Charlotte County Florida Weekly

Better governance, better results

GIVING



 

 

How would you like to increase the effectiveness of the nonprofit board(s) with which you work? Increasing the effectiveness of nonprofits occurs when organizations are well governed. Wellgoverned organizations typically run better, have fewer problems and create more success. They make better decisions.

A key source of board-related information is BoardSource. This highly-acclaimed organization has tools and resources for nonprofit leaders, trains more than 60,000 nonprofit board leaders each year and provides an extensive range of electric materials, books, consulting and customized diagnostics.

For nearly two decades, BoardSource has studied and reported about a wide range of governance issues. Its Nonprofit Governance Index is a tool for understanding how nonprofits govern their organizations. This report is developed every two years and provides up-to-date information on nonprofit board policies, practices and performance from a wide range of organizations throughout the nation.

It is the only national study of nonprofit governance that includes responses from chief executives and board chairs. The seventh edition of the BoardSource Nonprofit Governance Index was just released, and the 2012 report had some interesting summary findings. I’ll share some here. Some are positive and some are not so positive.

¦ Hopeful signs of recovery across the nonprofit sector. BoardSource discovered a substantial decrease in the percentage of nonprofits that downsized, cut staff, reduced salaries and benefits or that made other negative financial adjustments. Compared to the study two years ago, the 2012 report shows there were increases in the percentage of organizations expanding or launching new initiatives.

¦ Increased accountability and selfassessment. There was growth in the percentage of nonprofits that operate with basic accountability procedures, such as conflict of interest, whistleblower and document retention policies. Boards are increasingly looking at their own performances. Organizations that conducted board self-assessments increased by 5 percent over the past two years, a modest yet positive change.

¦ Low levels of adoption of inclusive practices persist as a pattern of inequity among nonprofit board in terms of gender, age and race/ethnicity. Inclusion, as an issue, continues to be an issue with struggling g boards. The study shows almost no progressp md in recruiting racial and ethnic minorities to nonprofit boards. Further, diversity training for boards was virtually nonexistent.n

¦ Percentage by be of personal giving board members is high, but fundraising efforts leave much to be desired. In the previous study, chief executives ranked fundraising as the weakest area of board performance. This study shows that 40 percent of CEOs indicate that board members are reluctant to take on fundraising responsibilities. Just 41 percent of CEOs say that board members are comfortable engaging face-to-face with potential donors. However, among nonprofits that fundraise, nearly three-quarters of respondents report 90-100 percent personal giving by board members.

Another area of particular interest in the report was titled “Governance Knowledge.” The study findings show CEOs responded that board members have shown a modest increase in understanding their legal and governance responsibilities compared to the study two years ago. This year, however, more than a third of chief executives report that board members are “somewhat informed” and 4 percent of board members are rated as “not well informed.” Only 43 percent of chief executives without a structured board orientation process describe their board as “very well informed” or “well informed.”

These are just a few of the findings in this report, a report that can point your organization toward better governance, better decisions and better results. For your own free copy of the 2012 Board- Source Nonprofit Governance Index, download the report from www.Board- Source.org.

Locally, attending our January Nonprofit Network event can also support your good governance. The Charlotte Community Foundation Nonprofit Network is pleased to offer a program about nonprofit governance on Jan. 28. Dr. Sandra Hughes, senior governance consultant at BoardSource, will be presenting. To register for the program, go to www.charlottecommunityfoundation.org.

If we can help you with your governance growth, development or challenges, feel free to call me. My cell phone number is 661-9760. ¦

— The Charlotte Community Foundation unites individuals, families, businesses and organizations with causes they care about by creating permanent charitable funds to help the community meet the challenges of the future. A part of the community for more than 20 years, CCF is focused exclusively on Charlotte County. For more information, visit www.CharlotteCommunityFoundation.org or call 637- 0077.


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