November 2007

Stay in Touch

Recommended Resources

Serious treatments of the subject of executive search within the nonprofit sector are hard to find. Among the slim pickings are two with which I am familiar and pass on to you as worthwhile. The first is by Larry Slesinger and is entitled Search - Winning Strategies to Get Your Next Job in the Nonprofit World (2004). As you can tell by the title, it is aimed at the job seeker and essentially provides an action plan for the job of finding a job. It is available through www.MyNonprofitJobSearch.com.

The other is from the perspective of the agency seeking a new leader. Published by Board Source (www.boardsource.org) and entitled Hiring the Chief Executive, it provides just what its subtitle indicates, "A Practical Guide to the Search and Selection Process." It was orginally written by Sheila Albert in 1993 but has been revised since.

Referrals Welcome!

If you know nonprofit leaders seeking counsel in matters of governance, management, or development, then please let them know about od180. Here is a brief description we invite you to share with others

od180 - A Brief Description

od180 is an independent consulting practice that serves small and midsize nonprofit organizations and their leaders in three areas of organizational life. In the area of governance, od180 offers board training and counsel on board development. In the realm of management, the practice provides guidance on strategic planning and organizational design. In the field of institutional advancement, od180 helps organizations in preparing comprehensive development plans and designing member relations programs..

November 2007: od180 eNews #21

A Special Announcement, Reader Response, an Open Invitation, and a Recommended Resource

Dear Friends:

I always welcome your responses to this monthly missive and with this edition I will begin to share some of your responses with the entire readership on a regular basis. So please keep hitting reply and let me know what you think!

Peace,
David

More on Board Committees

Guin Kerstetter, Chief Financial Officer at Jewish Family Service of San Diego CA, offered an important correction/qualification to my suggested mandate for a board Finance Committee. She pointed out that, in California (and likely in some other states), there are specific statutes pertaining to the audit. If an organization has gross revenue of more than $2 million, then the state's Nonprofit Integrity Act of 2004 requires that the board of directors appoint a separate Audit Committee. The Audit Committee cannot be chaired by a member of the Finance Committee and members of the Finance Committee must constitute less than half of the Audit Committee. Treasurers and Board Chairs take note!

An Open Invitation

Help me make these monthly e-mail articles even more relevant to your interests and challenges. To stimulate and prompt your feedback, I invite you to reply to me anytime at davidnorgard@od180.com with answers to any or all of these questions...

- What holds your board back from functioning as effectively as it could?
- What is the biggest persistent management issue that you face?
- What part of your organization's development function doesn't function?

Or, just fill in the blank: David, I wish you would write about __________. In future letters, I will be answering some of your specific questions. So let me know: What is your question? I look forward to hearing from you!

A Special Announcement

I am pleased to announce the launch of an od180 study. Its ultimate aim is to offer guidance to small and midsize nonprofits on the critically important matter of executive selection. The primary method of the inquiry will be the collecting and comparison of case studies ... and that is where you can help.

Are you associated with an organization that has completed a search for a new executive within the past two years? If so, please read on: Each case study will involve interviewing the executive director, the chair of the board, and the chair of the search committee which made the selection. The study will also look at pertinent documents in each case including position description, job announcements and advertisements, resumes, and announcements of appointment. If you or someone you know fits the criteria and might be willing to participate in this important research, kindly contact me at 310-498-2584 or davidnorgard@od180.com.

2007

Suckerfish