Board Governance Workshops

Building the Capacity of Your Nonprofit Board to Successfully Govern and Lead Your Organization

9 AM - 4 PM in Kirksville

1 PM - 4:30 PM in Joplin with reception following

Class Description:
A strong, involved, efficient and effective Board is one of the critical indicators of how well the organization is functioning and how well it will navigate the turbulent winds of change in the future.  This workshop offered in morning and afternoon sessions will provide Nonprofit Board and Executive Leadership with insights into how to assess and improve the Board’s functioning.

Because the workshops are designed to respond to specific issues as identified by the participants, a survey will be sent to those registered to participate in the workshops to solicit the key issues they want covered. 

Discussion and recommendations for addressing submitted issues will be offered by the facilitator along with the sharing of ideas from fellow participants. 

Morning Session:

The Art of Shared Leadership:

The Board & Executive Director Relationship

Unless your executive director and board leadership are working together effectively, not only will the organization not achieve its mission, but it will become a victim of the mass exodus of nonprofit executives.  For example, CompassPoint’s national survey of nonprofit leaders, “Daring to Lead" noted 75% to 80% of the present pool of executive directors will be vacating their positions over the next five to seven years.  One of the reasons expressed for this exodus is the stresses caused by not having a shared leadership relationship with the volunteer Board.  This workshop will provide insights and strategies for enhancing the shared leadership relationship between the Board and its Executive Director.  This partnership is essential if the nonprofit is to fulfill its mission successfully.

Afternoon Session:

The Healthy Nonprofit Board

How healthy is your Board?  It is essential that the Board of a nonprofit organization take its temperature every once in a while.  This workshop will focus on helping the Board assess how healthy it is and prescribe some common sense remedies for those areas that are in need of attention.  Participants will discuss the following twelve questions and specific strategies for improving the Board’s functioning. 

• Do your board members understand their roles and responsibilities?
• How does your board become involved in creating and overseeing organizational policy?
• Does your board know and exercise its fiduciary responsibilities?
• What role does your board play in identifying, cultivating, soliciting and recognizing donors?
• Does the board use a committee structure to facilitate its work?
• How would you rank your board’s ability to apply good strategic thinking practice to their decision-making process? 
• Are board meetings well-run, with an appropriate balance of information, and discussion, or are they boring and non-productive?
• Are you able to recruit and retain new talents to the Board?
• How does the Board respond to conflict amongst its members?
• How would you rate the effectiveness of communication amongst board members?
• When was the last time your Board participated in a comprehensive strategic planning process

 This workshop will assist both Board members and staff in understanding how to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of a nonprofit Board, especially in the areas of fiscal management, policy making, planning for the future and avoiding legal and operational minefields. 

Instructor Bio:
Presented by Richard I. Goldbaum, Ph.D.

Dick has over forty years of working in and with nonprofit organizations.  Twenty-five of those years have been as executive director for two nonprofit organizations.  One agency provided services and the other was a major contractor for services utilizing county public funds.  Dick’s dual experiences as both provider and funder gives him a unique perspective and understanding of the challenges faced by nonprofit organizations. 

Dick has been consulting with nonprofit organizations for the past ten years.  He has worked with over seventy-five organizations faced with challenges of both leadership and/or organizational change.  Dick has facilitated many workshops and is an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 

Dick serves on the Advisory Board to the University of Missouri–St. Louis Nonprofit Management & Leadership Program.  He is the co-author with Carol E. Weisman of a book on executive transition, Losing Your Executive Director Without Losing Your Way, published by Jossey-Bass, 2004. 

Registration:

Registration for each workshop is $25 per person and are opened to health-related organizations.  Space is limited to 25 individuals; your organization's Executive Director and Board Chair are strongly encouraged to attend as a team.

9 AM - 4 PM in Kirksville

1 PM - 4:30 PM in Joplin with reception following