NPO Conversation
We met recently with leaders from six Boston-area nonprofits to get their perspectives on building great staff/board relationships. Their advice has practical applications for our work with private foundations.

Nurture
Like any relationship, staff/board relationships need nurturing, commitment, and trust. It takes time to develop a relationship and it takes work on both sides. One tactic to ensure the board relationship receives the attention it needs is for staff to think of the board as a program of the organization. Plan to nurture the board, setting aside time to get to know each trustee, set and achieve goals, and assess progress.

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NPO Conversation at GMA on Thursday, December 4

We invite leaders of nonprofit organizations to join us each quarter for a brown-bag lunch discussion about issues, ideas, and concerns in the nonprofit and philanthropic community. The meetings are a time for us to “talk shop” and move beyond the usual conversation between foundations and nonprofit organizations.

Each session focuses on a particular topic, and reservations are required. Guests will learn a little about GMA and a lot about their peers’ perspectives on important issues.

This Quarter’s Topic: Great Boards (off the record)

As staff for nonprofits and for foundations, we work with boards of directors and rely on effective relationships for practical and aspirational reasons. From your perspective, what makes for a great board and a productive staff/board relationship?

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NPO CONVERSATION

We convened a group of experts to see if the academic standards movement has placed undue pressure on the Out-of-School Time (OST) movement. In a word, their response was No.

These eight leaders from Boston-area nonprofits serve children of all ages from lower-income families. Their organizations are experienced and sophisticated, and exhibit a clear understanding of their own strengths. We asked if the need for proof of academic success had pushed too far into their out-of-school time.

The academic outcomes movement appears to have impacted their OST programs, but not overtaken them. Like good surfers, they have ridden the standards wave, but they have not let the wave overtake them or steer them in directions that they did not want to go.

In summary, these OST leaders are successful in part because they:

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