Archive for November, 2010

The Importance of Bylaws for Nonprofits

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Adrianne DuMond

Author: Adrianne DuMond

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

Most of us turn the other way when the subject of bylaws comes up – either creating them or reviewing them. But they should be reviewed at least every three years. Bylaws help the organization run smoothly, provide consistency from one Board term to another, and can keep an organization out of serious legal trouble when they are available, current, and clear.

Bylaw regulations vary from state to state for nonprofits. Guidelines for your state can be obtained through various sources.  The State Attorney General’s office can give you the office contact for nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, or your city attorney may have the information. 

I highly recommend the web site www.blueavocado.org for some very good advice about the use of bylaws and the importance of keeping them updated. In this blog I provide the bylaws checklist that Jan Masaoka has written.

 Three overall guiding principles:

  1. Don’t put too much in the bylaws. If you state meetings will be held on a certain day, then when meetings change, the bylaws have to change.
  2.  Designate that the Executive Director should be responsible for making sure the bylaws are reviewed every three years. Since Board officer terms vary, it is difficult for this responsibility to reside with the Board volunteers, even with very good minutes of the meetings.
  3. Make sure that any revisions to the bylaws are dated, summarized, and attached to the Executive Director’s copy. Dating the revisions is extremely important, since any future problems can be minimized if the records are clear and accurate.

Here is the checklist from Jan Masaoka’s article to ensure that the most important topics are covered:

  1. Indemnification – A statement that limits the personal liability of board members.
  2. Minimum and maximum number of board members. This may be determined by your state’s regulations for nonprofits.
  3. The number required for a quorum.
  4. Terms, term limits, and return policies.
  5. Titles of officers, how they are appointed and their terms.
  6. Procedure for removing an officer.
  7. Conflict of interest policy.
  8. Minimum number of board meetings a year.
  9. How an emergency or special board meeting may be called.
  10. What committees exist, how members are appointed, and their powers.
  11. Managing conference calls and/or electronic meetings.

Remember that every Board member should have a copy of the bylaws. Again, I recommend the web site for more specific information. The specific article from which this blog was created is titled ‘Bylaws Checklist’ and was posted on  May 29, 2010.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Adrianne DuMond, Government Regulations | 1 Comment »

What’s New with Worker’s Compensation

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

Robin Noah

Author: Robin Noah

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

Legislative reforms enacted between 2002 and 2004 launched a major overhaul of the California Workers’ Compensation system.  The CWCI California Workers Compensation Institute noted that “… over the past 6 years there has been a steady stream of regulatory activity.”

What is currently new is the requirement for employers to post newly revised claim forms and other Workers Comp materials no later than October 8, 2010 the effective date of the changes.  The notice regarding these changes was originally sent by the CWCI September 15, 2010. Employers need to have as much information as they can gather to ensure compliance as the penalties for failure to comply are hefty.

The new instructions require that all California employers:

  1. Post a new version of the Notice to Employees – Injuries Caused by Work, by                 October 8, 2010. Failure to post the notice by the October deadline can result in a misdemeanor and up to $7,000 in civil penalties.
  2. Distribute the new Your Rights to Workers’ Compensation Benefits pamphlet to all new employees who:  a) start work on or after October 8, 2010, b) at the time of hire or c) before the end of the first pay period.

Companies that have Medical Provider Networks -– MPN – have additional requirements.  You will need to create a complete MPN Notice and post it next to the revised Notice to Employees—Injuries Caused by Work poster.  The CWCI will assist you in developing the form.

Employers who are implementing, changing or terminating an MPN must also post a complete MPN Notice next to the Notice to Employees—Injuries Caused by Work poster by October 8, 2010.

CWCI will conduct a one-day seminar October 18 in Long Beach and October 20 in San Francisco to educate employers and insurance industry professionals on recently adopted regulations affecting key areas of workers’ compensation

Talk with your Worker Compensation Insurance Agent about these requirements.  I also encourage you to visit the CWCI web site for additional information – www.cwci.org.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Government Regulations, Robin Noah | Comments Off

Nonprofit Coach Receives Philanthropy Award

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Author: Joanna Clay

Daily Pilot

www.DailyPilot.com

Click on the link below to see the Daily Pilot article:

http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-1116-cryer-20101115,0,7304144.story

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in Business Models, Leadership, Success Stories | Comments Off

Managing Employees: “When to Relate, When to Require”

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

Larry Tucker

Author: Larry Tucker

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

One of the struggles of being a manager, especially a new manager, is: “How do I relate to my employees?” Sounds like a simple concept, doesn’t it?

My experience in working with nonprofits is that the same compassion that drives nonprofit leaders to become executive directors, for example, often too strongly influences their employee management style.  To test this, I often use an exercise I found in The 2R Manager: When to Relate, When to Require and How to do both Effectively, a short, but enlightening book by Peter E. Friedes. (Pete also happened to be CEO of the organization I used to work for!)

The exercise makes several statements about your management style and asks you to score them based on your own preferences and actions as a manager. After a little mathematical work, you arrive at two scores, one representing how you relate to your employees and one showing how much you “require” of your employees.

Of course, this is a self-evaluation, so there is room for managers to misrepresent themselves, but the exercise always promotes valuable thought and discussion. Too high a “relating” score and too low a “requiring” score implies an environment where employees may be very comfortable in their roles and relationships to their leaders, but are less disciplined in driving to the goals that make for an effective organization. The reverse might imply an organization that is, or will be experiencing high turnover.

This is a worthy topic for your management team, regardless of whether you buy the book and take the test or simply initiate the discussion in your next leadership meeting.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Larry Tucker, Managing Employees | Comments Off

Nonprofits’ Need for Insurance

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Adrianne DuMond

Author: Adrianne DuMond

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

In these difficult economic times  it is natural to ask “do we need so much insurance coverage – or coverage at all?”. But non-profits need to remember that they service clients and provide services to some of the most vulnerable and the most troubled in our communities. Therefore it is important to obtain the best insurance advice for the nature of the service and for the kind of people involved in the delivery of that service. This includes employees, volunteers, as well as the benefactor that tripped on the antique rug at the last fundraiser.

 Every organization needs at least three types of insurance:

  1. General liability – for the ‘slip and fall’ category, where someone is hurt or their property is damaged in your office.
  2. Non-owned/hired auto insurance in case an employee or volunteer is involved in an auto accident and their personal insurance is not adequate.
  3. Organizations that have any employees – even one – need to have directors and officers liability insurance – with employment practices coverage.

There are other kinds of insurance that should be considered, depending on the kinds of clients being serviced. It is a good idea to engage an insurance broker who acts as the mediator between the agency and the insurance company. They can also assess the risk exposure and needs of a particular agency. Insurance brokers routinely help with the following:

  1. The types of coverage needed ( social services professional insurance? or sexual abuse coverage?)
  2. Coverage limits ( should liability coverage  be $1 million or $5 million)
  3. Services needed (better personnel policies, or training for volunteer drivers?)

There are several resources available for more specific information. For articles about non profit insurance refer to www.blueavocado.org/content/board-members-guide-nonprofit-insurance. There are also at least two insurance companies that service non profits specifically: Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California, http://www.niac.org and Alliance for Nonprofit Insurance: Risk Retention Group http://www.ani-rrg.org.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Adrianne DuMond, Financial Management | Comments Off

Walking the Tightrope of Difficult Times

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Robin Noah

Author: Robin Noah

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

No question these are very difficult time for most businesses.  A major challenge is how continue operating within existing financial parameters. There are no rubber bands to stretch the budget; restructuring, reducing and cut backs are some of the issues business persons are facing. What has to be cut and where do you cut? One of the primary areas always looked at for making changes is the overhead costs.  For most business the first stop is payroll. Cut or reduce payroll and you have personnel issues.

When dealing with personnel issues one needs to be concerned with labor laws. What may seem like a good decision may really be a costly action. For example if cutting back wages is an option you choose to exercise be sure that the basic minimum wages level is maintained for both exempt and non-exempt employees’. When reducing exempt employees’ salary, remember that falling below statutory minimum salaries is a violation of state and federal codes. 

Another option that is considered is using independent contractors which would reduce the cost of benefits and overtime pay since independent contractors are self employed and receive no “benefits “from the business they contract with.  Independent Contractors (IC) are responsible for their unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and state and federal income tax.

The time bomb here is that simply calling someone an IC does not make it a legal classification. The most important factor is that the business has no control over the IC; the IC has the right to control the manner and means of accomplishing the desired result.   The www.IRS.gov  web site provides information for making the correct IC classification determination.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Financial Management, Government Regulations, Managing Employees, Robin Noah | Comments Off

What Kind of Board Do You Want?

Monday, November 8th, 2010
Bob Cryer

Bob Cryer

Author: Bob Cryer

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

Most nonprofit boards have an option to evolve, or not evolve, from one stage to another. This blog post discusses the most common options and the implications.

A Founder’s Board: A nonprofit founder will typically recruit a few family members or friends to comply with the IRS’s minimum board requirement. The board’s other role is to encourage the founder to keep building the nonprofit in whatever direction the founder would like to develop it. The advantage of this board is that the founder has a support group and has almost complete control of where the nonprofit is going and how and when it will get there.

A Credibility Board: If a nonprofit’s primary funding strategy is getting grants, it might decide to add board members who have a lot of relevant professional credibility and experience. This type of board is likely to have a significant influence on how the nonprofit does things, helping it adopt more professional “best practices” so that they are  more grant eligible. The founder gets a lot more advice on how to run things, and less unconditional support.

A Policy Board: If a credibility board continues to grow, it is likely to recruit members who are expert in many of the nonprofit’s functions. A Policy Board will develop policies of how the nonprofit should operate in each functional area, and evaluate the Executive Director on how well their policies are executed. This might enable the nonprofit to become a preferred supplier to the foundations and agencies that fund the kind of work that the nonprofit does. On the other hand, the ED’s freedom of action has a lot of policy constraints.

A Fundraising Board: If an emerging nonprofit’s primary fundraising strategy is individual donors, the board is more likely to recruit donors that are socially active in the community, so that they can recruit more donors, volunteers, committee chairs and board members to run more and bigger events and campaigns. 

A Strategic Board: Fundraising board members tend to have a good sense of what gets donors excited about the nonprofit. This board might logically start doing some strategic planning, setting directions for the nonprofit in order to make it easier for the board and its committees to attract even more and bigger donors. A strategic board sets the development direction of the nonprofit and looks to the executive director to implement their strategy.

What type of board does your nonprofit have and what are the implications on the role of your executive director? What kind of board and executive director do you want to have?

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Bob Cryer, Nonprofit Boards | 1 Comment »

Get Your Board to Think Strategically!

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Larry Tucker

Author: Larry Tucker

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

As I was looking back at Jan Masaoka’s very good blog (http://www.blueavocado.org/content/who-responsible-board-doing-good-job) on the executive director’s responsibility for a successful board, I started thinking about the many boards I’ve worked with over the last few years.

The discussion in the blog and the related comments are a reminder that many nonprofit boards need to be changed or changed out to be successful. That’s a difficult and complex issue that many EDs and boards have wrestled with over the years and I might take a shot at that topic in a coming blog.

But the blog also reminded me that many boards just seem to be running in place with no intent to consider a longer term, strategic perspective. As with any organization, this leads to stagnation, but can also result in a misalignment between the organization’s mission and the needs of the community.

Many boards use an annual off-site strategic planning meeting to step back and consider the broader issues that drive their organizations, and I’d suggest that this is a good model to follow.   

Usually the simple process of establishing an off-site meeting for a half or full day with a strategic agenda will in itself prompt some very good discussions. But some deep thinking and thorough planning can create an experience that board members will want to repeat annually. The list of topics for these sessions is endless:

  • Reevaluating the organization’s vision and mission
  • Creating a five-year plan
  • Brainstorming on fundraising approaches
  • Factors within the community that are affecting your clients and your organization
  • Tearing apart the budgeting process
  • Matching the organization’s daily activities with its vision and mission

Get the board involved in these discussions so they individually feel that they have a stake in the success of the organization. I’ve had a lot of success breaking out the board members (with some staff) into two or three working groups for each topic, ensuring that all board members have a chance to comment and ask questions. Consider other activities in the session that will enhance participation.

This is also a good opportunity to get board members to commit to certain activities to help the organization….donor searches, fund raising, board member recruiting, for example.

Good leadership demands that we periodically take ourselves out of the daily rituals of running an organization, step back and consider if our organization is on the right track.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Larry Tucker, Nonprofit Boards | Comments Off

Do your Volunteers Suffer from Burnout?

Monday, November 1st, 2010

Adrianne DuMond

Author: Adrianne DuMond

Executive Coaches of Orange County

www.ECofOC.org

One of the fastest ways to lose good volunteers is to cause them to suffer from burn out. They join the Board of Directors – or even help the staff – and then lose enthusiasm because they become overwhelmed with the responsibilities with no planned back up to continue the tasks once their time is over. Often, Board volunteers come from a very busy day or schedule and expect the meeting(s) to be fast paced like their work world. Let’s take the Chairman of the last fundraiser, for example. The person volunteered, is known as a good organizer, may have done one for a prior organization, and is full of enthusiasm. But when the event is finished, the person is exhausted and discouraged, even though the event raised lots of money.

There are ways to avoid this dilemma. Documenting the steps and tasks is critical to the smooth execution of successful events that don’t burn out the people involved. This also means including paid staff in the planning and documentation. Sometimes volunteers look to the paid staff to furnish the background of prior events, the evaluation of what went well and where problems occurred, and then to put together a skeletal plan for the upcoming event (prior plans, working committees, resources, vendors, their contacts) . If staff cannot provide this important information, the job is much more difficult.

Here are some guidelines for eliminating burn out:

  • Designate a successor to key positions ( like President-elect, Fundraiser Chairman-elect, Budget Chairman-elect, etc.) so that future transitions are easier.
  • Document, document, document – key areas of responsibility, the steps to the task, resources and contacts.
  • Make sure that the staff person assigned to this project is diligent about being able to define the tasks and responsibilities for the volunteers.

Let’s keep those volunteers coming back.

  • Share/Bookmark

Posted in -By Author, Adrianne DuMond, Managing Volunteers | 3 Comments »