Articles
Plain-language guidance on governance, compliance, and building a board that actually governs.
The Restricted Gift That Won't Quit: Managing Donor-Imposed Limits
Restricted gifts are a gift and a promise. Here is how your board keeps those promises, avoids overspending the wrong pot, and handles restrictions that no longer make sense.
Telling Your Impact Story Without Overpromising
The best fundraising tool isn't a statistic or a slogan. It's one real person's story, told with a beginning, a struggle, and honest respect for their dignity.
The Board's Role in Approving a New Program (Before You Fall in Love With It)
New programs can extend your mission or quietly drain your reserves. Here is how a board should vet, approve, and monitor a new program without killing good ideas.
The Board's Role in Approving the Annual Operating Budget
Approving the budget is one of the board's clearest fiduciary duties. Here is how to review, question, and adopt an operating budget that reflects your mission, not just last year's numbers.
The Board's Role in a Financial Audit: From Hiring to Follow-Through
An annual audit is more than a compliance checkbox. Here is how your board should engage before, during, and after the auditors arrive to protect the organization.
Outputs vs. Outcomes: Measuring What Actually Matters
"We served 10,000 meals" feels like impact. It isn't. Here's the difference between counting what you do and knowing whether it worked.