digArticles

Category: Policies

  • Navigating Remote Work

    Navigating Remote Work


     

    Like so many of you, I’ve recently made the change from working in my somewhat cluttered but beloved office to working remotely all the time. I have been a regular remote worker for one day a week (or one day every other week) for a number of years. This once-a-week opportunity to slip into my home office so that I could savor the peace and quiet, getting important “thinking and writing projects”  checked off the ever-present “to do” list, feels a lot different from my current full-time work from home arrangement with three kids, a barking dog, and husband all trying to get different tasks accomplished throughout the day. While I join so many others looking for the elusive quiet corner amidst the activity swirling around me, I can’t help but be grateful for my organization’s forethought  regarding remote work policies.

     

    When my organization determined that we would move our staff to full-time remote work last week in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were fortunate because we have the type of work that can be conducted online, and because we have the policies and the technology in place to accommodate such a shift. Besides double checking the laptop capability of our staff and ensuring that everyone on our team had the ability to log into virtual meetings, the logistics have, so far, been relatively seamless. Of course, having seamless logistics does not minimize the stress and uncertainty of the broader environment in which we’re living, working, and trying to stay safe and healthy.

     

    The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector states: “A nonprofit should have written, board-approved personnel policies and procedures that govern the work, actions, and safety of all employees and volunteers of the organization. The policies should cover the basic elements of the relationship (e.g., working conditions, telecommuting (if applicable), employee benefits, vacation, and sick leave). The policies should address orientation to the organization, employee evaluation, supervision, hiring and firing, grievance procedures, employee growth and development, and confidentiality of employee, client, and organization records and information.”

    We share our sincere wishes for your continued good health and patience as we all navigate these challenging and uncertain times.

     

     

    The Standards for Excellence educational packet on Personnel Policies, Employee Orientation, Compensation, and  Evaluation includes a helpful Nonprofit Guide to Remote Work. The Guide provides a list of benefits, drawbacks, and concerns, roles and responsibilities of the employers and employees, travel reimbursement, a sample remote work policy, a checklist for remote work, and a sample remote work agreement. 

     

     

    The Standards for Excellence Institute has made their Administrative Policies Educational Packet, Guide to Remote Work, and Crisis and Disaster Planning Resources free during this time. This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

     

     

  • COVID-19: What Nonprofits Need to Know About Coronavirus

    COVID-19: What Nonprofits Need to Know About Coronavirus


     

    Over the past few weeks, coverage of COVID-19 (coronavirus) has dominated the news cycle. While the world has responded with swift mobilization, it is difficult to plan for the effect an outbreak could have on your community. Thankfully, infectious disease experts in Maryland and around the globe have developed advice on how to prepare for an outbreak, both personally and in the workplace.

    Some of the advice provided by the Health Department for healthcare professionals is also relevant to all of us:

    • Encourage basic infection control practices such as hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, respiratory hygiene, and cough etiquette
    • Ensure non-punitive sick leave policies
    • Strong internal and external communication

    Up to date as of March 13, 2020

  • The Importance of Having Gift Acceptance Policies

    The Importance of Having Gift Acceptance Policies

    This is part of a special series, brought to you by the Standards for Excellence Institute, to provide nonprofit leaders with a brief nonprofit governance and management tip weekly over the course of 2020. We hope these short tips will be helpful to you and the nonprofits you serve. If you have suggestions for future topics, please forward these to acmadsen@standardsforexcellence.org.

    I recently read an article “Nonprofits Decline Gifts With Too Many Strings or Misaligned Values, Survey Finds”  in the Chronicle of Philanthropy with interest and even a little glee. In some cases, it seems that nonprofits lean toward accepting gifts almost without limitation to ensure that they are not offending their donors. However, in many cases, accepting an unusual or unanticipated gift ends up creating hardships and added expense for the organization.

    The Chronicle article, which is based on research from the Center for Effective Philanthropy,  notes that 40 % of nonprofits have declined a gift. The research cites that the most common reason for turning down gifts is that the gifts came with too many strings attached.  Other reasons given in the survey included the practicality of the donation and conflicts between the values of the donors and the values of the nonprofit organization.

    The Standards for Excellence Institute has been a proponent of board-approved gift acceptance policies since its inception. In fact, our Standards for Excellence code states, “An organization should have policies in place to govern the acceptance and disposition of charitable or in-kind gifts that are received in the course of its regular fundraising activities.” These policies should include:

    • Procedures to determine any limits on individuals or entities from which the organization will accept a gift
    • The purposes for which donations will be accepted
    • The types of property that will be accepted
    • Whether to accept an unusual or unanticipated gift considering the organization’s mission and organizational capacity.

    The Standards for Excellence code also states that “nonprofits must honor the known intentions of a donor regarding the use of any and all types of donations, including but not limited to cash, in-kind, cryptocurrency, and stocks.”  When taking both benchmarks together, it is easy to see that if a nonprofit cannot or will not be able to honor the intentions of the donors regarding a gift, the most positive outcome is often to turn down the gift. Certainly, having a well thought out and comprehensive gift acceptance policy can help make and communicate such decisions in a smoother,less personal manner.  

    In the more than 20 years that we have been encouraging nonprofits to have gift acceptance policies, I am pleased to say that we’re getting fewer comments like, “Why do we need a gift acceptance policy? We are a small nonprofit, we need EVERYTHING!” and getting more comments supporting the idea that gift acceptance policies are important and such policies help nonprofits turn down gifts that are not mission-centered in a way that is not offensive or off-putting for our donors and community members. I hope you explore how a gift acceptance policy will help your organization.

    The Standards for Excellence educational resource packet, Fundraising, Solicitation, Acceptance of Gifts, and Working with Donors contains a comprehensive gift acceptance policy that can be modified and customized to meet the needs of nonprofits around the country. 

    This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

  • The All-Important Budgeting Process

    The All-Important Budgeting Process


    This is part of a special series, brought to you by the Standards for Excellence Institute, to provide nonprofit leaders with a brief nonprofit governance and management tip weekly over the course of 2020. We hope these short tips will be helpful to you and the nonprofits you serve. If you have suggestions for future topics, please forward these to acmadsen@standardsforexcellence.org.

    At the end of last year, due to term limits, I ended my service as the chair of the finance committee of a nonprofit that is near and dear to my heart. It was a position that involved a lot of work and many challenges, but I am grateful for the chance to have served. The opportunity to work with the nonprofit’s experienced and dedicated finance staff made my work so much easier, and in fact, a pleasure in many cases. 

    As I look back on the term, I can’t help but recall the budget setting process with its many steps and iterations. Seeking input from the different program areas, getting buy-in from committee members – and ultimately, our governing board—were all important parts of the budgeting journey. Our budget had a variety of different program areas and line items for the expense categories. Of course, we also spent time considering and developing the income categories and determining the best ways to pay for all of the important program initiatives.  Each year, we looked closely at the budget categories and proposed amounts in each of the categories—these included pledged gifts, special giving campaigns, events income, and a variety of different types of earned revenue, just to name a few.  Unfortunately, in some organizations, the revenue side of the budget is not as well planned (and executed) as the expense side of the budget.

    The Standards for Excellence: An Ethics and Accountability Code for the Nonprofit Sector states “Nonprofits should have sound financial and operational systems in place and should ensure that accurate records are kept. The organization’s financial and non-financial resources must be used in furtherance of tax-exempt purposes. Organizations should conduct periodic reviews to address accuracy and transparency of financial and operational reporting, and safeguards to protect the integrity of the reporting systems” and that “the board should annually approve the organization’s budget and the organization should be operated in accordance with this budget.”

    One of the most comprehensive Standards for Excellence educational resource packets, Financial Budgeting Reporting and Monitoring, was just updated and re-released in the last few months. In the packet, you will find a sample budget (with annotations) as well as a discussion of the budgeting process and the various roles different board and staff leaders play in the process.  The packet also features resources on financial statements, audits, direct and indirect costs and much more.

    This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

  • Creating Nonprofit Volunteer Policies

    Creating Nonprofit Volunteer Policies

    This is part of a special series, brought to you by the Standards for Excellence Institute, to provide nonprofit leaders with a brief nonprofit governance and management tip weekly over the course of 2020. We hope these short tips will be helpful to you and the nonprofits you serve. If you have suggestions for future topics, please forward these to acmadsen@standardsforexcellence.org.

    So many of us volunteer for nonprofits. My best volunteer experiences leave me with feelings of hope and accomplishment that the mission of the organization was being well served.  It is easy to feel pride and respect for a nonprofit organization that you volunteer with when you know you were part of a stellar effort and you can see real, tangible results. 

    These days, I feel grateful for the chance to volunteer as a religious education teacher once per week with a terrific group of five and six-year old children.  I feel supported in my efforts by receiving curricula and tools to carry out my work and I am thankful to be able to learn from the other teachers during school wide, bi-monthly teacher meetings. I am lucky to work with a kind, capable director who ensures all of the volunteer teachers possess everything they need for success.

    Volunteers are an essential part of just about any nonprofit organization. As such, it is crucial that volunteers are treated with respect and that they are managed effectively – after all, they are giving you their time. The investment an organization makes to carefully recruit, train, and supervise volunteers means that volunteers are not free, making effective management all the more crucial. Organizations should spend the time and effort in having written, board-approved policies and procedures to govern the work, actions, and safety of both employees and volunteers regardless of how frequently or in what capacity volunteers are used. These policies should guide, direct, and clarify your organization’s relationship with its volunteers. 

    The Standards for Excellence educational packet on Volunteer Policies outlines what should be incorporated into excellent volunteer policy.  A few of the topics that may be found in a volunteer policy include: volunteer standard of conduct, absenteeism, grievance procedure, media conduct, alcohol/drugs, harassment, dress code, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, partisanship, proselytizing, change of placement, reporting misconduct, safety/liability, and discontinuation of volunteer service. It also comes with customizable companion documents such as Model Volunteer Program Policies and Procedures, a sample volunteer job description and a sample volunteer and intern agreement.

    This educational resource packet and the full series of all packets  – including sample policies, tools and model procedures to help nonprofits achieve best practices in their governance and management – can be accessed by contacting a licensed Standards for Excellence replication partner, one of the over 150 Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultants, or by becoming a member of the Standards for Excellence Institute.

  • Managing Difficult Board Members

    Managing Difficult Board Members

    You know who they are.

    They engage in sidebar conversations with other board members or even the members about what they think is wrong with the board or the executive director or the organization in general. They joined the board simply to promote themselves or their business and then come up with schemes to get the organization to buy their services or products. They ask for special favors such as upgraded airfare or free tickets to a fundraising event or free products from vendors. They commandeer meetings and interrupt other board members or talk incessantly. They don’t show up for meetings. They don’t have their assigned tasks ready when asked or drop the ball altogether. They never raise a single dime. They insist money be spent on projects that are not in keeping with the mission or they come up with grandiose projects for which they will bear no responsibility. The over-scrutinize everything the CEO does and never find anything worth praising. They have unreal expectations of the CEO, often calling at home or while he/she is on vacation. They are rude to volunteers or members. They have no comprehension of nonprofit governance and often make suggestions that are contrary to maintaining nonprofit status. They are willing to break the law, falsify tax documents or behave unethically. They date or have a romantic relationship with a staff member. They donate a large amount of money so they can blackmail the other board members or CEO or staff with their generosity. They go behind the CEO’s back and direct staff to perform certain tasks. They get their friends hired to the nonprofit. I could go on. These are just a few of the things I (or my colleagues) have personally experienced. The point of this article is what is a CEO or board member to do with board members who misbehave? Years ago I was speaking to a peer explaining a particular problem I was having with a board member. He gave me a piece of advice that was golden. “Put a board member between you and the problem.” In other words, it is the responsibility of the board to manage its membership and even the most talented CEO must turn to the board for assistance in dealing with bad board members. This isn’t always easy because frequently board members don’t want to be confrontational or they hope that a problem will eventually work itself out. Most often though, problems do not go away on their own and ignoring them can cause them to grow. Problems are best avoided through written policies, governance structure, and organizational culture.

    A clear set of guidelines such as a “Conflict of Interest” statement that each board member must agree to and sign, can help organizations fend off attempts at hijacking the organization for personal gain. Conflict of Interest statements can also define what board members are free to discuss with non-board members or the public at large. The Standards for Excellence Institute’s Board Excellence Handbook includes a sample Conflict of Interest statement that can be tailored to fit your organization.

    Board members who don’t attend meetings can be dealt with by establishing a policy for meeting attendance. I’ve always favored the policy that requires a board member who misses two meetings in a row be automatically removed and must affirmatively be voted back on the board. This saves the board from having to vote members off the board, which so often boards are reluctant to do. Establishing clear guidelines for fundraising expectations can also save the board headaches. After talking with CEO’s for several years, I would hazard a guess that well over eighty percent of board members do not raise money for the organization they serve. This is contrary to one of the essential responsibilities of being a board member, fundraising. How a board handles an obnoxious person is a reflection of organizational culture. Ideally the president or chair of the board should manage meetings in such a way that no one person can dominate the agenda or bully the other members. However, if board behavior is out of hand, it might be time to call in a consultant to conduct board training.

    And speaking of board training, does your organization have a board handbook and are new members provided with training? This is an area that is often overlooked or dismissed. And while organizational expectations might seem obvious, it should be remembered that people are born “board members” and many people who find their way onto board service are well-meaning volunteers, not governance experts.

    The functionality and health of the board of directors is a direct reflection of the health of the nonprofit. If a board is dysfunctional, the organization will be dysfunctional. If a board is focused, healthy and mission driven, the organization will be the same. If you are dealing with problematic board members, it’s time to take action; delaying will only cause the problems to grow. 

    Bunnie Riedel is a Standards for Excellence Licensed Consultant. Her areas of expertise are board development, strategic planning, communications and media relations and public policy advocacy. riedelcommunications.com