• COMMITTEES: I have often said that standing committees should be few and that the most effective committees are ad hoc based on fulfilling current very specific objectives. I was interested to learn at a recent Chicago conference about a nonprofit that calls its committees “Strategic Issue Committees” rather than merely “committees”. There are separate committees for each of the issues targeted as strategic in the planning process.
  I like the use of the words “strategic issues” because it points out how significant the committees are; that they have a purpose for being; and that they are working to fulfill the mission and strategic plan of the organization. Surely this creates more energy and commitment among the committee members.
  It’s good to ask ourselves, “are our committees working on strategic issues?” If the answer is “no,” they probably shouldn’t exist.
  

• WEB BROWSING: Two new websites that can be helpful are http://www.nonprofitbasics.org, created by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. This site was funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and provides a resource directory for nonprofit organizations. I was particularly impressed because, similar to Volunteer Today, it covers both governance and volunteer management. As stated above, “board members are volunteers, too,” but many sites (and many organizations) forget this and ignore the fact that both board volunteers and those who volunteer in other capacities in the organization are serving the organization voluntarily to advance its mission.
  The second site is http://www.standardsforexcellence.org, created by the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. It is an excellent effort to develop standards for organizations to follow to demonstrate their excellence to the community. Take a look at it!

See our online bookstore for Jeanne Bradner's book on boards: "The Board Member’s Guide: A Beneficial Bestiary", "Leading Volunteers for Results: Building Communities Today" and "Passionate Volunteerism."
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