The Board Of A Nonprofit Organization

The nonprofit board and its governance are critical to an organization’s success. Brown (2007) stresses the need for governing boards to be informed, effective, and engaged, especially because the current environment (i.e. increasing competition for resources, etc.) demands high-quality board performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine existing literature as it relates to nonprofit board governance and performance. This analysis includes an examination of nonprofit boards’ roles, responsibilities, and functions along with a review of best practices. In addition, board roles and best practices, and their correlation to board performance is emphasized. Finally, a discussion of the practical implications of the literature as it relates to DavidsonWorks’ board ties the literature to real-world application.

The two most pressing issues that Greenhill Community Center Face are communication and fundraising. The most important thing in organizational structure is communication. John Carver, created a governance model back in 1997, said there were four areas that policy development should be based on and maintained for a board to lead. One of the areas is Board-Staff relationships. Carter stated that to clearly address common concerns about board members evaluating the CEO is to communicate directly with the staff or volunteers within the organization. (Worth, p.75) The relationship between the staff and board members of the Greenhill Community Center is strained and distant. Fundraising is an integral part of

The Octorara Board of Directors and Finance, Facilities, and Policy Committees met on Monday, July 18, 2016. Only six members attended. Anthony Falgiatore, Brian Fox, and Nelson Stoltzfus were absent.

In the nonprofit industry, the board of directors serve as public trustees accountable to the public at large for the governance of the organization. The board is tasked with the fiduciary duties of duty of care, duty of loyalty, and duty of obedience (Standards for Excellence, 2014). To fulfill the duty of

The first test is the organizational test, which examines whether or not an organization’s articles of organization qualify for a tax-exempt status given by the IRS (Hopkins, 170). These articles of organization cannot be formed by a single individual, and must establish that the organization was organized exclusively for one or more exempt purposes, without any reference to its operations (Smith, 247). An organization will not be evaluated if “its desired activities and purposes stated in its articles are broader than the clearly specified charitable purposes” (The Organizational Test Under IRC 501(c)(3).). An organization is also not to be considered “organized exclusively” if its articles show that it will “spend an excessive amount of time attempting to influence legislation by propaganda, participate in any political campaign for public office, or have objectives of engaging in activities that could depict the group as an “action” organization” (The Organizational Test Under IRC 501(c)(3).) This organization test is in place because it has provided state enforcement officials ground for action, as well as provided the basis for action by the IRS to deny or revoke exemption (Smith,

Department of Treasury, Internal Revenue Service. (2011). Tax exempt for your organization (IRS Publication No. 557) Retrieved from http://www.irs.

In summary, effective and well-functioning boards are designed consciously by employing High-Impact Governing strategies that counteract the issues associated with faulty governing models. Foundationally, a mission statement provides a basis for understanding the board’s purpose, function, and objectives. If left to its own devices, these boards tend to underperform, remain in a state of stagnation, and have a counter-productive partnership with the COE, hence Eadie’s methods strengthen governance which encourages a sense of purpose, functionality, and camaraderie.

37). While the board oversees the financial position of the NPO, the CEO is more concerned with the ongoing activities that focus on the financial profits and losses. This interaction results in a certain degree of internal accountability due to the interdependence of the board and the CEO. The interaction also demands financial leadership on the part of both parties as is pointed out in APUS lesson 6 (2016), The board depends on the CEO to provide accurate and timely financial reports so they can provide him/her with reliable asset management. Peregrine (2012) mentions the current uptick in fraudulent activities relating to NPOs and how this has driven a deeper interest in the regulations provided by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (para. 11). While SOX regulations are aimed more at board accountability, this washes over onto executive management as well. This demand for accountability becomes the foundation for better leadership in that it requires executive directors to better manage their teams so the information he/she is required to present to the board is consistently accurate. Also, there is a growing pressure for CEO’s of nonprofits to exercise better leadership skills because of a point mentioned earlier regarding the regulations from SOX that do apply to nonprofit organizations, namely whistleblower

It is the intent of this paper to discuss an Executive Director of a non-profit organization. I personally chose this because I am the acting Executive Director of My Veteran Community, a non-profit aimed to help military veterans, service members, and their families. As My Veteran Community becomes fully operational I will officially be appointed this position. I have done private research to figure out what exactly an Executive Director does, but this research paper has given me the opportunity to take a more in depth approach to answering that question.

The main approach would be for the board to provide a strategic plan set in place for the nonprofit organization and its mission. Once the funds have been allocated, it is the responsibility of the CEO/Executive Director to see that those funds are applied as assigned. All funds disbursed for day to day operations, weekly and monthly are tallied. If the forecast for a certain program was over estimated, the CEO/Executive Director can inform the board and suggest other avenues for unassigned funds. It also presents itself in the form of first-hand knowledge, like being on the front line and reporting back to headquarters of the current positions. CEO/Executive Directors in the nonprofit sector are focused and balanced at the same time for maximum success. Lacking knowledge on finances, most executive directors need to know what financial information is essential. Having that information or financial statements in an understandable format and knowing how to analyze those reports to assess the financial health of the organization is crucial for making programming decisions and financial goals. (Brickman, P. 2005). This information of analysis is transferred to staff for proper processing. Some programs based on actual report may need to be decreased or increased depending on which way the arrow is pointing and for whom.

A nonprofit organization is one that is tax-exempt and serves the public’s interest. Their purpose must be charitable, educational, scientific, religious, or literary. The organization does not declare a profit, instead uses all the revenue available after standard operating expenses in serving the public interest. The individuality of nonprofit organizations is not obvious, possibly they are no different from private organizations; they are influenced by business motives and opportunities for ambition just as private organizations. Nonprofits are not independent of private enterprise or the government. Nonprofits compete and collaborate with other organizations in many ways in order to finance theorganization, develop markets for

Nonprofit organizations play a big role in making differences in lives. Not only do they affect and help the people or parties that receive support, but also they influence volunteers, board members and members, and donors. The influence that takes place varies from one category to another. Volunteers will be more passionate about the organization, where they will dedicate more time to participate in its events and campaigns. Board members and members will be more committed on many levels such as increasing the activities of the nonprofit, thinking differently to always make it successful, and guaranteeing consistency and escalating gradually to the top. On the donors’ side, they will increase their gifts and find other ways to support the

The book I read is called Managing the Nonprofit Organization, written by Peter F Drucker in 1990. Peter F Drucker is considered as the single most important thought leader in the world of management. Furthermore, he has been described as “the founder of modern management”.

In other words, these three elements have to work together in order to maintain the nonprofit’s balance. Equally, organizational capacity is the piece that connects the programs to market and the funds. Capitalization structure determines the operation costs. Mission and programing are directly connected. The organization’s program has to be compatible with the mission. Successfully, the board members, employees and stakeholders are essential leaders of a nonprofit organization. They support and implement the agency’s mission and the policy declaration. Indeed, organizational capacity is the “short-hand term used for the sum of the resources an organization has at its disposal and the way in which they are organized development skills, marketing skills, financial management skills, program delivery mechanisms, staffing, etc.” (Nonprofit Finance Funds,

Sec. 24. Election of directors or trustees. - At all elections of directors or trustees, there must be present, either in person or by representative authorized to act by written proxy, the owners of a majority of the outstanding capital stock, or if there be no capital stock, a majority of the members entitled to vote. The election must be by ballot if requested by any voting stockholder or member. In stock corporations, every stockholder entitled to vote shall have the right to vote in person or by proxy the number of shares of stock standing, at the time fixed in the