Resignation or Dismissal?: When a CEO and a President Clash

In the executive director's opinion, Bluehills Family Services' board of directors had serious problems with their organizational governance. These difficulties came to a head in an apparently unresolvable clash between the executive director and the board president. Given the preexisting board and organization perceptions, could an emergency board meeting produce a positive outcome, and would the executive director's participation be counterproductive?     

What Nonprofit Executives Want and What They Get from Board Members

In theory, nonprofit boards of directors exist to perform mission‐setting and oversight functions that help to ensure organizational accountability. Yet there is evidence that board behavior often falls short of this ideal. Using survey data from a sample of 241 executive directors of nonprofit agencies, we investigated whether nonprofit boards are meeting executive directors’ expectations, and if not, what factors explain this? We find that although board behavior tends to align closely with executive directors’ preferences for involvement in administration and management tasks, there is a greater disconnect between board behavior and executive directors’ preferences for involvement in mission‐setting and oversight duties. Factors that mitigate this gap include organizational professionalization and stability, whereas more extensive reliance on government funding exacerbates it. Female executive directors experience a greater disconnect in their preferences for board involvement and actual board involvement than male executive directors. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for both theory and practice.     

A Comparison of Public and Charter School Board Governance in Three States

In this article we compare the governance behaviors and preferences of nonprofit charter school board members with traditional elected public school board members in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Using originally collected survey data, we find that nonprofit charter school board members are less likely to place emphasis on relations with the public, engage in conflict, be ideologically diverse, and perceive the executive as responsible for key governance tasks than traditionally elected public school board members. The findings provide new information for policymakers weighing the potential benefits of education privatization through the use of nonprofit charter schools against the potential loss of democratic board accountability.     

Designing Agendas to Reflect Board Roles and Responsibilities: Results of a Study

Over a nine‐month period the board agendas of a community nonprofit organization were redesigned to reflect a particular board agenda tool titled “Strategic Activities, Resource Planning, and Operations.” Feedback from the board members and executive director indicate strong support for the framework in focusing the work of the board. The framework also has implications for how the executive director and board members prepare for meetings and how the shared leadership of the meetings is played out.     

Nonprofit governance during organizational transition in voluntary associations

This explorative field study examines the governance challenges that voluntary associations face in the transition from an internal focus on members to the provision of services to mainly nonmembers. This transition is an important stage in the life cycle of many associations. A qualitative research design was used to study five Swiss patient organizations. This article describes the transition process in terms of five main management challenges: different target groups, self‐help group versus competence center, cooperation, fundraising, and transparency. It then examines the implications for four governance aspects that confront managers and board members: recruitment and selection of board members, tasks of the board, relationship between the board and managing director, and the role of the general assembly of members.     

Effective boards: how executive directors define and develop them

There is growing recognition in the nonprofit field that the executive director has a key role in determining whether the board of directors will function effectively. To aid executives in this vital role, two recent studies defined a "good board" from the point of view of two samples of executive directors of community agencies, then sought factors related to board performance as measured by this definition. In interviews, executives whose boards scored higher than their peers on this performance measurement related how they work with their boards in such areas as recruitment of new members, financial management, fundraising, and leadership development.     

Leadership in faith‐based nonprofits

This case study illustrates the unique challenges of leading a faith‐based nonprofit organization within a multifaith constituency in Asia. The core themes of the case are based on research conducted with the staff, executive team, and board members of an international faith‐based nonprofit organization in Asia. Specifically, the case focuses on three identity‐based leadership dilemmas in relation to (1) creating a shared sense of organizational identity, (2) talent management, and (3) board governance. By describing the challenges faced by the CEO, the case shows how a strong faith‐based identification can positively bind an organization together, but also result in organizational blind spots with unintended consequences.     

INQUIRY

The following interview with Elise Miller, M.Ed., was conducted in December 2006. Ms. Miller is founder and executive director of the national Institute for Children's Environmental Health. As part of the Institute's programs, she serves as the Collaborative on Health and the Environment's (CHE's) national coordinator for the Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative, chair of the CHE Coordinating Committee of national and regional working groups, and chair of CHE-Northwest. In addition, Ms. Miller currently serves on the national board of directors of the Children's Environmental Health Network as well as the professional advisory boards of the Learning Disabilities Association of America, the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, and the Healthy Schools Network, Inc.     

Philanthropy by Decree

This article investigates the relationship among nonprofit foundations’ choice of philanthropic strategy (expressive, receptive, proactive, and collaborative) and sound governance, as measured by board capital (competencies and networks), board processes (planning, control, evaluation, and so on), and chairman power (entrenchment and tenure). Using a sample of fifty‐one Italian foundations of banking origins, this article shows that high levels of board capital, complete board processes, and chairman long tenure are positively associated with proactive and collaborative philanthropic strategies.     

Private lives,public accountability: A case study

Lend a Hand Children's Services is the most prominent provider of family services in rural south central Ohio. The agency is in the process of enlarging its fundraising goals and becoming even bigger in the community. Staff have brought to the attention of the vice president of the board that the board president and the executive director may be involved intimately as a couple. Inasmuch as the board president must evaluate the executive director, the vice president turns to trusted counsel for advice on how to approach the unique problems raised by the situation.     

Inclusive Governance Practices in Nonprofit Organizations and Implications for Practice

An inclusive board seeks information from multiple sources, demonstrates an awareness of the community and constituents that benefit from and contribute to the organization's services, and establishes policies and structures to foster stakeholder contributions. This research investigated the prevalence of inclusive governance practices and its relationship to board composition, diversity attitudes, and recruitment practices. Fifty‐six executive directors and forty‐three board members representing sixty‐two nonprofit organizations returned a mailed survey (29 percent response rate). The study profiled two organizations that represented different styles of inclusive governance. The survey, part of a larger study, contained questions about inclusive practices, board composition, attitudes toward diversity, and recruitment practices. Most organizations indicated that they operate with inclusive governance practices. The organizational profiles provide a picture of boards that used different strategies to accomplish the goal of inclusivity. Boards that use more inclusive practices were not necessarily heterogeneous in board member composition. Inclusive boards were more inclined to be sensitive to diversity issues and used recommended board recruitment practices. The existence of a task force or committee on diversity was also significantly associated with a more inclusive board. Nonprofit organizations must consider their philosophy on stakeholder involvement, recognizing that different strategies lead to different levels of stakeholder involvement.     

State-Corporate Relationships in an Era of Shifting Regime: The Case of Corporate Law Reform in Israel

Different aspects of the relationship between state and economy have traditionally been examined, yet corporate governance and specifically corporate law have received less attention. This article focuses on the legislation of the new corporate law in Israel at the end of the 1990s, which took place during regime transformation from an interventionist state to a regulatory state. The article makes specific reference to three disputes: the lifting of the corporate veil, the separation of the positions of chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and the obligation of private firms to disclose financial reports. This article suggests that despite the transformation of the regime, state actors have continuously been involved via corporate law in the governance of corporations and their relationship with the environment. However, corporate law enables corporations to constrain state power and the state's influence on property rights.     

Social Justice Approach to Community Development

This article presents a case study examining nonprofit board and director roles in the first 5 years of an organization’s life, using 3 organizational change approaches: contingency, life-cycle, and cognitive-interpretive. Data include monthly board meeting minutes and director’s reports for the first 5 years of a nonprofit human service agency’s existence. The article concludes that although all 3 theoretical approaches are productive explanatory frameworks for organizational change, each one, on its own, is incomplete. The findings point to the need for further theoretical synthesis and paradigm elaboration to inform our understanding of nonprofit director and board relationships.     

Revisiting Agency and Stewardship Theories

Using principal–agent theories, this study examined differences in the perceptions of nonprofit chief executive officers (CEOs) and board chairs on key governance aspects, including board performance, leadership, satisfaction with diversity, and board meetings. Using data from the CEOs and board chairs of 474 nonprofit organizations, we found statistically significant differences in the governance perceptions of these leaders of nonprofit organizations. The findings provide support for an agency theory explanation about the differing interests of principals (board chairs) and agents (CEOs). The findings suggest that these two sets of nonprofit actors frequently operate from different perspectives, potentially affecting the governance of their organizations.     

“Corporate” governance in nonprofit organizations

The economics‐based theoretical and related empirical literature on the governance of nonprofit organizations is brought together and integrated in a way easily accessible for noneconomists. This literature is scattered in academic journals covering economics, health economics, management, and accounting, and in the more nonprofit‐geared research publications. After defining corporate governance, I present in a nontechnical way the most appropriate economic framework for studying governance problems: the principal‐agent theory. Most of the economic literature deals with the role and influence of the board and its relation to the organization's management and performance. This is reflected in the article's structure. The board's functioning, composition, and committee structure are first discussed, followed by a review of the literature on incentive‐based remuneration schemes, disclosure of financial information, and the use of debt to mitigate agency problems between the board and management. The literature dealing with donors and subsidizing authorities in governance relations is then presented. The article concludes with a number of practical implications of the scholarly obtained results to date, as well as some suggestions for further theoretical and empirical research.     

Domestic violence intervention program: Unconditional shelter?

This case examines the difficult choices facing a domestic violence shelter in crisis. Beth George had been on the run from her estranged husband with her two sons for three years. When the shelter hired Beth rather than another former resident (her roommate at the shelter) for a staff position, the roommate called Beth's ex‐husband and told him where they were. Police arrested Beth, sent the children back to their father, and began an investigation of whether shelter staff had knowingly harbored a fugitive. The shelter had just begun a fundraising campaign for a new building, but all financial contributions immediately stopped, throwing the organization into financial crisis. The executive director and staff were under enormous pressure and faced possible criminal sentences. The board had to try to minimize the damage to its reputation in the media, figure out how to keep the organization from failing financially, decide whether to continue to employ Beth George and the executive director, who were under criminal investigation, and fend off attacks from fathers' rights activists. The case explores the difficult management issues facing an organization and individuals in crisis. It examines how class, sexual orientation, race, and feminist ideology structure services to battered women. It also provides a window into the difficult job of front‐line workers skating on the edge of the law as the law begins to recognize and protect victims of intimate violence. It invites readers to consider how one should decide what and whom to believe. Finally, it considers the significance of grass‐roots feminist mobilizing to support feminist organizations.     

Succession,strategy, culture,and change at Santropol Roulant

Santropol Roulant is an innovative nonprofit organization in Montreal focused on youth training, food security, and intergenerational community building. Since its inception, the Roulant has delivered more than 250,000 meals to isolated seniors and trained more than sixteen hundred young volunteers. Within a few short months, the Roulant will lose half its board members, five senior staff members, and its dedicated and wellliked executive director. The leadership turnover will be a highstakes test for the Roulant: Can they turn a period of vulnerability into an opportunity for growth and rejuvenation? This teaching case is intended to develop familiarity with key issues related to succession planning, transition management, and organizational change. Students will learn about managing a period of complex, high‐intensity organizational change, develop an understanding of the linkages between organizational form and strategic objectives, and become familiar with the structural and substantive issues facing transition teams.     

The Impact of Board Diversity and Expertise on Nonprofit Performance

This study examined the impact of board of director characteristics on nonprofit performance. Using data collected through a survey of nonprofit colleges and universities, the author provides evidence that specific board member characteristics are vital in shaping the financial and nonfinancial success of nonprofit institutions of higher education. Results indicate that both board member diversity and expertise are associated with better‐performing organizations. This work makes important initial forays into the relationships between board of director qualities and nonprofit performance. Although limited by the relatively small sample of colleges and universities, this study is unique in its ability to analyze nonprofit boards and both financial and nonfinancial performance measures.     

Evidence of a transnational capitalist class‐for‐itself: the determinants of PAC activity among foreign firms in the Global Fortune 500, 2000–2006

Transnational capitalist class (TCC) theory is rooted in the claim that the globalization of the economy has led to a globalization of economic interests and of class formation. However, systematic evidence linking the indicators of transnational class formation with political behaviour is largely missing. In this article, I combine data on board of director interlocks among the 500 largest business firms in the world between 2000 and 2006 with data on the political donations to US elections of foreign corporations via the corporate political action committees (PACs) of their subsidiaries, divisions or affiliates. Controlling for the various interests of individual firms, I find that foreign firms that are highly central in the transnational intercorporate network contribute more money to US elections than do the less central foreign firms. Given prior research on board of director interlocks, this finding suggests that a segment of the transnational business community has emerged as a class‐for‐itself.