Strategic Governance

A balanced focus on accountability, stewardship and investment

The Leadership Group – May 2015

www.leadershipgroup.info

Definition of Governance

• Nonprofit governance is:

• the provision of guidance and direction to a nonprofit organization so that it fulfills its vision and lives its core values, while maintaining accountability to the community, other key constituents and funders.

Unique Governance Tasks

• Set & monitor outcomes (answers the “so what” question)

• Set and monitor policy (prudent/ethical behavior)

• Continuous trend analysis and review of changing needs of customer base (are we still relevant?)

• Set and monitor strategic goals, including fundraising

• Evaluate the Executive Director

• Adhere to clear distinction of Board, staff, volunteer roles

So That:

The Organization is Worth Raising Money For!

Strategic Planning As Governance

• At a minimum, 1/3rd of board time should be spent on setting and monitoring of strategic goals.

• Supporters invest in an organization’s future. They look to past success to identify credibility for future investment.

• Clearly defining a desired future state that ensures the continued relevancy of the organization is the core of the planning process

• Monitoring progress on strategic goals, while continuing to scan the environment for changes, is the part often forgotten by boards

Steps for Strategic Planning

• Organizational assessment to identify internal strengths and weaknesses

• External scan to identify future trends most relevant to organization. Also identifies external stakeholders perception of organization.

• Priority setting – Three year goals and investments• top strategic issues that “must” be addressed over next three years

• Identification of clear metrics to measure progress on strategic goals – what will be true that is not true now by end of year 3?

• Tactical planning – Year 1 tasks and investments

• Board Monitoring – Standard agenda item for progress reports and add1/drop1 rule

Governance Research & Trends

• Passion, not wealth, impacts fundraising/organizational success. Make up of successful board different than expected

• Smaller boards require separate volunteer structures

• Average term length is getting shorter as younger people join boards – requires more focus on policy and procedure for continuity and organizational memory

• Social networking creating non-hierarchical expectations – crowd sourcing, not power and control.

• Chair CEO relationship is critical to success – succession planning required