The Board's Role in Accountability and Evaluation
Whenever nonprofit organizations get bad publicity because of mismanaging funds or spending too much on "administration", their boards are castigated for not doing a proper job of overseeing the organization's work. They aren't being "accountable". This is often because they don't have enough information on how well it is performing. Resources on the topic of the board's accountability requirements and role in evaluation are especially scarce on the web. Here are some answers. For more on the subject of accountability and evaluation, see the seperate section on this in VSKN.
-
Financial Responsibilities of Not-for-Profit Boards. This is one of the excellent booklets offered by the Alberta Government that goes into detail on how the board should oversee the financial health of the organization it governs.Government of Alberta Department of Culture and Community Spirit -
This tells you what policies your board should adopt to meet their responsibility for ensuring that the organization they govern is financially sound. Policy areas covered: Finances, Budgets, Asset Protection and Major Risks. (Click on "No Image")Idealist.org -
One of the problems with trying to assess the performance of an entire organization is knowing what the criteria for success should be. This useful booklet bravely puts forward the hallmarks of an effective charity.The Charity Commission of England and Wales -
Board Cafe provides some excellent advice about carrying out an annual performance evaluation of the Executive Director.Compass Point Nonprofit Services -
For a second look as this very important and frequently overlooked board responsibility see this contribution from the ever-helpful Carter McNamaraAuthenticity Consulting