
No one tells a prospective executive director that a big part of running a non-profit is all the accounting. The ED is responsible for recording all the revenue that flows into the organization, all the payments that go out, and to make sure it all balances. No bookkeeper. If a non-profit...
Keep Your Cool with Negative Feedback
We’ve all been there. A participant didn’t like the way a program was handled. An evaluation is filled with negative comments. A volunteer doesn’t agree with the new direction the organization is headed. An anonymous survey seems to bring out the nastiest responses. A client makes a snap...
Write a Report for the Board Without Creating Anything New
In the relationship between governance (the board of directors) and operations (usually the executive director and staff team), there is a nice balance. The board, using their linkage to the stakeholders, creates a governing vision for the organization, called the strategic plan. The...
Let the employee do most of the talking at the annual performance review
The report card style annual performance review has become an obsolete process. Gone are the days of saving up all the failings of your employees and presenting it to them at year end, along with a few positives just to cut the sting. Still, there is a responsibility as an employer to identify...
Non-profits don’t have a top dog
Non-profits have different structures and different groups of people who handle different tasks. It can be difficult to tell who’s the boss from one organization to another. Some will have no employees, and some will have many. Some will have a governance board, and some will have an...
Write Your Own Executive Director Succession Plan
When an executive director leaves their position, it doesn’t really matter how much notice is given if there isn’t a written succession plan in place. In small non-profits, without a dedicated HR staffer, no one has the time for hiring. It’s a hot mess at best and squeezed in over coffee breaks...
Governing Policies: The Primary Role of a Non-Profit Board
Governing policies are probably one of the most challenging set of rules a non-profit will have. The policies themselves are not that difficult to understand, but it is the role of the governing policies and their place between the bylaws and the operational policies that...
The Secret Code Book to a Non-Profit’s Vision
Here’s a fun fact, where I am, Bylaws are not a legal requirement, and yet, most non-profits have Bylaws. Bylaws are the rules created by the founding members to regulate the organization. They can be changed, but not easily. Bylaws are the rules created by the members. This is how it starts....
Is your non-profit incorporated? (and why does it matter)
Non-profit leaders, be it board members or the executive director, need to have a firm understanding of 4 key documents a non-profit uses for legal status, governance, and operations. Becoming familiar with these documents is not simply an orientation tool, rather, it is a critical step to...
Keep the Governing Vision Forward-Thinking
Spring is in the air and in my world that brings all the prep and planning for the annual meeting and new board members joining the team. Last week I shared some thoughts about board terms, the set length of time a volunteer holds a position as a board member before having to run for...
How long do I have to do this?
When a volunteer considers joining a non-profit board, one of their first considerations is the length of the term. A board term is the set length of time the volunteer holds a position as a board member before having to run for re-election or leave the board. For a potential nominee...
Does a Non-Profit Really Need Board Committees
Sometimes, a non-profit board of directors has more work than the time at a regular board meeting will allow. It might be board recruitment, or drafting policy changes, or even working with a facilitator to plan board training. That’s when board committees step in. A board committee is...
Still using the traditional petty cash box in the boss’s office? How’s that working?
Petty cash is a small pool of money used for incidental expenses. Petty cash is different from a non-profit’s normal bill paying system because it is for much smaller amounts and for items that need to be purchased more occasionally. An example might include buying a couple of stamps at the...
How to Stop Non-Profit Policies from Becoming Mind-Numbingly Boring
Non-profits have sooo many policies. Policies that define the work of the board. Policies that define what an executive director is and isn’t allowed to do. Policies that tell the staff team what they can and cannot do. A non-profit’s policies, from governing to operational, are the rules that...
Five Ways a Non-Profit Executive Director Can Survive When the Job Gets Ugly
Being a non-profit executive director can be a very rewarding experience. It doesn’t take long in the job to see the impact of the organization’s work and to feel truly proud to be part of the team. Those moments are a wonderful gift, and a time that should be savoured, if only because there...
The Challenges of Setting Up a Non-Profit Home Office
It’s hard to believe it’s been three years since offices were shut down and we started working from home. At the time, it seemed like a temporary move, kind of like being displaced because of a city street repair… in a couple weeks we’d be right back to normal. Not even close. As the...
Checklist for an Easier Non-Profit Audit (Because We Aren’t Magic)
Not all non-profits will have an annual audit each year. The legislation for annual financial review will vary from province to province and state to state. Regardless of the complexity of any assessment of a non-profit’s financial records and systems, presenting well organized information is...
When is the Best Year End Date for a Non-Profit
Year end for a non-profit is a busy time. Accounting will need to be wrapped up and the financial files sent off for an audit or financial review. Sometimes it can take several weeks to get all the files tidy and ready to go. Then it can take another few weeks for the auditor to complete the...
When to Answer a Question with a Question
Most decisions at a non-profit will cross the executive director’s desk at some point. While we might have an amazing team, we will still field questions about budget limitations for programs and advice for challenges. We are often the first stop for questions about the operations of...