Governance
Board of Directors & Officers
Nonprofits are legally required to have boards of directors. A board of directors is the governing body of an incorporated organization. In most cases, the board is elected, has the ultimate decision-making authority and, in general, is empowered to (1) set the organization's policy, objectives, and overall direction, (2) adopt bylaws, (3) name members of the advisory, executive, finance, and other committees, and (4) elect the organization’s officers. Though all its members might not be engaged in the organization's day-to-day operations, the entire board should be engaged in its direction.
Resources:
General Questions for Starting a Nonprofit Organization
Description: This document, by the Donors Forum, answers the preliminary questions of groups seeking nonprofit status. It includes issues related to the role of board members and officers, definition of a nonprofit, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and more.
BoardSource
Description: BoardSource strives to support and promote excellence in board service, and is the premier source of cutting-edge thinking and resources related to nonprofit boards. It engages and develops the next generation of board leaders. BoardSource also provides knowledge and resources for nonprofit leaders through workshops, training, assessment tools, and an extensive website.
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Committees & Working Groups
In order to accomplish the goals and mission laid out in a strategic plan, a coalition’s leadership creates one or more planning committees. Such committees oversee the implementation of work plans— a schedule of proposed actions used to govern the work of action committees.
Action committees, or working groups, are the principal vehicles through which coalition members collaborate on a sustained and formal basis to realize the coalition’s strategic goals. Working groups pursue a work plan that is revised annually and is submitted to the coordinating committee for review and approval. Work plans outline the goals to promote policies, projects and partnerships for issues under jurisdiction of the working group. The purpose of this is to make sure everyone has enough responsibility to challenge them, without being assigned to so much work that they burn out.
Action committees, or working groups, are the principal vehicles through which coalition members collaborate on a sustained and formal basis to realize the coalition’s strategic goals. Working groups pursue a work plan that is revised annually and is submitted to the coordinating committee for review and approval. Work plans outline the goals to promote policies, projects and partnerships for issues under jurisdiction of the working group. The purpose of this is to make sure everyone has enough responsibility to challenge them, without being assigned to so much work that they burn out.
Resources:
Four Keys to Collaboration Success
Description: An article by Carol Lukas, consultant to more than 50 collaborations in the past ten years. Carol has identified four keys that—while not a guarantee to success—are essential to a well-functioning collaboration.
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Affiliations & Partnership
Partnering with other organizations around an issue is one of the ways that coalitions are initially formed. Partnerships provide more resources, generate extra publicity, and instill a spirit of open dialog on issues. Forming a partnership involves bringing together two or more groups, organizations or governmental agencies that are not otherwise connected. The responsibilities of each party and its roles can be either loosely delegated or more specifically and formally defined in a written document such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Although challenging at times, projects that are guided or run by multiple parties are successful and may be the basis for a more formal coalition later.
- Adapted from Community Toolbox
- Adapted from Community Toolbox
Resources:
Six Best Practices for Complex Collaborations
Description: Practices for helping collaboration with a large number of partners and a long time frame succeed.
