Category Archives: Board Leadership
A question for our disrupted times: Will well-meaning white people be able to change?
December 1, 2020Last year’s Dodge Board Leadership Series wrapped in the spring with a workshop titled “Turning Learning into Action,” with an emphasis on addressing systemic racism in all aspects of our society. Even at that time, we were wondering, “What sort of … Continue reading
Dodge TA: Building the board you need to grow in tumultuous times
July 9, 2020Pennsylvania went into “lockdown” first. Within a week, New Jersey, and New York had followed suit. My conversations with board members and executive directors started on March 13, the day Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf announced that the Commonwealth would go on … Continue reading
Dialogue across difference: Engaging with polarized perspectives
February 10, 2020In this time of increased polarization, there is interest and concern about how to have productive conversations with colleagues, friends, family, and loved ones about diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice issues. By utilizing an intercultural developmental approach, we can … Continue reading
Hiring the Executive Director: Keystone of board responsibility
January 15, 2020Embracing new leadership models: Free Press and Free Press Action recently announced Craig Aaron and Jessica J. González will lead the organization together as co-CEOs, saying in an email announcement, “We see clear benefits in sharing responsibility for the organization’s … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Reaching consensus
June 4, 2019What does it really mean to reach agreement in a group? Many nonprofits operate with the goal of consensus in mind – the idea that we should work together to reach decisions that everyone on our team can support. This … Continue reading
Technical Assistance: Choosing to change board culture
May 8, 2019Diversity has been the talk of, and about, boards for a long time, albeit with more talk than action. Boards of nonprofits remain, according to BoardSource’s 2017 Leading with Intent: Overwhelmingly white Pretty evenly split between male and female, but … Continue reading
How and why your organization’s culture and values matter
December 11, 2018Ensuring a clear, strong mission statement and equally solid core values are two of the most important policies that a board is ever asked to create, as these are the core ideology the defining elements ̶̶ of an organization’s culture. … Continue reading
Introducing: Our new, streamlined Board Leadership Series
September 26, 2017For more than a decade, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation has provided a comprehensive Board Leadership Series free of charge to our grantees to ensure nonprofit boards and staff access the training, resources, and peer-to-peer mentorship that enable them to accomplish organizational … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Want a Stronger, More Diverse Board? Start Here
July 26, 2017Diversity on boards has long been a hot topic. While it has always been a best practice to have a board of directors that is reflective of your constituency, too few have lived up to that best practice. In the … Continue reading
Pro Bono Partnership Pundit: Sorting through the dreaded 501c3 reporting obligations
July 18, 2017Paperwork. Reporting requirements. I know. This isn’t a very captivating topic. But many tasks that nonprofits need to attend to aren’t captivating. But this is an important topic, one that if ignored could put your nonprofit at significant risk of … Continue reading
Pro Bono Partnership Pundit: Board Performance and Inertia
June 20, 2017I tend to be uncomfortable with change. I know I am not alone. People’s resistance to change has spawned many different uses for the word “inertia” that have nothing to do with physics. There are cognitive inertia, business inertia, organizational … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Relationships Among the Parts
June 13, 2017Faithful readers of the Dodge Blog know that I have repeatedly urged practitioners in the social sector to “plan backwards” from a shared vision of success, using qualitative assessment rubrics as a tool. If you make time for the process … Continue reading
Pro Bono Partnership Pundit: How to Spot and Address Conflicts of Interest in the Board Room
May 16, 2017We’ve all seen the headlines about possible conflicts of interest in the news lately, in stories of national interest and importance. The topic is also important for all nonprofits to understand and address properly, regardless of whether those organizations’ activities … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Financial Projections Help to Flesh Out Scenario Plans
April 11, 2017Allison Trimarco’s post “Living in (and Planning for) Interesting Times” does an excellent- — and practical — job of walking organization leaders through the process of scenario planning in conditions of uncertainty. As Allison says — “The right time to … Continue reading
Board Leadership: Living in — and planning for — interesting times
February 28, 2017Staying on Track in an Unpredictable World We’re just a few weeks into 2017, and it already seems hackneyed to talk about how unpredictable the world has become. It’s not surprising that many nonprofits are already experiencing stress from the … Continue reading