A comprehensive guide to transforming boards and achieving best-practice governance in any organisation. When practising good governance, the board is the vital driver of organizational success, while fostering positive social impact and economic value creation. At all levels, executives around the world are faced with complexities rising from disruptive business models, new technologies, socio-economic changes, shifting political circumstances, and an array of other sources. High Performance Boards is the comprehensive manual for attaining best-in-class governance, offering pragmatic guidance on improving board quality, accountability, and performance. This authoritative volume identifies the four dimensions, or pillars, which are crucial for establishing and maintaining best-practice boards: the people involved, the information architecture, the structures and processes, and the group dynamics and culture of governance. This methodology can be applied to any board in the world, corporate or non-profit organization, regardless of size, sector, industry, or context. Readers are introduced to a fictitious senior board member – an amalgamation of board members from well-known organisations – and follow her as she successfully handles real-life challenges with effective governance. Drawn from the author's 20 years of practice and confidential work with boards across the world, this book: Demonstrates how high-performance boards innovate and refine their practices Discusses examples of board failures and challenges, including case studies from both for-profit and non-profit organisations including international organizations and state-owned agencies or even ministries Provides a proven framework to create best-in-class governance Includes a companion website featuring tools for board assessment and board practice High Performance Boards has inspired more than 3000 board members around the world. This book is essential reading for professionals and managers interested in governance and board members, senior managers, investors, lawyers, and students of governance.

With the possible exception of How do I avoid fundraising? a board member's most commonly unasked question is, What do all these numbers mean and what am I supposed to do with them? Financial planning and budgeting combine all of our money taboos with that common disorder, math phobia. Andy Robinson and Nancy Wasserman help trustees (and their staff colleagues) confront and address this fear with wisdom, clarity, humor, and humility. If you find math mysterious and scary, yet need to understand financial statements to do your job as a board member ... read this book. Complements The Ultimate Board Member's Book, by Kay Sprinkel Grace.--Provided by Amazon.com.

Finally! Board member orientation truly simplified. Serving on a nonprofit board can be an incredibly rewarding experience for the properly prepared board member. This book is for the generous and busy people who agree to give of their time and talents by serving on nonprofit boards. Nonprofit boards often fail to do a good job of board member orientation for a variety of reasons. It takes a significant amount of time and effort to plan and conduct quality board member orientation programs, and every time a new board member arrives, it's time to do it again! Because of the challenges associated with providing quality board member orientation, many nonprofit organizations do not do it at all, leaving their board members to wing it. This book provides help and support to the truly great men and women serving on nonprofit boards whose service makes a positive difference in the lives of countless people every day. This book is a concise and appropriately comprehensive guide to nonprofit board service designed especially for new board members. It is a quick read, (about one hour), yet it addresses with accuracy the most significant elements of board service, such as mission, responsibility, duty, risk, liability, and board meeting dynamics. Hooey Alerts! Watch for Hooey Alerts! where the author identifies and dispels common myths and legends about nonprofit board service. There are many sources of false or misleading information about the nonprofit board service environment. A perfect example is the often vaguely-worded and intimidating assertion or implication that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act passed by Congress in 2002 applies to nonprofit organizations in a manner similar to how it applies to publicly-traded companies. (It does not.) Reviews "This book is the perfect guide for every nonprofit board member! Concise, highly informative, and loaded with nuggets of wisdom, it's a must read that will take board members to the next level of successful board governance." -- J. Todd Chasteen, General Counsel, Samaritan's Purse "Mike Batts has put his quarter century of advising and serving on nonprofit boards to good use in this accurate and easy-to-read book. In addition to describing major principles of nonprofit law and governance, the book provides helpful questions to guide board members in understanding the practical applications of the concepts discussed. While geared primarily toward helping new board members get up to speed quickly, it should also help veteran board members discharge their stewardship roles wisely and efficiently." -- Chuck Hartman, Associate Professor of Business Law and Accounting, Cedarville University "This book, Board Member Orientation, is exactly what a busy volunteer board member needs. The board member's duties are presented in a clear and concise manner from the perspective of someone who has been around many boards. With a focus on those issues that are most common and/or most important, it is perfect for board member orientation and for quick reference reminders for the experienced board member." -- Doug Starcher, Partner, Broad & Cassel "This book provides clear, no-nonsense guidance on the basic issues for new nonprofit board members. Using this book for board member orientation will ensure your organization has communicated fundamental governance issues and will assist the board in determining risk management strategies." -- Dan Busby, President, ECFA *********************************** The Simple Board Member Orientation Process Using This Book: 1.Your board members read Chapters 1-9 of the book, which will provide them with insights regarding the key elements of nonprofit board service. 2.You provide the board members with copies of the documents described in Chapter 10 related to your organization. 3.You meet with your board members to discuss the unique attributes of your organization following the discussion questions provided in Chapter 10. Done!

Are you new to a board and have no idea what’s expected of you? Do you know what a board’s six key responsibilities are? Do you know what your relationship with the Executive Director should be? If not, this book is for you. So many board members—especially of small nonprofits—want to support a nonprofit and readily accept the invitation to join the board. It’s only then that they discover they are in over their heads, with no idea of their expectations and responsibilities. The Little Book of Boards is here to throw that drowning board member a rope. Told with a conversational style, this book will lead you through the basics of being on a board, how meetings work, and what’s expected between meetings. In addition, at the back of the book are several in-depth resources for understanding Roberts Rules of Order, bylaws, committee structures, board leadership, and much more. Perfect for any new board member—or for an entire board that is feeling lost—this book and its common sense approach will serve you every year you are on the board.

Build a more effective board with insight from the forefront of corporate governance The Handbook of Board Governance provides comprehensive, expert-led coverage of all aspects of corporate governance for public, nonprofit, and private boards. Written by collaboration among subject matter experts, this book combines academic rigor and practitioner experience to provide thorough guidance and deep insight. From diversity, effectiveness, and responsibilities, to compensation, succession planning, and financial literacy, the topics are at once broad-ranging and highly relevant to current and aspiring directors. The coverage applies to governance at public companies, private and small or medium companies, state-owned enterprises, family owned organizations, and more, to ensure complete and clear guidance on a diverse range of issues. An all-star contributor list including Ram Charan, Bob Monks, Nell Minow, and Mark Nadler, among others, gives you the insight of thought leaders in the areas relevant to your organization. A well-functioning board is essential to an organization’s achievement. Whether the goal is furthering a mission or dominating a market, the board’s composition, strategy, and practices are a determining factor in the organization’s ultimate success. This guide provides the information essential to building a board that works. Delve into the board’s strategic role in value creation Gain useful insight into compensation, risk, accountability, legal obligations Understand the many competencies required of an effective director Get up to speed on blind spots, trendspotting, and social media in the board room The board is responsible for a vast and varied collection of duties, but the singular mission is to push the organization forward. Poor organization, one-sided composition, inefficient practices, and ineffective oversight detract from that mission, but all can be avoided. The Handbook of Board Governance provides practical guidance and expert insight relevant to board members across the spectrum.

Fundraising mistakes are a thing of the past.Or, rather, there's no excuse now for making any serious mistake.And that goes for board members, staff, novice, or veteran.If you blunder from this day forward, it's simply evidence you haven't read Kay Sprinkel Grace's new book, Fundraising Mistakes that Bedevil All Boards, in which she exposes all of the errors. Well, not every conceivable one, but at least the top ones that thwart us time and again.This is an ingenious book, and it's a wonder it wasn't written years ago.Sure, if you've attended a fundraising seminar, or read a Jerry Panas book, or perused one of the field's journals, you're familiar with a dozen or so mistakes to avoid. But the appeal of this book ? and it will become a classic ? is that in one place it gathers and discusses ALL of the biggest errors.Some, like the following, will be second nature if you've been in the field for long:o "Tax deductibility is a powerful incentive." It isn't, as you know.o "People will give just because yours is a good cause." They won't.o "Wealth is mostly what determines a person's willingness to give." Not so. Other factors are equally important.Other mistakes aren't as apparent. For example: "You need a powerful board to have a successful campaign." Truth be told, many are convinced that without a powerful board they can't succeed. Grace shows otherwise.Then, too, there are more nuanced mistakes:o "We can't raise big money - we don't know any rich people." Don't believe it. You can raise substantial dollars.o "Most people don't like to give." To the contrary, many find joy in it.o "Without a track record in annual giving, you can't have a successful capital campaign." In fact you can, but your tactics will be different.And that touches on only seven of the 40 mistakes Grace explores (and explodes).Just as anyone involved in journalism should own a copy of Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style, anyone involved in fundraising ? board member, staff, volunteer ? should have Fundraising Mistakes that Bedevil All Boards by their side.When Grace makes it so easy to avoid costly errors, it is imprudent to risk repeating them.