Board evolution involves changing how board members think, act, and interact with one another. The fundamentals of building a strong board of directors are relevant across the nonprofit sector, and most boards go through three stages: Organizing/Founding; Governing; and Institutional, which do not necessarily correlate with the amount of time since the board’s founding. Boards
Here’s the stark reality: Two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the fourth grade will end up in jail or on welfare. And, the Commission on Reading has found that introducing a child to books before starting school is the single most significant factor influencing their early educational success. So, books
In grantmaking, it is always important to eliminate unnecessary steps and streamline our grant processes. Streamlining strengthens our foundations, creates more effective strategies and supports efficiencies for our grantees. But just as important as streamlining your foundation is understanding why our processes can become bogged down in the first place. Philanthropy isn’t the only field
This week, the Center for Effective Philanthropy released a new study on the practices of foundation boards — a project on which BoardSource had the opportunity to collaborate. The report is a straightforward report-out on responses from 64 private foundations about the composition and practices of their boards, which might prompt some to ask: So
Nonprofit survival depends on the hearty engagement of donors and volunteers, but keeping them engaged takes more than a random email blast every six months or so. You need to forge an ongoing, emotional connection that builds trust and strengthens relationships. Many nonprofits are finding much success achieving exactly that by mastering the art of
How new foundation leaders can have lasting and effective success. While many foundation boards are made up of veteran philanthropists, most new and emerging foundation heads are brand-new to the world of philanthropy . The philanthropic sector has grown steadily in the past few years; in 2017, foundation giving increased by 6% and corporate giving