Recently, I came upon a community organization that was using a standard RFP (request for proposals) process to engage a consultant to assist with strategic planning. I started thinking about the process of engaging consultants and best practices for both the organization and the candidates. It is interesting to think about how an organization selects someone who will work with those most committed to the organization and the most appropriate steps to take to select the right firm or person. Organizations often bring in a consultant after facing a dilemma or conflict and having exhausted all of the human resources available to their leadership, including past presidents and other former leaders, then turn to an outside expert who can help the board and/or staff think through possible solutions. … Continue Reading

Recently, in a meeting with a colleague a question came up about the process of engaging leadership and finding the most appropriate person to lead a nonprofit organization. Every nonprofit organization goes through a process every two to five years of selecting a new volunteer leader who serves as president or chair of the board of directors. The official name of the position depends on the culture of the organization as stipulated in the nonprofit’s by-laws. In general, the person in this role, the person is the volunteer “head” of the organization and is responsible for chairing the meetings of the board of directors and officially represents the organization in public events. The chair of the board leads the process of establishing policies and is responsible for the fiscal accountability … Continue Reading

A fascinating story ran in the Israeli newspapers last week about a couple named Kurt and Julia Nassau who left a bequest of $700,000 to the Israel Symphony Orchestra. The only problem is there is no such orchestra in Israel. There is the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and there is an Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, but there is no Israel Symphony Orchestra! The issue is now before the New Jersey Supreme Court, which will decide what to do with the bequest. Friends of the deceased couple surmise that the Nassau’s most likely intended the money to go to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel’s leading symphony, and not the much lesser-known Rishon LeZion orchestra, and that they merely made a mistake with the name when drafting their will. On the other hand, the people in Rishon … Continue Reading

Just when you thought things were going so well, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) suddenly steps down. Now what? No one from either the board of directors or the professional staff saw this coming. Everyone figured that at some point, most likely after assuming the lead role as head of the organization, the CEO would eventually step down, but so suddenly? And so soon? When this happens, it’s important to take a few steps back and ask some Big Questions, such as: What does an organization do when faced with this situation? Who breaks the news to the board of directors, the staff and the community? How does the board organize itself to move forward? Who assumes executive responsibility for the organization after the CEO relinquishes responsibility? What becomes the focus of activity in the … Continue Reading

Nonprofit agencies are often stretched to the limit. It’s understandable, too, since nonprofit work is very demanding while resources are often scarce. As a result, something has to give and unfortunately, it is usually the one thing organizations need the most: the constant give and take between exploring, studying and developing a response to identified community concerns while keeping tabs on what has to be accomplished and whether there are enough staff and resources in place to get the job done. A possible approach to an agency feeling stretched beyond its means during these kinds of planning processes is to reach out to people who are not members of the board of directors or the professional staff. It means opening up the exploration of issues to a set of fresh eyes by inviting people who … Continue Reading

In the nonprofit world, change is inevitable. No matter the nature of the change - from relocating offices to re-conceiving the organization’s purpose; from hiring new staff and bringing on new board members to shifting funding patterns - every instance of change leads an organization into a transitional phase. You might say that when it comes to the words “change” and “transition” it is all a matter of semantics. I beg to differ. I want to stress the difference between the “changes” themselves and the process by which an organization seizes change as an opportunity to really experience transition. For example, a new chief executive officer (CEO) is hired to take over the administration of the organization. This is a change in the professional leadership of the organization but … Continue Reading

What makes a nonprofit organization great? This is a perennial question faced by many volunteer and professional leaders. The challenge is always to figure out what must be done to make an organization stand out among the plethora of nonprofit agencies in existence providing a myriad of services in the areas of health, education and welfare, among others. Is the difference between mediocrity and greatness what an organization does to service its clients and members? Or is it the way an organization functions internally that makes it stand out among other institutions? On the surface, the recipe for greatness is an organization that is innovative, creative, responds to social, education or health needs, works effectively and efficiently, develops active volunteer leadership and has achieved … Continue Reading

Every time a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) takes the reins at an organization, change is inevitable, particularly because each CEO brings his or her own unique administrative style and vision to the organization. Often the new CEO brings to the position a great deal of enthusiasm and a desire to improve the way the agency delivers its services to the community. Often this change greatly impacts either positively or negatively on the staff and board of directors. The process of finding and hiring a new CEO usually involves a committee made up of members of the board, volunteer leaders affiliated with the greater community and key personnel of the agency itself. The search process provides an opportunity for the board to attract someone who is not only able to direct the organization, but who … Continue Reading

We have reached the time of the year in our cyclical reading of the Torah where we start at the beginning once again. The creation story in the book of Bereshit (Genesis) is not only exciting, it can also guide our work with nonprofit organizations. The commentaries on the Biblical text teach us that this was not God’s first attempt to create a world, rather the only successful one since all earlier worlds were destroyed because they did not live up to God’s expectations. There is an important message in this story. The creative process is a very important part of an organization’s life, however, it does not mean that each time we create something it will succeed. If a decision is made to change an existing policy or implement a new program and it does not work, then it is important to … Continue Reading