During the past 16 years as a consultant working with non-profit organizations and foundations, I have read countless articles, books, white papers, columns, and journals focused on the non-profit sector.  I have attended workshops, seminars and conferences.  For the last several years I have included a number of what I have termed "best practices" as part of every Building Better Boards through Strategic Governance Workshop I have presented.  At this stage, it is hard to pinpoint where each practice came from.  Some are original with me, others I know are not, but I have been including them for so long, it's hard to remember their point of origin.  

 Are they in fact 'best practices' based on emperical data and longitudinal studies?  No.  Yet there is a certain logic and sense to them.   I believe they help boards to be more effective and after all isn't that one of the ultimate goals of every not-for-profit?  You have nothing to lose by implementing them and much to gain. So here they are in their simplicity with a blanket thank you and acknowledgement to other practitioners, presenters and authors for their contributions to this list. 

• Encourage board members to tell each other what motivates them to serve.
• Educate board members about your organization and their responsibility.
• Hold each other accountable for the board's performance.
• Ensure that the board continually plans for the future.
• Ask thoughtful questions and keep asking.
• Ensure that meetings have meaning.
• Avoid a policy vacuum.
• Understand the value of diversity
• Develop and sustain a synergistic board-executive director partnership.
• Determine the board's role in the overall fund development strategy.
• Recruit board members intentionally and understand generational differences when recruiting.
• Set term limits.
• Develop an executive succession plan.
• Engage in regular self evaluation and assessment.
• Celebrate.

Feel free to add your own best practices, common sense maxims or simple truths to the list.

Until next time,
Pat

P.S. I hope you like the new background for the blog. I have fond memories of my first Parker fountain pen and this template spoke to me.  However, if I had to write out each post in long hand, even with an elegant fountain pen, my blogging days might never have come to be.