User Tools
governance
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
| Both sides previous revision Previous revision | |||
|
governance [2021/05/03 10:14] chazevans |
governance [2021/09/05 14:54] (current) jim |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
| What is the vision that drives your project? Who is responsible for defining its mandate? How can you ensure that the organization’s operational activities are in alignment with its mission statement? How can the organization remain sustainable? | What is the vision that drives your project? Who is responsible for defining its mandate? How can you ensure that the organization’s operational activities are in alignment with its mission statement? How can the organization remain sustainable? | ||
| - | In a traditional North American non-profit setup, there are two main leadership roles who are in charge of these two types of organization activity: The Executive Director, and the Board. The ED handles the OPERATIONAL side of things: Managing the staff, programming logistics, purchasing equipment, the day-to-day activities that one normally associating with “getting stuff done”. The Board, on the other hand, is responsible for holding the STRATEGY and VISION of the organization as a whole. | + | In a traditional North American non-profit setup, there are two main leadership roles who are in charge of these two types of organization activity: The Executive Director, and the Board. The ED handles the OPERATIONAL side of things: Managing the staff, programming logistics, purchasing equipment, the day-to-day activities that one normally associating with “getting stuff done”. The Board, on the other hand, is responsible for holding the STRATEGY and VISION of the organization as a whole. |
| In smaller, more informal groups, the duties and responsibilities of these two roles are likely distributed amongst individuals. One or more members might act as both the people responsible for determining the direction and vision of the project, AND those responsible for carrying it out. Even if you aren’t a fancy incorporated business entity, it might still be useful to consider how the Operational and Strategic sides of your organization will work together to achieve common goals. | In smaller, more informal groups, the duties and responsibilities of these two roles are likely distributed amongst individuals. One or more members might act as both the people responsible for determining the direction and vision of the project, AND those responsible for carrying it out. Even if you aren’t a fancy incorporated business entity, it might still be useful to consider how the Operational and Strategic sides of your organization will work together to achieve common goals. | ||
| - | **Here are some examples of common organizational structures | + | **Here are some examples of common organizational structures** |
| + | * Working Board in which the governance Board and the operating staff are the same people. This is a common model for smaller non-profits, | ||
| * Traditional incorporated non-profit with a governing Board of Directors that is separate from the operating staff. The Board of Directors are, by definition, volunteers and cannot be paid by the organization for their work. Though they make decisions about the strategic direction and vision, they are usually hands-off when it comes to deciding how that vision is executed by staff. There is another layer of officers who are elected by the Board, who might also be Board Directors: The president, treasurer, and secretary. | * Traditional incorporated non-profit with a governing Board of Directors that is separate from the operating staff. The Board of Directors are, by definition, volunteers and cannot be paid by the organization for their work. Though they make decisions about the strategic direction and vision, they are usually hands-off when it comes to deciding how that vision is executed by staff. There is another layer of officers who are elected by the Board, who might also be Board Directors: The president, treasurer, and secretary. | ||
| - | * Working Board in which the governance Board and the operating staff are the same people. This is a common model for smaller non-profits, where the organizers wear multiple hats | + | |
| + | Many orgs move from a working board to a traditional board to prevent conflict of interest issues. It also improves recruitment as while a working board might require a board member to also lead an initiative, a traditional board usually just requires higher level strategy advice -- which tends to attract more experienced and highly knowledgeable board member applicants. | ||
| **How do you organize into DEPARTMENTS? | **How do you organize into DEPARTMENTS? | ||
| - | The smaller an organization is, the more that activities and repsonsibilities | + | The smaller an organization is, the more that activities and responsibilities |
| * Governance | * Governance | ||
| * Financial | * Financial | ||
| * Partners and Sponsorship | * Partners and Sponsorship | ||
| - | * Human Resources (find a better term for this...) | + | * Hiring |
| * Communications and Promotion | * Communications and Promotion | ||
| * Programming | * Programming | ||
| Line 62: | Line 64: | ||
| A succession plan is often the last thing on people’s minds when starting a new collective or venture, but the sooner you start thinking about it, the better prepared you will be. It’s worth saying that it is totally okay if your festival or event series is only ever meant to last as long as the organizers can keep it running, as long as everyone is on the same page about that. | A succession plan is often the last thing on people’s minds when starting a new collective or venture, but the sooner you start thinking about it, the better prepared you will be. It’s worth saying that it is totally okay if your festival or event series is only ever meant to last as long as the organizers can keep it running, as long as everyone is on the same page about that. | ||
| - | On the other hand, if you want your organization to outlive its founders, the best time to start considering new leadership is as soon as possible! It can take years to identify and cultivate someone into a leadership position, unless your organization is so established | + | On the other hand, if you want your organization to outlive its founders, the best time to start considering new leadership is as soon as possible! It can take years to identify and cultivate someone into a leadership position, unless your organization is so well funded |
| * Observe: Look for leadership potential in volunteers and event regulars who seem passionate, capable, and who bring diverse perspectives to the organization. | * Observe: Look for leadership potential in volunteers and event regulars who seem passionate, capable, and who bring diverse perspectives to the organization. | ||
| * Cultivating and training: Giving people the autonomy and freedom to run things in their own way while still fulfilling the responsibilities and values of the organization. | * Cultivating and training: Giving people the autonomy and freedom to run things in their own way while still fulfilling the responsibilities and values of the organization. | ||
| * Have strong processes in place so that when a new person is onboarded, they can easily fulfill routine administrative duties while concentrating on the more creative and fun aspects of programming. | * Have strong processes in place so that when a new person is onboarded, they can easily fulfill routine administrative duties while concentrating on the more creative and fun aspects of programming. | ||
| - | * | ||
| ==== Authors for this section: ==== | ==== Authors for this section: ==== | ||
| Line 75: | Line 76: | ||
| ==== Editors for this section: ==== | ==== Editors for this section: ==== | ||
| - | Add yourself if you edited something | + | Jim Munroe |
governance.txt · Last modified: 2021/09/05 14:54 by jim
Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International
