In this issue: 

• Delegation is not abdication

• Are your board members equipped to be advocates?

• A checklist for effective committees

• Board policy update

Dear Executive and Board Members,

Delegation is not abdication

Caution!  Delegation is not abdication.  It’s a given, the board can legitimately do it all—management, governance and anything else they want.  But the good board delegates daily management of the nonprofit to a paid professional manager because it is the most efficient way to operate the organization. 

But delegation is not abdication.  The board can delegate anything or everything, but cannot just walk away and give up responsibility, liability and accountability to your constituents. Delegation requires continuous evaluation of how well the delegation is carried out.  Delegation requires continuous oversight of finance, program success, progress on the long-range plan established by the board, and how well the organization is meeting the mission established by the board. 

Delegate as much as your board feels comfortable with, but at the same time, develop monitoring systems that match your delegation.  Delegate financial management to the executive, but insist on approving the budget, delivery of good monthly financial reports, and an annual audit.  Delegate the goals in the long-range plan, but insist on hearing monthly progress reports.  Delegate oversight of programs and services, but insist on hearing about the successes and failures.  That’s simply good governance.

Are your board members equipped to be advocates?

The board’s job is to plan, hire an executive director and delegate, monitor and evaluate, write board policy, and advocate for the organization.  Board members are the most powerful advocates your nonprofit has because they serve not for pay, but because of their commitment to the cause.  But to be effective advocates, they have to be well-equipped to do the job.

• Every board member must be able to answer basic questions about the mission and purpose of the organization for anyone who asks.  The executive should help the board stay well informed about issues that would help them promote the organization.

• Every board member should have a supply of brochures or promotional literature to distribute at every opportunity they get to talk about the organization.

• Many boards are equipping their members with simple business cards, a powerful advocacy tool.

• Consider building a PowerPoint presentation about the organization which board members can use to make presentations to their clubs, churches and other groups.

• Consider other media presentations such as DVDs or videos that board members can use easily to tell the story of the organization.

• Add board members to your staff speakers bureau, and help them develop their own presentations.

A checklist for productive committees

Board committees are the most barnacle-encrusted piece of tradition in the nonprofit organization.  And way too often the board just tolerates unproductive committees that consume more time than they save.  It’s a simple formula—committees that work can save time and make a board more productive, but committees that don’t work are frustrating, time-wasters that should be discarded.  Here’s a checklist to help you create a committee system that works:

____ The committee exists because the task can be accomplished more efficiently by a committee than the full board.

____ The committee has a job description approved by the board.

____ Committee members are appointed because of high interest and/or expertise.

____ The committee includes skilled non-board members.

____ The executive director (or a staff member appointed by the executive) is a member of all committees.

____ The committee chairperson is appointed by the board chair.

____ Committee meetings are organized around a printed agenda.

____ Committee meetings are conducted in the same orderly fashion as board meetings.

____ The committee reports regularly to the full board through a written report included in the board meeting packet.

____ Committee reports to the board reflect committee consensus.

____ When the committee makes a recommendation to the board for action, a member of the committee is ready to make a motion to accept the committee’s recommendation. 

____ The committee functions as a facilitator for the full board, and not in place of the full board.

____ Committee members understand that final decisions rest with the full board.

Board policy update

I’m always updating and adding new model board policies to The Board Policy Builder as the need arises.  If you already have a copy of The Board Policy Builder, here’s a policy to add.  If you don’t have a copy, here’s a sample of the type of model policy found in this great tool for nonprofit boards.

MANAGEMENT OF CONSTITUENT REQUESTS AND CONCERNS

Board members of ABC represent a constituency and must be attuned and responsive to the issues and concerns of constituents. Board members are encouraged to be advocates for ABC, and regularly survey constituents about significant concerns and satisfaction with our programs and services.

However, all decision-making authority rests with the full board. Individual board members and committees have no power to make decisions for the full board, therefore direct constituent communication with individual members of the board is not the most effective method for constituents to pursue issues that must be handled by the full board. 

To best deal with the issues and concerns of constituents, this board has established the following policy and procedures for efficiently and effectively managing communications from constituents:

1) Staff will regularly, through the newsletter, other publications, and the web site, encourage constituents to bring issues and concerns by phone, e-mail, letter or in person, directly to the administrative office. 

2) Constituents will be kept well informed of addresses and phone numbers of appropriate staff who can best respond to various types of communication from constituents. 

3) Staff will respond as quickly as possible to those communications that can be handled at the staff level. 

4) A regular agenda item titled “Constituent Communications” will appear on all board meeting agendas, at which time the executive director will deliver the appropriate constituent communications and announcements for board information.

This policy shall not preclude the “Formal Constituent Complaints to the Board” policy found in another section of this policy manual.

Board and executive web seminars

We continue to add high interest training topics to our list of board and executive web seminars.   The ease of access and very low cost of these training seminars makes them ideal orientation and in-service training for board members.  “Executive only” seminars allow execs to learn best practices used by other execs around the US.  Click here for more information and a complete schedule.

On-site board training

Cain Consulting Group continues to be the leader in board development, management and staff workshops throughout the U.S. and Canada. We will custom-build a workshop specifically for your organization. We work with individual boards, groups of boards, and state, national and international conferences and conventions. My staff is busy filling up my calendar with workshops and planning retreats for winter and spring 2008, and I'd love to get you on the schedule. Here's our schedule for contracted workshops. Schedule your workshop while we're in the area and save hundreds in travel costs! Call me at 1-800-735-9471, or email to mail@cain-consulting.com for a no-obligation proposal for your board.

December

December 11 - Fort Wayne, IN

December 19 - Noel, MO

January

January 10 - Winter Park, FL

January 12 - Morgantown, WV

January 17 - Greeley, CO

January 19 - Chamberlain, SD

January 25 - Maitland, FL

January 28 - Merritt Island, FL

January 31 - Albuquerque, NM

February

February 1 - Albuquerque, NM

February 8 - Chicago, IL

February 12 - Des Moines, IA

February 27 - Oakland, CA

March

Sincerely,

Dan Cain, The Board Doctor