Tag Archives: board leadership
Dodge TA: Building the board you need to grow in tumultuous times
July 9, 2020Pennsylvania went into “lockdown” first. Within a week, New Jersey, and New York had followed suit. My conversations with board members and executive directors started on March 13, the day Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf announced that the Commonwealth would go on … Continue reading
Talkin’ ‘bout my generation: How do different generations approach their charitable giving?
March 22, 2020The differences between generations has been a popular topic in recent years – and with good reason. The five adult generations currently living in America (yep, it’s five – people born in 1996 are now adults, so we’ve added Generation … Continue reading
Dialogue across difference: Engaging with polarized perspectives
February 10, 2020In this time of increased polarization, there is interest and concern about how to have productive conversations with colleagues, friends, family, and loved ones about diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice issues. By utilizing an intercultural developmental approach, we can … Continue reading
Hiring the Executive Director: Keystone of board responsibility
January 15, 2020Embracing new leadership models: Free Press and Free Press Action recently announced Craig Aaron and Jessica J. González will lead the organization together as co-CEOs, saying in an email announcement, “We see clear benefits in sharing responsibility for the organization’s … Continue reading
Technical Assistance: Choosing to change board culture
May 8, 2019Diversity has been the talk of, and about, boards for a long time, albeit with more talk than action. Boards of nonprofits remain, according to BoardSource’s 2017 Leading with Intent: Overwhelmingly white Pretty evenly split between male and female, but … Continue reading
Board Leadership: The doctor will see you now
November 27, 2017Robert Frost once wrote, “An idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a good metaphor.” As a former English teacher and current consultant to non-profit organizations, I couldn’t agree more. I thought about metaphors as … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Want a Stronger, More Diverse Board? Start Here
July 26, 2017Diversity on boards has long been a hot topic. While it has always been a best practice to have a board of directors that is reflective of your constituency, too few have lived up to that best practice. In the … Continue reading
Feeling Burned out? 7 Steps to Get Back Your NGO Mojo
July 25, 2017You’re probably so busy that you don’t have time to read this post. But, please stop multi-tasking and resist the pull to check your phone. I have an important question: Lately, when you walk into your non-profit job in the … Continue reading
Pro Bono Partnership Pundit: Sorting through the dreaded 501c3 reporting obligations
July 18, 2017Paperwork. Reporting requirements. I know. This isn’t a very captivating topic. But many tasks that nonprofits need to attend to aren’t captivating. But this is an important topic, one that if ignored could put your nonprofit at significant risk of … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Relationships Among the Parts
June 13, 2017Faithful readers of the Dodge Blog know that I have repeatedly urged practitioners in the social sector to “plan backwards” from a shared vision of success, using qualitative assessment rubrics as a tool. If you make time for the process … Continue reading
Board Leadership: When Looking at Financials, Don’t Do What Seems Most Obvious
March 21, 2017In the nonprofit sector, we’ve gotten used to complexity when it comes to assessing the performance of our organizations. An organization’s “effectiveness” can be a complex combination of benefits to constituents, social and political impact, cost efficiency, and even environmental … Continue reading
Pro Bono Partnership Pundit: Keeping Your House in Order
March 14, 2017As noted in Allison Trimarco’s February post, these are interesting times, replete with significant issues. To borrow some phrasing from Kipling, if you can stay focused on your mission, when all around you there is challenge and change, you will … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Living in — and planning for — interesting times
February 28, 2017Staying on Track in an Unpredictable World We’re just a few weeks into 2017, and it already seems hackneyed to talk about how unpredictable the world has become. It’s not surprising that many nonprofits are already experiencing stress from the … Continue reading
Board Leadership: How to use a competitive advantage exercise to better understand your organization’s strengths
January 24, 2017How to use a “competitive advantage” exercise to better understand your organization’s strengths New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the nation – so it’s no surprise that it’s also densely populated with nonprofits. The National Center for … Continue reading
Board Leadership: David Grant Imagines If Hillary and Donald Had a Rubric
November 2, 2016The stunning levels of negativity, distrust, and cynicism evident in the political sphere this fall stand in stark contrast to the spirit I encountered recently in three days of workshops with staff and board members of New Jersey nonprofits, courtesy … Continue reading
