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Nonprofit boards are weird

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Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#41

Post by thaumasiotes »

yardie wrote: post #6

I'm on a few non-profit boards and one of the things I don't see the author mention at all or specifically is the primary directive of the board is the financials. The CEO/Director is in charge of the day to day operations. The board has very little interest in that. A non-profit will have some or most of it's money from donors and those donors want to make sure that donation is being spent effectively. And that is w…

> You can't operate a non-profit the same technique as a for-profit.

> A true non-profit has to spend almost every dollar it takes in.

Can it spend them on... salaries?

Wasn't the New York Stock Exchange a nonprofit organization for quite some time?

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#42

Post by toast0 »

UIUC_06 wrote: post #40
rvba wrote: post #28

If someone is a board member for few non-profits, is it hard to make the jump into for profit companies? If a for profit compaby goes belly up, do the board members suffer any real consequences, apart from perhaps not being invited into other boards?

An opportunity for me to not hijack the conversation! You brought up for-profit boards! OK, a pet peeve. They don't seem to suffer any consequences, and yet they really should. Let's look at Yahoo [1]. This is not just a story of Yahoo losing a technology race. It's a story of an incompetent board. The race was already over in 2008: > Yahoo had a chance to sell for $44.6 billion in early 2008, when Microsoft made an…

Comparing Microsoft's offer to Verizon's is a smidge unfair, because Verizon didn't buy the whole shebang. I'm having trouble figuring out the numbers, but the Yahoo Japan and Alibaba holdings were worth several billion and proceeds from their sales were distributed to shareholders.

Of course, I'm personally sad Microsoft didn't buy Yahoo, because I was sure I'd get a free Xbox if they did. OTOH, I think Microsoft would have been a poor host for Yahoo, and there were a few more good years left. Of course, the Microsoft searh deal went rather poorly. I left in October 2011, for many reasons, but not selling out to Microsoft wasn't one.

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#43

Post by erosenbe0 »

yardie wrote: post #6

I'm on a few non-profit boards and one of the things I don't see the author mention at all or specifically is the primary directive of the board is the financials. The CEO/Director is in charge of the day to day operations. The board has very little interest in that. A non-profit will have some or most of it's money from donors and those donors want to make sure that donation is being spent effectively. And that is w…

Non-profit space is almost always dominated by healthcare. Charity and charities are bit players.

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#44

Post by compiler-guy »

kayson wrote: post #4

More like "bad nonprofit boards are weird", though there's definitely some truth to - great power, low engagement, unclear responsibility, and zero accountability. But a good board and CEO/ED will address all of these. First and foremost, board members are volunteers. They need to be people who are invested in the organization and its mission, and would be available to help as needed. They're also consultants. The bo…

This is similar to a board I am on. Good orientation. Well-defined roles. Plus good meetings and enough self evaluation that we know what we need to work on.

As the org has grown we have had less need for nitty-gritty skills and more need for high level thinking and directional strategies.

There are certainly plenty of dumpster fires in the non profit world, but I doubt it is that much different from the business world.

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#45

Post by breakfastbar »

lkgbgjjugfffffg wrote: post #29

I served on the non profit board of my local arts centre. Worst decision of my life. 7 years troubleshooting impossible HR problems. At one point I had to take a two weeks off work to carry out disciplinary proceedings against someone who had been a family friend. Constant childish complaints from employees who refused to communicate with each other and expected the unpaid board members to resolve thier stupid proble…

Seems like a general mismanagement of an organization and has nothing to do with non profits. Handling of employee complaints is not the Board's job. There should be another layer of management responsible. I'm curious why you stayed 7 years.

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#48

Post by compiler-guy »

clairity wrote: post #33
compiler-guy wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"that the board members' primary job is to fundraise ... and secondarily to make productive introductions...." Although this is a common structure and plan, there are plenty of nonprofits structured differently than this--especially if the nonprofit is small and has only one or two employees, or maybe none at all. In which case the board does work on the ground.

right, that's the "operational input", in case that wasn't clear.

You have that as a distant second though. There are boards where operational work (not just input) is the first priority for certain board members.

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#49

Post by compiler-guy »

rvba wrote: post #28

If someone is a board member for few non-profits, is it hard to make the jump into for profit companies? If a for profit compaby goes belly up, do the board members suffer any real consequences, apart from perhaps not being invited into other boards?

The boards for small nonprofts vs large nonprofits are very different.

Getting on a board in the small-nonprofit world is all about sufficient interest, dedication, and somewhat on a willingness to give. In my experience, most small-to-midsize nonprofits are willing to take about anyone who demonstrates dedication to both the cause and organization in the form of sufficient volunteer time and willingness to do what is needed to advance the cause. The people running the show get to know you, and eventually invite you in.

But getting on a board in the for-profit world is all about who you know and the contacts you bring. In a lot of ways this is very similar to the large, well-funded, well-staffed non-profits, where they don't really want your expertise, but do want your money and your contact list.

As far as consequences if things fail: your donors will likely hate you.

Re: Nonprofit boards are weird

#50

Post by formerkrogemp »

UIUC_06 wrote: post #40
rvba wrote: post #28

If someone is a board member for few non-profits, is it hard to make the jump into for profit companies? If a for profit compaby goes belly up, do the board members suffer any real consequences, apart from perhaps not being invited into other boards?

An opportunity for me to not hijack the conversation! You brought up for-profit boards! OK, a pet peeve. They don't seem to suffer any consequences, and yet they really should. Let's look at Yahoo [1]. This is not just a story of Yahoo losing a technology race. It's a story of an incompetent board. The race was already over in 2008: > Yahoo had a chance to sell for $44.6 billion in early 2008, when Microsoft made an…

> If a for profit compaby goes belly up, do the board members suffer any real consequences, apart from perhaps not being invited into other boards?

Funniest shit I've heard all week. Once you get above a certain level (C-suite or board level), you only get in trouble in very specific circumstances. Most of the time on for profit boards you get paid to sit on your ass and meet in emergencies or annually or quarterly.

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