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Governance Selection 2

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There are two well-known family-run chocolate companies in Atlantic Canada. One is Ganongs in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, established in 1873. It served as the metaphor for my first “governance selection” piece published here in July 2020. The other, Peace by Chocolate, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, was established by a Syrian refugee family in 2016. Here, it introduces a few more bite-sized tips.

The first confection I have chosen to focus on here is board minutes. Hardly a sweet of interest to most. I have fielded a lot of questions on this topic and much to my surprise new ones, new to me anyway, still appear. I have divided my responses here into four pieces. One is about minutes being signed, another with the phenomena of “draft” minutes, a third on the question of when minutes should be approved, and lastly, how long should board minutes be kept? Most readers will know the answer to this one.

The second item in the box looks at matter a board’s own document files. Is it easy for you to find past meeting minutes, lists of recruitment prospects, or signed confidentiality forms? My guess is that few non-profits have a well-considered organizational scheme. There is probably not a best one, but perhaps my suggestions can spark a conversation.

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The Lure of Operational Involvement

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Board members often want to help their non-profit in any way they can.  Contributing to its  effectiveness around the board table is essential but one’s role here can seem remote from the direct work of the organization. Indeed, governance work for board members can seem intangible in terms of how exactly it adds value. Perhaps one should volunteer in the non-profit’s programs or services. Surely it would also be a support to staff.
 
Despite such good intentions, when board members focus their attention on, or even step into operational matters, roles can easily be confused and frequently are.

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Five Governance Hacks

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At most hardware stores you can now buy a light bulb that works when there is a power outage. They typically provide a few hours of emergency light around your home. Someone came up with the idea of putting a small battery in the base of the bulb that stays charged when in normal use … Read more

Managing Board Resignations

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The resignation of a volunteer board member or director is not an uncommon occurrence. Typically it is because the person finds themselves unable to fulfill their duties. Personal or family matters or new work commitments can unexpectedly get in the way of their continued board involvement. And, it can occur too as a result of a conflict on the board.  A person is unhappy with recent happenings or decisions and is unwilling to continue serving.

It is the latter kind of situation that recently sparked some advice from me to a group.  But the cause of a resignation, or preventing them, is not the focus of this post. Regardless of the reason for a board departure they need to be handled properly. This is not complicated governance territory but, much to my own surprise, I discovered that there are important considerations one should be aware of.((Helpful in writing this post was Mary Childs’ 2020 piece Canada: Directors of Not-for-Profits and Charities_ Resignation, Removal and Replacement published by Mondaq))

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Old Business – New Business

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Non-profit boards usually meet monthly or quarterly and most of those meetings involve multi-item agendas. Tradition tends to rule what the design of the agenda looks like. I think this is unfortunate. This post looks at some easy to adopt ideas that, for most, will represent a departure from their current agenda practices.

If board chairs and executive directors, the two people most responsible for the agenda, are prepared to experiment with some new board meeting elements they can give more spring to their organization’s governance step.

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Committees Checked Out

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For many people, boards and committees go hand-in-hand in the structure of a non-profit organization. Committees though, are one of the elements where assumptions often rule on what ones to have, not always to good effect.

What I will try to do is to sketch out what board committees non-profits ought to put in place, ones to be careful setting up, and what steps, like written terms of reference, can help to make them effective. Perhaps I can take the guesswork out of the picture.

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Board Members as Ambassadors

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Your non-profit’s board members diligently show up at monthly meetings. They are interested in the work of the organization and engaged in the issues around the board table. But do board members have a role outside of board meetings in building bridges to the wider community? If so what does this look like?

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The Board – Staff Relationship

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Can a volunteer board have much of a relationship with their non-profit’s staff? This question comes up in many governance conversations. The standard line is that while the board is responsible for staff, their relationship is really only with the chief executive. I think a more nuanced answer is needed.

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Refurbuishing Your Chair

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Would you be surprised to learn that a recent study revealed that 73% of board chairs would welcome feedback on their performance? How about that this majority crossed gender, organization type and even board chair experience categories. Such a finding certainly opens the door to dramatically improving how well boards’ function and seeing some changes quickly.

Ok, no such study exists. It is likely though that board chairs are as open as anyone to suggestions for improving their effectiveness. Such improvements could include a better understanding

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Board Orientation Rejigged

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Board orientation refers to a process for helping newly elected directors contribute fully, and as early in their term as possible, to the governing work of the board. Very often it takes the form of a special meeting designed to provide information to these directors about their responsibilities and the operations of the organization.

Is it enough to assume that the goal, simply stated, is to transfer important information and respond to questions from new directors? From an adult education perspective I think board orientation could benefit from the articulation of some specific learning objectives

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