A Unique Way to Achieve Entire Board Giving

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Susan Hammond

A young woman I met is a private school gifts officer.  When challenged by a particular alumnus who refused to financially support the school she got creative.

She first started with the traditional approach both before and during a large alumni event. When that wasn’t successful she asked him to donate what was ever he had in his pockets at the moment they were talking.

While admittedly she didn’t raise a large sum of money she did raise something and could claim 100% alumni giving.

You might want to try this if you are having trouble getting 100% financial support from your board.

Susan C. Hammond, a CFO/COO and expert on advisory boards, consults with CEOs of small to mid-size businesses and nonprofit organizations on the formation and facilitation of advisory boards, ways to enhance board governance, and how to improve financial intelligence. Susan is the author of the Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board.

Make sure to check-out her new e-book Developing a Personal Advisory Board!

Posted in Fundraising, Nonprofit Governance | Tagged | Leave a comment

How to Build a Better Search Committee for Your Nonprofit Board

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Susan Hammond

This post is an excerpt from an article written by my colleague, Laura Gassner Otting, CEO and Founder of Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group an executive search firm for the nonprofit sector that specializes in unbundled searches.

For certain searches, one of the first steps will be the formation of a search
committee. A successful search committee creates a calm and focused atmosphere
inside of an organization that is in the midst of a leadership crisis. It can set the
tone for the search and therefore, the future of a program, a division, or the entire
non-profit. To most candidates, it is the initial and often lasting face of the
organization.

You should determine at the outset of your search if a search committee will
be necessary, and staff it accordingly. Membership on a search committee may be
one of the most significant opportunities to serve an organization because it puts a
staff or board member in a dual role of public relations director and protector-in-chief.
Candidates appearing before the search committee will need to be wooed
about the position and the organization, and screened for professional experience
and personal characteristics. Performing both roles simultaneously is demanding.

The committee must ask difficult questions, seeking to determine not just the
candidate’s qualifications but what really drives him or her to want to work for the
organization’s particular mission or focus. These questions have to be asked
diplomatically; when the search ends, the committee and the successful candidate become colleagues.

Check back for additional excerpts on Building a Better Search Committee.

Susan C. Hammond, a CFO/COO and expert on advisory boards, consults with CEOs of small to mid-size businesses and nonprofit organizations on the formation and facilitation of advisory boards, ways to enhance board governance, and how to improve financial intelligence. Susan is the author of the Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board.

Make sure to check-out my new e-book Developing a Personal Advisory Board!

Posted in Nonprofit, Nonprofit Governance, Search Committee | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Time to Say “No” to Gender-Biased Boards

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Susan Hammond

Bottom line, women continue to be woefully under-represented on corporate boards and in the executive suite.

According to a recent Catalyst study, women hold only 15 percent of the board positions among Fortune 500 companies. Governance Metrics International also recently reported that across1,763 publicly traded U.S. companies, the share of board seats held by women barely budged 12.1 percent in 2009 to 12.3 percent in 2011.

This is the 5th year I blog about taking action to impact the number of women on corporate boards and in leadership position. Unfortunately actions taken in the past year or so have not resulted in the desired change. Several European nations have legislated to change the ratio and there is talk in some circles of the United States doing something similar.

Pax World Management LLC has launched the Say No Campaign to promote greater gender diversity on corporate boards by urging investors to withhold support from corporate proxy slates that do not include women directors. On their website they have provided sample letters for those companies with no women or only one woman on their boards. They also provide a list of other leading institutional investors with Proxy Voting Guidelines on board gender diversity that SAY NO to all male director slates.

It’s time for us to take action. By “us” I mean anyone who identifies with this issue and holds stock in public companies.  Let’s stuff the mailboxes of every board chair and CEO with the letters both Pax International and ION recommend we send.  If necessary, stop using the products and services of the companies who continue to ignore the requests of their stockholders to bring about gender diversity on their boards.  Consumer and stockholder pressure and the potential loss of revenue speak loudly.

This is not an action to put off until next year or when it better fits into your schedule. A ground-swell is forming. You need to take action NOW!

Other resources:

Susan C. Hammond, a CFO/COO and expert on advisory boards, consults with CEOs of small to mid-size businesses and nonprofit organizations on the formation and facilitation of advisory boards, ways to enhance board governance, and how to improve financial intelligence. Susan is the author of the Advisory Board Kit: A Comprehensive Guide to Establishing an Advisory Board.  Check out her recently release free e-book Developing a Personal Advisory Board!

Posted in Advancing Women, Board of Directors, Women in the C Suite, Women on Boards | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments