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