Upcoming Learning Opportunities
for board members, staff, and volunteers
of nonprofit organizations in South-western Ontario

All About Boards

Energize your board and take your organization to the next level.

This series will give you the fundamentals for a high performing board, focused on strategy, innovation, diversity and accountability.

Learn what every director needs to know:

• The characteristics of high-performing boards and how you can enhance the performance of your own board

• Key financial accountabilities and responsibilities associated with the role of a director

• How to attract, recruit and retain the best board members

• Recognition of strategic opportunities and risks

• Best practices in governance in the nonprofit sector

Participants will receive:
- Complete all 4 sessions and receive a certificate of participation
- An opportunity to build a professional network of board contacts
- A professional development opportunity that can help build your resume

The Program:
Download the program in PDF format here.
Session 1: Board Basics, September 20, 2011, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Session 2: Financial Fitness, October 25, 2011, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Session 3: Build Your Best Board, November 22, 2011, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Session 4: Big Picture Thinking For Boards, December 6, 2011, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

Registration:
- For all 4 sessions: $205 Pillar Members; $265 Non-members - REGISTER HERE
Contact us for a group rate for 3 or more board members from your organization
- For individual sessions: $65 Pillar Members; $80 Non-members - To register for individual workshops, click on the session above
- Please read Pillar's Professional Development Policy for cancellations or refunds.

Location: London Central Library, Stevenson & Hunt Room

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Target Audience:
Are you a new director of a local nonprofit or charity? Are you looking to strengthen your board’s effectiveness? Are you an experienced ED or CEO who would like to build on your boardroom skills and update your awareness of emerging governance issues and trends? If you answered yes to any of these, All About Boards is for you!

Executive Directors'
& Nonprofit Leaders' Breakfast

November 9, 2011

Nathan Garber & Associates and Pillar Nonprofit Network are proud to present another season of breakfast sessions for executive directors and others who are working to strengthen the governance and management of nonprofit organizations.

Join us for the third in the series of 2011 Citi Executive Director & Nonprofit Leader Breakfasts, co-hosted by Pillar Nonprofit Network and Nathan Garber & Associates.

How to Become the Nonprofit "Employer of Choice"

Every nonprofit employer wants to have a good working environment. But so many things are needed to make that a possibility.

Be the one. Discover how to be the preferred place to work.

Wednesday, November 9 (note change of day of week)
7:30-9:30 AM
Delta London Armouries Hotel, Gunnery Room

Investment: $35 for Pillar members; $45 for non-members

You'll learn how to:
- Create an environment where employees are engaged through a common purpose and sense of community
- Help employees feel ‘safe’ at work and generate trust
- Celebrate team successes
- Ensure the team is cohesive
- Understand the importance of work/life balance
- Coach the team through feedback and recognition
- Foster growth within your team

Facilitated by Sharon Mercer, Executive Vice President with Express Employment Professionals, has been a major player in the Staffing and HR Solutions industry since 1981 – helping good people find good jobs with good companies.  Sharon currently has ownership in 5 Ontario franchises including London and St. Thomas. Her philosophy and the philosophy of the entire Express organization are founded on the simple premise: to help businesses be as good as they can be – “if they are successful, we are successful!”aron Mercer, Express Employment Professionals

Target audience: Executive directors, nonprofit leaders, senior managers, board members, and those involved in Human Resources

To register: Register online here

Please read Pillar's Professional Development Policy for cancellations or refunds.

If you are not on my e-mail list and want to be notified about the next breakfast session, send an e-mail to Nathan@GarberConsulting.com 

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New Article

How to Be a Great Chairperson
What you need to know to run effective, efficient, friendly board meetings.

by Nathan Garber////

Newest Help Sheets

Strategic Planning Model and Terminology
Strategic planning is notable for the lack of standardized methods and terminology in the field. It is therefore useful to establish operational definitions for terms used in the planning process and to be clear about what elements are included in the strategic plan. This help-sheet describes the strategic planning model developed by Nathan Garber & Associates to help clarify the roles of the board and the management.
Strategic_Planning_Model.pdf

Dealing With a Poorly Performing Executive Director: A Guide for the President
Dealing with the executive director’s performance problems is one of the most difficult jobs for the volunteer president of a nonprofit organization. Although the circumstances will be different for every organization, there are some general steps you can take to prepare yourself to address the problems and come up with solutions. (added April, 2005) Dealing With a Poorly Performing Executive Director

Governance Committee Terms of Reference (revised April 2005)
Many organizations are replacing their once-a-year nominating committee with a governance committee that works year-round to strengthen the board through recruitment, training, and evaluation. I've prepared a sample statement of the terms of reference for a governance committee. Feel free to copy and adapt it to your organization.  Governance Committee Terms of Reference.

Get Ready For Strategic Planning: A Help Sheet
In a rapidly changing world, it is important to have clear goals for our organizations and to regularly review our progress. The steps in strategic planning provide a framework for the board to clarify organizational goals and evaluate different strategies for achieving those goals. This Help-Sheet lists the major steps in strategic planning, focusing on the role of the Board of Directors. Get Ready For Strategic Planning

Board of Directors Application Form
To build a strong and effective board, you must recruit and select volunteer board members with the same diligence you would apply to any other important position. If you have never had an application form for directors, you can use this as a template. Identify the skills you need for your board and modify the form as needed.
Sample Board Application Form.
 

Checklist for the Chairperson:
The chair can make the difference between a successful, productive, stimulating meeting and a frustrating, disappointing, waste of time. Chairing a meeting effectively does not come naturally, but it can be learned through practice and effort. Use this checklist to help your board or committee work more efficiently and effectively.
      Checklist for Chair - html format       Checklist for Chair - pdf format

360 Degree Performance Appraisal
Questionnaire Template:
(revised 2004) A template for creating questionnaires to obtain feedback from board members, sister agencies, funders, and employees. The results can be part of the performance appraisal of the CEO. Applies some principles of John Carver's Policy Governance model.  (Adobe Acrobat format only)  360_degree_questionnaire.pdf

Your feedback on these help sheets and my website is always welcome. Please reply to feedback

Newest FAQ

What is a "Consent Agenda" and how will it make our meetings go faster?

What is the difference between a constitution and bylaws?

How much money should an organization have in a reserve fund?

What is the procedure for handling confidential matters?

Visit our  Frequently Asked Questions Page
for answers to your questions about nonprofit boards and governance.

Presidents' Club

The aim of the Club is that members will be able to effect positive change in the practices of the boards and committees that they chair. Through presentations, reviews of articles and tools, discussions, and e-mail communication with peers and experts, members will be better able to have better meetings, mentor their successors, develop stronger recruitment practices, improve accountability and planning, and create more effective boards.

Membership is open to volunteer presidents, vice-presidents, committee chairpersons and prospective presidents of nonprofit organizations.

The club addresses some of the difficult issues faced by volunteer officers, including

• Improving meeting management
• Strategies for recruiting new board members with the skills your board needs
• Dealing with board or committee members who are not fulfilling their responsibilities
• Recruiting and training your successor
• Evaluating governance models
• Evaluating the Executive Director
• Protecting your organization from liability
• Ethical and legal issues
• Supervising staff members
• Creating financial reports that everyone can understand
• Planning a board retreat Who is it for?

Meeting Format

The club provides face-to-face meetings for people within traveling distance as well as  telephone conference call supported by e-mail for members from other locations.

The format is informal, with topics to be decided by the group. We use case studies, and guest speakers, and collectively consider issues brought by participants. You will receive worksheets, articles and other valuable resources to supplement the sessions.

In order to facilitate discussion, group size is kept to a maximum of 10 to enable you to address the issues most important to you.

When and Where

to allow time for discussion and problem-solving, the face-to-face sessions are approx. 2 hours in the evening, held in London, Ontario.

Exact time, dates and location are set by members. If members wish, we can begin the meeting with dinner (see questions below).

Telephone conference calls are approx. 90 minutes in length.

Cost

 $180 (plus tax) for a six-month membership. Meetings and conference calls are held every two weeks.

For more information

For more information, click here to send me an e-mail. Let me know your name and location. I'll keep you informed of progress.

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This Website Chosen for the
Nonprofit Good Practice Guide

I'm pleased to report that this website has been judged by The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership  as as one of the most helpful resources on Governance for nonprofits and has been profiled in the Nonprofit Good Practice Guide. The Guide is a project of the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Knowledge Management (PNKM) Initiative, which seeks to capture, organize, disseminate, and promote the use of good practices in the nonprofit sector.