Written by Allison Howe

Executive Director/CEO Sabbatical – Win, win and win!

Working as an executive director in the nonprofit sector has been somewhat stressful over the last few years. Nonprofit leaders are known for trying to do the best they can with limited resources. But the last few years have been especially taxing: the pandemic, the swing of social reckoning with everything from abortion rights to racial justice, the ratcheting down of resources for nonprofits and the people we serve. Executive directors are tired.

As the child of a professor, I remember my father received an opportunity to have a sabbatical every seven years. For my family, that meant that we lived in England for six months while my father did his

Written by Allison Howe

Who Makes an Effective Board Chair?

I have been in my job as executive director for over seven years. In those seven years, I have had four different board chairs and we are gearing up for a fifth.  Each board chair has brought something new to NonProfitConnect and to my growth. And I think they have each left with new skills and perspectives. I feel lucky to have had each of them co-leading NonProfitConnect.

Not everyone is so lucky. I feel it is important for executive directors/CEO’s to be involved in identifying future board chairs both to recruit for the board and to develop once on the board. The relationship between a board chair and executive director/CEO is too vital to leave just to

Written by Allison Howe

With all the challenges facing nonprofits externally, I am observing that more nonprofit leaders and board members are open to new ways of approaching the sector’s work. There is no shortage of original ideas in the nonprofit sector but we are not set up as a sector to truly test them out.

Here are some of the barriers to innovation that nonprofits often face:

• Risk averse boards – In the fall, Joan Garry gave a talk at a NonProfitConnect sponsored conference, where she talked about nonprofit boards’ aversion to risk. Her thesis was that board members think their job is to protect the nonprofit by avoiding risk. They do have that obligation. However,
  

Written by Allison Howe

Joining a board provides us with so many wonderful opportunities! Most new board members see the chance to meet new people and to make a difference in a cause that matters to them. They may even see that serving on a board looks good on their LinkedIn profile.  But there is so much more if you take full advantage of this role.

Here are suggestions about how to maximize your board service:

• • Join with an open mind and the intention to learn. I have seen many people from the corporate world come to a board meeting bringing corporate biases and strategies. Those perspectives are important, but also it is important to listen to challenges
    

Written by Allison Howe

You joined the board because you believe heartily in the mission of your nonprofit. But it is getting harder and harder to get to those meetings. Too many responsibilities with the kids. Or the elderly parents. Or work.  Also, there are so many meetings and you think, “What am I really contributing?”  Perhaps you have nothing new to say after serving 20 years on a board with no term limits and the other board members do not want to hear, “We tried that already.”  Maybe you are a founder and find others are getting frustrated balancing your feelings with what needs to happen to move the organization forward.

It is often difficult to acknowledge that maybe you are no longer a good