Governance Officer Roisin McGuigan shares a number of steps that a nonprofit can take to safeguard itself against mission drift. Nonprofits can be in danger of mission drift, where the organisation loses sight of its core purpose, as they struggle to balance other goals such as securing funding, raising their profile or recruiting new volunteers and staff.
On April 26th, we hosted a Governance Dilemma Webinar demonstrating how you manage real life dilemmas in the sector.
In this edition, we looked at a real-life challenge that a nonprofit Board has faced and considers a range of responses. The scenarios are anonymised so as not to identify any particular nonprofit.
The panel consisted of:
Gerry Egan, consultant and trainer. Gerry works with a variety of commercial and non-profit clients specialising in corporate governance, data protection and strategy and change.
Andrew Madden, Head of Training, Consultancy & Communications at Carmichael. Andrew enjoys working in the non-profit sector where he sees people motivated by a desire to make a real and positive difference. He is particularly passionate about governance in non-profit organisations as he believes that well-governed organisations are best placed to achieve and realise their own objectives to the fullest.
Jillian van Turnhout, consultant, Chartered Director and certified by INSEAD in corporate governance. Jillian has been a CEO, Chair and is an experienced Director (State, Charity and Commercial).
The panel was chaired by Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael. Diarmaid has extensive experience as a board chair and a board member in a number of charities and with working with boards and providing governance support and advice. He is actively involved in the Good Governance Awards, Mentoring and the Board Chairs Network initiatives led by Carmichael.
If you would like to join the Governance Dilemma mailing list, sign up here.
Cutting Edge Board Meetings
Carmichael and The Wheel held a joint event during Charity Trustees Week 2022 on the topic of Cutting Edge Board meetings and have now produced a resource Cutting Edge Boards based on the panel discussion. The conversation ranged widely among the expert panellists and much discussion centred on the fundamentals of an effective board meeting.
Read it here Cutting Edge Boards.
Click here to book one of Carmichael’s meeting rooms for an in-person or hybrid Board meeting.
Event & Webinar Recording
This resource is based on the content of a webinar held by Carmichael, in association with the Good Governance Awards, on February 9th 2023. The full recording of the event is available here.
The webinar aimed to provide tips and advice to nonprofits of all sizes on how to improve the content and narrative of their Annual Report.
The panel-led session drew on the experience and knowledge of judges and assessors from the Good Governance Awards. They outlined what is required to ensure that an Annual Report is relevant, impactful, and engaging.
The panel consisted of:
- Aedín Morkan: Partner, Audit & Assurance, Mazars
- Níall Fitzgerald: Head of Ethics & Governance, Chartered Accountants Ireland
- Geraldine O’Sullivan: Manager, Kerry Volunteer Centre
- Andrew Madden: Head of Training, Consultancy and Communications, Carmichael
The panel was chaired by Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael and Founder of the Good Governance Awards.
The annual report represents a real opportunity for organisations in the charity and non-profit sector to showcase their transparency and trust by disclosing their strategic performance, governance practices, culture and financial results. A good annual report does more than meet minimum reporting requirements. It can provide a comprehensive picture of an organisation, including its achievements and future plans. It serves to reinforce relationships with stakeholders and build further relationships with the public, potential donors, volunteers and supporters.
Each of the annual reports entered into the awards undergoes a rigorous assessment process, including a technical compliance review, an assessment of governance practice disclosures and, for those short-listed, a three-stage independent judge review.
In the spirit of improving standards, we have compiled a summary of the Judges’ top recommendations arising from their review of this year’s shortlisted annual reports.
Read our Governance and Corporate Services Officer Roisin McGuigan’s article here:
Top 10 Recommendations GGA 2022
Fortunately, most boards and CEOs in the charity sector have positive working relationships. However, when things go wrong, they can go badly wrong. During the Covid pandemic, with all its stresses and strains, some relationships were tested. This was a timely reminder that good working relationships should not be taken for granted. This resource document was drawn up in response to two events organised by Carmichael and the Wheel: an online webinar in November 2021 and a facilitated panel discussion at the Wheel Summit in June 2022. Attendees at both events had many questions and observations; and expressed a need for more support and resources on this important topic.
Here you can find a short (and by no means exhaustive) list of various organisations which may be able to help your nonprofit.
A template aiding with the integral process of a new director/trustee onto the board, including a check-list of the main tasks needed to set the new member up.
Although experienced, a new board member may be lacking the knowledge of the non-profit sector so use this template to identify any gaps to address and implement their training.
A letter of appointment template for new board members, allowing a chairperson to easily communicate a new board member’s responsibilities, duties, and term of office.