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    The Nonprofit Advisor
    The Nonprofit Advisor
    The Nonprofit Advisor
    Ebook150 pages1 hour

    The Nonprofit Advisor

    By Peter Lowy

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    About this ebook

    Nonprofits are noble undertakings, but even the most laudable ventures need to regularly reassess what they are doing and how they’re doing it. For them, good advice is indispensable. Fortunately, many experts are eager—and willing—to assist. And 38 of them share their hard-gained knowledge, developed over many years working with numerous organizations, in The Nonprofit Advisor. Specifically, they address general and financial management skills and how to build strong boards, generate funds, manage people, and promote the organization – and harness the most appropriate technology to do all these things. If you’re looking for theory, you will need to consult other sources. But, if you’re seeking pointed, action-oriented advice to help your nonprofit excel, this book is for you.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPeter Lowy
    Release dateMar 17, 2014
    ISBN9780991653317
    The Nonprofit Advisor
    Author

    Peter Lowy

    Peter Lowy, journalist, marketer, and business consultant, established www.massnonprofit.org in 2006 in response to a widely recognized need within the Massachusetts nonprofit sector for cost-effective and convenient access to information and expert advice that can help nonprofits enhance their capacity. The website's tagline -- Inform. Share. Thrive. -- embodies its mission. By sharing information about the sector, nonprofits learn how other organizations handle a wide range of issues, regardless of their focus – and thrive more fully from what they learn. News and other information posted on the website is inclusive, which means that large and small nonprofits, regardless of subsector and location, are treated the same. Updates are emailed to opt-in subscribers every Wednesday morning.

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      Book preview

      The Nonprofit Advisor - Peter Lowy

      Nonprofits, especially smaller and mid-sized organizations, tend to need all the help they can get. And what they need most, arguably, is good advice. That’s what this book aims to provide.

      Just like for-profits, nonprofits stand or fall on their ability to manage themselves. They either articulate their goals and then rally the right people and resources to their cause, or they fail. This is challenging enough at any time, but growing demand for services, diminished government support, and greater competition for funding have heightened the stakes for virtually all nonprofits.

      To fulfill their mission, nonprofits must continuously enhance their ability to perform well on many fronts. It’s what many refer to as capacity building and covers a broad scope of activities – from improving general and financial management skills, attracting and engaging board members, and generating funds, to hiring the right people, promoting the organization, and harnessing the most appropriate technology to do all these things.

      Fortunately, nonprofits are not alone, for many experts are eager to assist. And some of their hard-gained knowledge, developed over many years working with numerous organizations, has been distilled into this volume. If you’re seeking pointed, action-oriented advice to help your nonprofit excel, read on. If you’re looking for theory, you will need to consult other sources.

      Each chapter of The Nonprofit Advisor was published originally as an Expert Advice column on www.massnonprofit.org, a premier source of news about and for nonprofits in Massachusetts. The advice, however, applies to nonprofits everywhere, no matter their size or subsector. All of the authors are expert in their fields and continue to work with or for nonprofits.

      Nonprofits are noble undertakings, and most often their reward is to be able to continue doing what they do. As works in progress they need to regularly reassess and, when necessary, realign their operations. Good advice (along with lots of hard work) enables nonprofits to accomplish their objectives. Hopefully, the words on the pages that follow will help them along their way.

      A Few Notes

      Nonprofit in this book refers to 501(c)(3) organizations, supported largely through philanthropy, that are exempt from federal income taxes, and organized and operated exclusively for the following purposes: charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals.

      Some people use not-for-profit interchangeably with nonprofit. Not-for-profit is broader in scope than nonprofit and includes charities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private voluntary organizations (PVOs), and civil society organizations (CSOs).

      Peter Lowy is the publisher of www.massnonprofit.org, which provides unbiased reporting on Massachusetts nonprofits. Since he founded the news service in 2006, it has emerged as a primary source of information about Massachusetts nonprofits, read regularly by leaders inside and outside the sector. Email to peter@massnonprofit.org.

      GENERAL MANAGEMENT

      Chapter 1: Managing a Nonprofit Means Managing Risk

      By Leigh Tucker

      Nonprofits operating under the strain of reduced revenues, frequently coupled today with greater demand for their services, should regularly assess their exposure to a variety of risks, which, if left unchecked, could diminish their ability to function.

      Although most, if nearly all nonprofits, acknowledge the importance of fully understanding the risks they face, the press of daily operations often means they often don’t make the time to fully assess those risks – be they are large, medium, or small organizations.

      While only the very largest nonprofits will have a chief risk officer on board, it frequently makes organizational sense to assign the risk assessment function to the chief financial officer. She or he likely will have the financial information and analytic tools to quantify risks.

      A recommended best practice in managing risk is to identify the top 10 risks your organization faces, annually at the least. Then, develop risk assessment checklists to help quantify the magnitude of those risks. Finally, create and implement policies and procedures aimed at mitigating those risks.

      The key risk areas that most nonprofits need to consider include:

      Strategic risk: Issues that impact high-level goals and the organization’s mission.

      Operational risk: Issues that could affect the ability of the organization to manage itself day-to-day.

      Financial risk: Issues that could negatively affect the organization’s asset.

      Compliance risk: Conditions that could impair the organization’s ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

      In addition, the following risk areas ought to be evaluated on a regular basis:

      Revenue risk: Because nonprofits are often dependent on the willingness of a few key revenue providers to continue funding them, the best way to mitigate the risk of losing this funding is to develop other sources.

      Contractor risk: When is a contractor no longer a contractor but actually an employee? According to the IRS, the general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the nonprofit for whom the services are performed has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result. Laws regarding the definition of a contractor have recently been tightened even further. It’s best to consult a legal advisor on how to properly classify workers.

      Interdependency risk: These are risks that a nonprofits takes on by aligning with another organization, supplier, or contractor. You can protect yourself through legal indemnity, but it’s important to know if your partner can put you at risk based on how they conduct their business.

      Data risk: The news continues to report stories about bank or credit card records being stolen, lost, or compromised. It’s happening not only via the Internet, but also through low-tech methods such as theft of data discs. Backing up data is important and establishing guidelines and procedures on who can access data is equally vital. HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) heightens the issue by imposing strict sanctions on those who fail to protect healthcare records they maintain.

      In addition, individual states, increasingly, are implementing regulations that require nonprofits and businesses to safeguard personal information they may own, license, store, or maintain on state residents.

      Leigh Tucker is managing director of the Nonprofit Practice at Accounting Management Solutions and founder of Nonprofit Executives, a Boston-based group that links professionals committed to the nonprofit sector. Email to ltucker@amsolutions.net, or call 781-419-9220.

      Chapter 2: Survival Tips for First-Time Executive Directors

      By Diane Franklin

      Over the next five years, a large number of baby boomer executive directors will retire from positions they have held for many years and will be replaced by newer, younger executive directors who may never have run a nonprofit organization.

      Although many of these new leaders will have academic training or nonprofit experience in other positions, they will not have experience being the person ultimately responsible for a nonprofit organization.

      If you find yourself in this position, here are 12 tips to help you survive and ultimately thrive:

      Be clear about expectations. One of the biggest pitfalls for new executive directors is not achieving clarity concerning what is expected of them. Work with board members to develop objectives that are mutually acceptable to you and your organization. Understand which objectives are crucial for you to accomplish and which are desirable, but not essential. Also, expectations are a two-way street. If you have expectations or concerns, clearly state these when you negotiate your contract.

      Become aware of any organizational red flags that must be addressed immediately, and then address them. As organizations approach leadership transitions, they sometimes let things slide, or sweep them under the rug. Find out if there are any organizational issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later. Do this by having individual conversations with staff and board members as well as with outside constituents who know your organization well. Anything that is likely to impede the organization’s ability to receive continued funding, jeopardize its nonprofit status, or keep it from accomplishing its basic mission must be addressed as soon as possible.

      Learn about your organization before you make major changes to it. Some executive directors are so eager to make their mark that they make major organizational changes before learning enough about why things are the way they are. With the exception of critical issues, making changes too quickly can lead to major mistakes, as well as annoy long-time staff members. By instituting change gradually, especially in non-critical areas, it will be easier to enlist the help and support of staff and board members, use their considerable expertise and knowledge, and ensure their cooperation.

      Establish your authority as soon as possible, but do so gently. As a new executive director, it is necessary to make it clear that you are now the person in charge. This will require building credibility and establishing your authority with staff, board members, and outside constituents. However you do this, it’s important to demonstrate your leadership skills and establish your authority within your first few months on the job. This initial period will set the tone for the rest of your time at the organization.

      Build trust in all your relationships as quickly as you can. Board members need to trust that you will serve as the organization’s steward, carrying out its mission and increasing its sustainability, visibility, and reputation. They also need to

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