risk management
5 weird truths about being a nonprofit ED
A non-profit executive director is one of the strangest jobs. One minute you will be writing a major grant application and the next you are cleaning the bathroom. Some days you’ll be a leading force for the sector, speaking with confidence and enthusiasm, next you’re hauling twenty thousand...
A non-profit's guide to online banking
Non-profits have many reasons to embrace online banking (e-banking). It might start with a desire to make faster payments to independent contractors, to encourage easier donations, or simply avoid the time it takes for in-person banking. When an executive director begins to investigate...
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...
Risk Management is the Umbrella You Didn’t Think You Needed
Non-profits are complicated organizations. Strategic plans are directly tied to the wants and needs of clients, members, and stakeholders, which creates a big responsibility to protect those needs from something damaging or undesirable. Most non-profits are usually funded through grants,...
The Emergency Red Binder – Peace of Mind for HR Emergencies
What is the emergency red binder? Let’s imagine you’ve just won the lottery (sigh); 60 million dollars in your name, received the very day after the board chair chewed you out over a trivial matter. Think you’ll give two months’ notice before you leave? I think we’re talking more about a text...
What do you do when a board member goes rogue?
Has there been a time when a board member didn’t follow policy and no one, you or other board members, said anything? Has a board member reported tasks that they’ve handled when they were neither asked, nor given the authority, to handle those tasks? Has a board member been making decisions...
Anatomy of a Policy
Operating policies are the rules required for a specific task in how your non-profit will be run. You don’t need to have operating policies for every operational task, only for required tasks. Some of those required tasks might include, handling cash, cell phone etiquette, branding rules,...