William Harper Associates

January 2008 NEWSLETTER

William Harper Associates Newsletter

This newsletter is a free service to the North American not-for-profit community from William Harper Associates. Its focus, like everything we do, is on helping organizations that do good, do better!

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In this issue:



FEATURE ARTICLE: Keeping the Board on the Bridge and out of the Galley

It's a delicate balancing act for an organization's Board to be engaged with the organization at the appropriate level and to the right degree. To be overseeing, but not operating; to be planning but not performing; and to be protecting values without micromanaging behaviours.

All too often, the Board – with the best of intentions – intrudes upon management's territory and starts to perform management functions. This can distract the Board from its proper governance role, and undermine the organization's management and staff.

Let's look at some of the reasons that the Board might stray into operations, and what can be done to address them:

  • not having a clear understanding of roles – This can arise when there is a lack of proper orientation and education of incoming Board members. New members may lack previous not-for-profit Board experience (or, worse, have served for years at an inappropriate level on a dysfunctional Board), or may simply not appreciate the nature of the organization. EDs, on the other hand, may misunderstand the Board's role as a result of being promoted or recruited without additional training or direction, and may not have had a strong role model to guide him or her.

    Obviously, a strong Board orientation process is important. Including in this process some basic information about the Board's responsibilities, ranging from basic fiduciary duties, to planning, direction-setting and protection of values, will at worst be a refresher and reference for strong Board members, and will help to educate those with less (or improper) experience.

    For organizations that often promote from within, career development and succession plans can be valuable. Grooming a successor to the current ED can include moving a person through a variety of different roles in the organization, giving special and high-profile projects and assignments, having the person sit in on executive-level and Board meetings, and so on. Recruiting from the outside brings its own challenges that are beyond the scope of this article, but suffice to say that hiring the new ED is perhaps the single most important job that the Board has – having the right ED, in turn, encourages and facilitates the Board functioning at the right level.
  • the organization's culture does not support appropriate actions – Organizational culture is a tough thing to change, requiring the concerted effort of many people in the organization. Recruiting new staff and Board members is a component of culture change, but it is hardly sufficient. The development and promotion of existing staff and volunteers with a commitment to change is also important. Maintaining the momentum of change initiatives over a lengthy period of time (years, in fact) is also a component of making change work. Again, changing organizational culture is beyond the scope of this article, but recognizing the need is an important first step.
  • not having enough to do – Unbelievable, really, that some Board members (or even EDs) could actually not have enough to do! But, it can happen, particularly when we talk about having enough of the RIGHT things to do. Boards that are not properly led, and given adequate resources to do what it should do (think, strategic planning, vision and mission articulation and protection, fiduciary oversight, and so on) will often lapse into doing what it can do, which is often operational rather than leadership-focused. Similarly, the ED who does not have the training, experience, wisdom, etc, or mandate to lead the organization will sometimes busy him or herself with relative operational minutae.

    The key, of course, is to give everyone lots of the right work to do! This is not quite a simple as it sounds – it is important to make sure that everyone has the mandate, skills, etc. to do that work, and that everyone's performance is also assessed on the basis of the work that they should be doing. This applies up to, and including, the Board, and its chair and other officers.
  • lack of trust – A lack of trust, either among Board members, or between the Board and the ED, can undermine everyone's ability to do the right things. A Board that doesn't trust the ED will invariably feel obligated to do parts of his or her job. And Board members that don't trust one another will undermine the Board's ability to function at the high level it should be at.

    The key here is to get to the root cause of the trust issue. Previous performance issues, lack of communications and inadequate understanding can all give rise to a trust issue. Trust can only be rebuilt once the underlying issue has been resolved, and after all parties agree and accept that it has been resolved. Rebuilding trust can be a slow and fragile process.
  • lack of a shared vision – If the Board and the ED don't agree on where the organization is headed, it's easy to see why the right tasks won't get done. The Board and ED are each likely to see the other as having poor priorities, and each is likely to try and step in to fill the void as they see it.

    The solution, of course, is to ensure the vision is aligned. Strategic planning and visioning sessions and discussions should actively involve both the Board and the ED (and others, in all likelihood), with consensus being the desired result.

    Of course, the Board has ultimate responsibility for the vision and mission of the organization, and the ED must ultimately accept the Board's will in this regard. In turn, the Board must accept that the ED is primarily responsible for executing plans to move the organization toward the agreed vision.
  • lack of competence – Competence issues among Board members and EDs can give rise to actions that might otherwise be seen as inappropriate (for example, with the Board chair stepping in to do some of the ED's tasks).

    Once again, the key is addressing the root cause of this issue. If specific skills are lacking, training may be the answer. If the issue is more behavioural or attitudinal, the solution may be more difficult. And, if the issue relates to a Board member (i.e. a volunteer!), it is that much more difficult again to deal with.
  • crisis – There comes a time for every organization to face a crisis. The possibilities are endless, but many readers will have seen such a crisis or, thankfully, avoided one. It could be a death or untimely illness, fraud or other criminal act, withdrawal of major funding, or other dramatic event.

    When crises hit, governance textbooks go out the window. Everyone has to pitch in with whatever they've got, to fight for and, hopefully, secure the very future of the organization. Desperate times really do call for desperate measures.

    What's needed after the crisis passes, however, is to reestablish appropriate protocols and roles among all concerned. Gradually, Boards must resume being Boards, and EDs and others must each take back their own roles and responsibilities.

The above list touches on subjects that can and do fill entire training programs. Performance measurement, culture change, crisis management, trust – the list is long and varied.

The key here is to recognize that a Board “meddling” in day-to-day operations has underlying causes. The first step is to understand why the dysfunction exists, and then address that underlying problem. Once fixed, there is still work to be done in terms of reestablishing proper roles and responsibilities, but that work is all in vain without first addressing the fundamentals.


NEWS: Facebook Causes now supports Canadian Charities, working with CanadaHelps

Facebook, an online social networking tool, has become one of the most formidable means of spreading the word … and now it’s a new way for Canadian charities to raise funds!  CanadaHelps, in partnership with Project Agape – the creators of the Causes Application on Facebook – are providing users the ability to support Canadian causes and charities. The Causes Application is a tool that allows users to leverage their social networks to raise awareness and funds for their causes/charities of choice.  Until recently, users of this increasingly popular social networking site have only been able to donate to charities registered in the United States.

CanadaHelps is proud to be able to offer over 40 million Facebook users worldwide the ability to market their cause with ease, efficiency, and security.  The power of social networking and peer-to-peer marketing has great influence on awareness building, giving and volunteering, and both donors and charities can now take advantage of that in Canada.


RESOURCES: BoardSource releases its Nonprofit Governance Index 2007

This survey of over 2,000 US NPO leaders (EDs and Board members) provides a valuable snapshot and benchmark for everyone in the sector. The report covers Board performance, composition, and oversight policies and practice. To mention everything of value in this report would require reproducing it in its entirety, so instead, just download the report directly – you won't be disappointed.

However, for those looking for a quick fact or two, here are just two morsels:

  • 47% of surveyed Boards have fewer than 15 members; and
  • 59% of surveyed EDs had a “high involvement” in recruiting new Board members.

QUICK TIP: Set up Web resources for your Board and volunteers

Has a volunteer ever called to ask you for a copy of the organization's expense report form (and taken 20 minutes to chat with you while on the phone)? Has a Board member ever asked for a(nother) copy of the minutes from the last meeting? Has your Board chair ever asked (yet again!) for the email addresses of fellow Board members?

If you've had to deal with any of these, or similar, requests, this quick tip is for you!

It is easier than you think to make all of these types of requests disappear, by turning them all into self-serve opportunities. In the process, your volunteers will probably be happier, better informed, and more in tune with your organization – a win/win scenario.

By establishing one or more Web pages for the exclusive use of your volunteers, a wide range of organization information can be put at their fingertips. Add downloadable resources, including:

  • Board by-laws, policies and procedures;
  • meeting and event dates and deadlines;
  • meeting minutes, agendas and data sheets;
  • copies of promotional materials, and templates for letters, etc. that your volunteers may need;
  • contact information for staff, volunteers and related organizations;
  • forms and documents;
  • etc.

Virtually any information that you might be asked for can be made available in this way.

What about privacy? Depending on what you are posting and the nature of your organization, you can add privacy and security features appropriate to your needs. This may range from simply having a public page (but not promoted or linked to the rest of your site), where information is not actually private, through to having secure, password-protected and encrypted pages (i.e. “https:” pages) for confidential material. Talk to your Webmaster or IT support person today!


NEWS: A bit of good news from CRA

Remember that the rate of GST declines from 6% to 5% effective January 1st. You should pay close attention to all invoices being paid in 2008 to ensure that you are being charged the lower rate wherever appropriate. Generally, amounts that first become payable in 2008 should carry the lower rate. For transactions which straddle this date, the rules as to which rate is correct can be complex – visit GST/HST Rate Reduction in 2008 for details.

Remember as well that most businesses aren't directly impacted on their bottom lines by GST the way that charities and other NPOs are. So, your suppliers may not be as concerned about charging you the lower rate as you should be about paying it.

Be sure to check with your accountant if you have questions concerning GST.


FROM THE ARCHIVE: Make your Website More Accessible (from April 2007)

We all know that we can post information on our Website, and the whole world can access it, right?

Well, not quite, even allowing for the fact that many in the world still don't have computers or Internet access. The focus of this discussion, however, is on how information is presented on the Web, so that as many Web users as possible can access it.

With an aging population, and with technology reaching out to many individuals with disabilities that in the past could never hope to lead independent lives, we must do our part in ensuring that people with visual impairments and other challenges can access our message. Not only is it fair to them, but it's fair to us, to give our important messages the best chance of being read, seen or heard.

Two initiatives are of particular interest and value: the first is the international Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the global standard-setter for the Web; and, the second - given the importance of text material even in our iPod world - is the Clear Print guidelines of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

This global initiative develops and promotes standards, tools and resources to facilitate improved accessibility to the Web by people with all manner of disabilities. There is a variety of valuable information here, and this should be your starting point for any comprehensive embracing of accessibility standards.

Of particular interest are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), addressing how users can access your Web content. The coming "gold standard" of compliance will be adherence to the WCAG 2.0 requirements, which are still in draft, but "may be completed in 2007". We suggest that you start working with version 2.0 now, and aim to be in compliance with them, with your next major Web site revision. The WCAG 2.0 high-level guidelines are as follows:

  • Provide text alternatives for all non-text content
  • Provide synchronized alternatives for multimedia
  • Ensure that information and structure can be separated from presentation
  • Make it easy to distinguish foreground information from its background
  • Make all functionality operable via a keyboard interface
  • Allow users to control time limits on their reading or interaction
  • Allow users to avoid content that could cause seizures due to photosensitivity
  • Provide mechanisms to help users find content, orient themselves within it, and navigate through it
  • Help users avoid mistakes and make it easy to correct mistakes that do occur
  • Make text content readable and understandable
  • Make the placement and functionality of content predictable
  • Support compatibility with current and future user agents (including assistive technologies)
  • Ensure that content is accessible or provide an accessible alternative

Underlying the guidelines are extensive "success criteria", recommended techniques, common failures and related discussions. These detailed documents are fairly technical and are best directed to your Web development team for study and implementation.

For multimedia, content-rich sites, accessibility is a major issue. Ensuring accessibility can be a complex development task (well beyond the scope of this article), and needs to be addressed by your design and development team right from the initial, pre-production design stage. For example, video content should be closed captioned, or signed, and text alternatives to audio should be available. There are also a number of important design considerations (for example, limiting the use of tables for layouts) that facilitate the use of assistive devices and software, such as text readers.

The key to complying with these standards will be to incorporate them into your next Web iteration right from the initial, conceptual design phase, and mandating their adherence at each step along the way, through development, to roll-out and in ongoing maintenance.

In the meantime, however, much of the Web is still heavily text based. For this text, there are specific and easily addressed guidelines to help ensure its readability, as discussed below.

Clear Print, by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB)

Given the importance of printed text, these guidelines are a good, practical starting point for making your Web content accessible to as many users as possible. Notably, these guidelines apply equally to printed materials as well, and should become part of your communications culture throughout your organization.

The Clear Print guidelines address items like contrast and colour, font size and style, use of adequate white space (in margins, as well as letter- and line-spacing), and overall design considerations. They are realistic, practical and readily adaptable to all of your publishing efforts.

Access the Clear Print guidelines.

(CNIB is a nationwide, community-based, registered charity committed to public education, research and the vision health of all Canadians. CNIB provides the services and support necessary to enjoy a good quality of life while living with vision loss.)

Where to Start

There are two things to do immediately: first, download and start applying the Clear Print guidelines to every new Web page (and every print piece) you prepare from now on. Circulate them internally to everyone in your organization that produces content for external audiences.

Second, start integrating WCAG into future Web site revision plans. Forward the above link to your Web designers (in-house or external) and tell them to start embracing the standards as they are able. If your Web designers seem reluctant to embrace these standards ("they constrain our artistic freedom!"), consider changing Web designers, because they have their priorities all wrong. Insist that the WCAG becomes a requirement in your next major site overhaul.


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© 2007 William Harper Associates.
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