Resources
Is Financial Oversight Your Weakest Link?
By Melanie Lockwood Herman This week I finished reading a terrific new book, Money Matters for Nonprofits: How Board Members Can Harness the Power of Financial Statements by Understanding Basic Accounting, by Melisa F. Galasso. Melisa kindly sent me a copy after learning about NRMC from a friend, who spoke at this year’s Virtual Risk … Continued
If Board Meetings Don’t Change You, You’re Doing It Wrong
By Melanie Lockwood Herman Last week I found myself engrossed in my first read of a new year: The Power of Giving Away Power. Author Matthew Barzun offers a compelling, fresh look at a concept I’ve come to understand as servant leadership: recognizing that being someone’s boss is a privilege that affords the opportunity to … Continued
Risk and Resilience: The Board’s Role
By Melanie Lockwood Herman Recently we’ve been fielding a variety of questions about the board’s risk role. Across the board, members of nonprofit governing teams want to support the missions they admire. Board members want to help an organization: 1. weather future disruptions (think COVID-19), 2. bolster resilience, and 3. prepare to survive and thrive … Continued
Is Your Board an Asset, or a Liability?
By Melanie Lockwood Herman This week I’ve been reflecting on the role of a nonprofit board in risk management. A nonprofit board is: A line of defense, a powerful radar system that can help detect incoming opportunities as well as threats A vision magnifier, a diverse board helps the management team see far beyond the … Continued
Best of Risk Management Essentials
Explore this RISK eNewsletter filled with some of our most popular issues of Risk Management Essentials (RME), our magazine published three times each year. Visit the RME archive for more issues and articles! Manage Risk with an Eye for Ethics Ethics serves as a foundation for the risk management work initiated by many NRMC clients … Continued
An Eye for Ethics: Quelling Confusion about Ethical Quandaries
By Melanie Lockwood Herman Most nonprofit leaders would enthusiastically agree that ethical conduct and core values are key to the success of their community-serving missions. Yet among your co-workers and peers, how acute is awareness of ethical dilemmas in every-day decisions? Do colleagues have the skills and patience to slog through ethical questions when they … Continued
Bylaws: The “Constitution” on Nonprofits
This webinar will address the art and science of drafting nonprofit bylaws that work. Well-written and formulated bylaws help shape power relationships within a nonprofit organization, provide unambiguous procedures to prevent disputes, and reduce the risks of litigation. Bylaws should provide answers, not raise questions. Come with questions and leave with clarity and confidence in … Continued
Boards on Board: Managing Governance Risk
Volunteer boards are vital partners at all nonprofit organizations. An important aspect of any board’s role is to safeguard the mission and assets of the organization. Join Melanie Lockwood Herman, executive director at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, as she shares strategies to help streamline risk management and compliance at the board level. Watch this … Continued
Board Development: Surf the Board Talent Pipeline
By Melanie Lockwood Herman We asked RISK eNews readers to weigh in on the top governance-related risks and challenges facing their organizations. Thank you to everyone who responded to our governance risk survey! With 67% of respondents ranking the issue as a #1 or #2 concern, the top board-related risk and worry was: “inadequate pipeline for … Continued
The Garden of Risk Oversight: Positioning the Board to Cultivate Strategic Risk-Taking
By Melanie Lockwood Herman When considering the myriad risks facing a nonprofit organization, one could identify many risks that should be safeguarded against, mitigated, or prevented if possible. Strategic risks are another animal altogether, or more appropriately, a garden of risks that—if properly tended to—will grow to fruition and advance the nonprofit’s mission and vision. … Continued
Going Up? Elevator Talk, Risk Management and the Nonprofit Board
By Melanie Lockwood Herman The Board of Directors sits atop the organizational chart of a nonprofit organization. Board issues are either self-initiated or are “elevated” by staff for board consideration. Both approaches are inherently necessary to the board’s governance role. And while there are myriad definitions, governance is essentially the “means in which the leading … Continued
Dueling it Out: Addressing Common Board Conflicts with Confidence
Conflict in a board meeting is often unavoidable, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Opposing board member viewpoints can lead to an increase in productivity, creativity, and new insights if these conflicts are managed thoughtfully. Constructive conflict in the board room is much like a fencing match: a victory is not achieved through aggression, … Continued
Hello Goodbye: Succession Planning 101
Countless nonprofit board members and CEOs have faced this million-dollar question: “Do we need a succession plan?” which is often followed by confusion and another query: “Do we need a successor ready now?” Attend this webinar to learn the why, what, who, and how of succession planning. Reflect on why your board and/or CEO might be shy of initiating succession planning … Continued
Reviewing Financial Transactions: Board and Staff Roles in Internal Controls and Audit Functions
New accounting standards underscore the board’s overarching fiduciary duty to be familiar with and ensure the protection of, financial resources. This Webinar reviews basic internal control procedures that divide responsibilities clearly between the board and the staff to create a series of checks and balances that reduces the possibility of fraud, theft and other mismanagement … Continued
Outdated or Poorly Written Governing Documents: What Are the Risks and What Can You Do?
Bylaws, board minutes, codes of conduct, and other governance policies need to be clearly written and reflect how your nonprofit operates or they are of little value in protecting the organization. Their purpose is to provide commonality of behavior, which gives direction to the leadership and protection by intent in the event of a dispute, … Continued
Join the Culture Club
December 23, 2015 By Melanie Lockwood Herman Assuming you love your job, what is it about your nonprofit that makes it a wonderful place to work? Despite the undeniable uniqueness of nonprofits, most organizations have the following elements in common: a compelling mission, a defined leadership structure, multiple stakeholder groups and vulnerability to financial stress … Continued
Developing and Managing Conflict of Interest Policies
The best way to manage conflicts of interest is before they land your nonprofit on the front page of the local newspaper. A well constructed, clearly written conflict of interest policy, familiar to board and staff, can protect the organization and the volunteers who provide leadership. Watch this Webinar if your organization is in the … Continued