{"id":32595,"date":"2019-12-12T16:59:07","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T21:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/?p=32595"},"modified":"2019-12-13T13:39:43","modified_gmt":"2019-12-13T18:39:43","slug":"business-report-save-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2019\/12\/business-report-save-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Report: Save The World!"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_31941\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31941\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-31941 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2019\/05\/cruz-c-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2019\/05\/cruz-c-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/109\/2019\/05\/cruz-c.jpg 432w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-31941\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Cruz, president of Lighthouse Advisors LLC in Queensbury.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That is the mantra by which we find ourselves involved with the nonprofit community. Whether you are working at one or on the board for one, it was a heart tug that got you there. Nonprofits get special IRS treatment because they perform a public good. They need a clear purpose focused on why the community is better because of their work.<br \/>\nYet, they are still businesses. And they have to behave as one. That means having a sense of purpose. It means knowing that the model needs revenue to allow for the expenses of delivering the service. And, most important, they need more revenue than they spend. As simple and obvious as that sounds, passion will often overrule common sense. It\u2019s where Boards come in.<br \/>\nAs part of the legal structure they are the governing body. Boards act as stewards of the public trust. They ensure that these organizations are operating legally and ethically. They also provide the direction to make sure the nonprofit is answering community need. And that they are changing to meet new needs as they change. In addition to providing that direction, the Board is charged with providing the resources to help meet the mission.<!--more--><br \/>\nMany Boards do not fully do their jobs. The desire to be congenial with staff and other board members dulls questions we should be asking. We think. \u201cIf everyone else is happy, maybe I don\u2019t understand it.\u201d So, we don\u2019t ask for clarification or understanding. I was on a Board where each of the 17 members did not agree with the CEO\u2019s direction. But they all thought everyone else agreed with the CEO! Can you spell d-y-s-f-u-n-c-t-i-o-n?<br \/>\nThis happens because we rely on the CEO (or Executive Director) for the domain expertise of the nonprofit. And that makes sense. The CEO spends all day addressing the problem we are solving. The CEO is often the most passionate team member. Here is where we need to ask questions and understand the delivery model. They need that, even when they don\u2019t want it. You got on this board because of your business sense. All too often we leave that business sense outside the door when we go to a board meeting. Do you do that in your own company?<br \/>\nThink of it this way, in addition to providing direction and expertise, you are required to provide the resources to accomplish the mission. Resources include time, volunteer recruitment and MONEY. When people ask you to spend money in your business, you want to know lots of details about how it will be used. Why not here also? The board in this case provides some balance for the staff.<br \/>\nOne last big topic. Before you agree on new tasks for your nonprofit, do a scan of who else is providing a similar service. Focus on coordination. If the other organization does 95% of what you want \u2013 then that is not the reason to launch a competing service. Figure out how to collaborate. Save your precious resources for those things you do better than anyone else. Your board experience will feel more productive and natural that way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>That is the mantra by which we find ourselves involved with the nonprofit community. Whether you are working at one or on the board for one, it was a heart tug that got you there. Nonprofits get special IRS treatment because they perform a public good. They need a clear purpose focused on why the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":31941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Business Report: Save The World! - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2019\/12\/business-report-save-the-world\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Report: Save The World! - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"That is the mantra by which we find ourselves involved with the nonprofit community. 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