Is your organizational house in order? Take the test and find out.

I have just returned from the Friends Rendezvous sponsored by the Conservation Lands Foundation which was held in beautiful Bend Oregon along the Deschutes River. It was truly inspirational to be among this group of people who run nonprofits dedicated to protecting our public lands. The love they have for their lands is infectious and I always come away with a desire to visit each and every place.

During the Rendezvous, I presented a workshop called Friends Operations 101 during which we discussed the legal requirements and best practices required in order to run a nonprofit efficiently and effectively. We also discussed the roles and responsibilities of members of a Board of Directors. I was reminded about how diverse the experiences are in nonprofit organizations. Here are some random examples:

We have been successfully operating for 5 years and have never finalized our mission statement.

We are very new and have been running some great programs. Do we really need a Board of Directors?

We finally put all of our organizational pieces in place and now we are losing our board members.

The truth is that no one gets involved with a nonprofit because they want to work on bylaws and mission statements. Additionally, much valuable work can be accomplished without all of the organizational pieces in place. Building a solid foundation for your organization is an ongoing process. There are many reasons why this work is important. Here are a few.

Better to do some planning than to function from crisis to crisis

If you don’t have an idea where you want to go, you will never get there

Your organization will be subject to more scrutiny the more successful it becomes

Funders and donors do not like to give money to organizations that do not appear to have the capacity to do the work

Your organization is ever changing – board members come and go, funding changes, politics change. If you have the essentials in place, your organization will be more nimble and able to continue to thrive during the inevitable changes.

If you are wondering where your organization stands, go to my website at www.cgnpsolutions.com and download a free checklist of legally required and highly recommended items and "take the test". It would be interesting to have each of your board members complete the assessment and see how the answers compare.