Governance Matters lunchtime roundtables give both members and nonmembers a chance to interact with respected thinkers and practitioners in the nonprofit world and to share information and experience. We host 10 roundtables each year. Titles below that appear in orange will take you to summaries of the events

Topics of recent roundtables include:

What Makes a Nonprofit Board Exceptional? with Marla J. Bobowick, Vice President of Products, BoardSource.

"What Makes a Nonprofit Board Exceptional?" asked Marla J. Bobowick in her stimulating and thorough presentation at the September 21st Brown Bag Lunch. Her answer, based upon research and personal experience as a Vice President of Boardsource, a Washington-based organization dedicated to strengthening nonprofit boards, covered every aspect of board behavior from partnership with the organization's CEO to continuous learning and revitalization.

Bringing the Right People to Your Boardwith Don Crocker, Executive Director, Support Center for Nonprofit Management; and Rhoda Barr, Director of Client Services, Volunteer Consulting Group

Ethics Throughout Your Organization: Designing a Code of Ethics around Core Values with Gregory Cohen, a certified trainer in nonprofit ethics with the Institute for Global Ethics, and Michael Seltzer, president of the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers

Board Development as Professional Development with Lori Roth, Columbia Business School; and Nicole Sebastian, Robin Hood Foundation. November 30, 2005
This roundtable focused on the topic of board development as professional development. Participants discussed the developmental needs of boards that vary depending on the size, structure and life cycle stage of both the board and the organization. The roundtable began with the idea that "form follows function" and moved through successful models of governance education for different kinds of boards. Participants were introduced the new Nonprofit Governance Indicator Guide.

Brown Bag Lunch Roundtable with Professor Rikki Abzug and Professor Kathleen O'Regan on September 29, 2005
Utilizing Academic Research to Help Nonprofitswith Dr. Rikki Abzug, Associate Professor at the Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy, New School University; and Dr. Katherine O'Regan, Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Wagner School of Public Service, NY. This roundtable focused on the topic of utilizing available academic research to help nonprofits. Participants discussed the wealth of information academia can contribute to the nonprofit policy discourse, what is useful to nonprofit board members and executives, and how this information can be accessed.

Dr. Rikki Abzug is Associate Professor at the Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University. A researcher of organizational governance, sector theory, and institutionalism in organizations, Dr. Abzug is co-author of Nonprofit Trusteeship in Different Contexts. Dr. Abzug was on the Board of the Association for Researchers in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), was a founding leadership council member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Governance, and is active in a variety of other professional and trade associations. Dr. Katherine O'Regan is Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. She is currently researching governance practices of New York City nonprofits and is part of a Wagner team examining the educational experience of immigrants in New York City Public Schools. Among others, she serves on the advisory board for the Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, and the research advisory board for the National Center for Nonprofit Enterprise

Brown Bag Lunch Roundtable with Len Easter and Dan Alcott on July 21, 2005
Legal Issues for Nonprofit Boards with Len Easter, Esq. and Dan Alcott, former Counsel to Perlman & Perlman, LLP, specialists in non-profit law
This roundtable focused on the topic of legal issues for nonprofit boards. Len Easter and Dan Alcott discussed many legal issues that confront nonprofit boards. They emphasized what board members should do to avoid and/or solve problems.
Len is engaged in the private practice of law, specializing in non-profit, intellectual property and entertainment law. He is presently on the adjunct faculty at the New School where he has taught courses on nonprofit law and ethics and professionalism, and he is a frequent lecturer emphasizing the fiduciary responsibilities and duties pertaining to governance.
Dan is Of Counsel to the law firm Perlman & Perlman, LLP, which specializes in providing legal services to nonprofit corporatations of all sizes and budgets and also to start up, emerging and middle market companies with a socially responsible agenda. He specializes in nonprofit and business law, providing a range of services for nonprofits and social ventures. a former President and Executive Director of NPCC (Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc.)

Governance Matters Networking Event for Members and Friends on September 23, 2005
John Sare, a partner in the tax-exempt organizations group at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, briefed the participants on practical lessons learned since Sarbanes-Oxley was introduced. John shared his insights from his extensive experience in representing private foundations, museums, colleges, trade associations and other tax exempt organizations.

Funders Briefing: Can Grantmakers be Catalysts for Good Governance? September 22, 2005
Governance Matters' Grantmakers Task Force has developed Governance Indicator Guide that was unveiled on September 22. Governance Indicator Guide is a tool to support funders as they review the governance structures of potential grantees and promote good governance. The panel discussion focused on ways in which funders appropriately engage nonprofits in thinking about how to maximize the impact of good governance on organizational strategy and success.

Governance Indicator Guide was funded by generous grants from the United Way of New York City and the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation.
The panel included Terry Savage, Director, Philanthropic Programs, American Express Company; Melissa Berman, President & CEO, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the Philantropic Collaborative; Daniel L. Kurtz, Esq. Partner, Holland & Knight LLP; and Tuhina de O'Connor, Executive Director, New York Asian Women's Center.

Brown Bag Lunch Roundtable with Cynthia M. Gibson and Jon Small on June 14, 2005
This roundtable focused on the topic of nonprofit advocacy. Cynthia M. Gibson and Jon Small spoke about why nonprofits advocate, how nonprofits should go about advocating, and the legal limits on advocacy for nonprofits.
Cynthia is an independent consultant specializing in public policy research and analysis, program development, strategic planning, marketing, and communications for several national nonprofits and philanthropic organizations.
Jon is a former President and Executive Director of NPCC (Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, Inc.) Jon has been increasingly active in its government relations activities on behalf of New York's nonprofit sector.

Peer Learning Forum on June 10, 2005
Governance Matters Board Leadership Committee hosted its third and last forum on Board Culture. Members discussed how the culture of the board, and the organization, contribute to leadership development of the board. Members shared ways how to create a culture that is more likely to foster and sustain leadership.

Brown Bag Lunch Roundtable with Alice Korngold on May 25, 2005
Alice Korngold is an author of "Leverraging Goodwill: Strengthening Nonprofits by Engaging Business." Alice is the Founding Executive, President and CEO of Business Volunteers Unlimited (BVU). BVU is the nation's most sucessful program for training and placing business professionals and executives on nonprofit boards and directors. Under Alice's leadership, BVU trained and placed over 1,000 business executives on over 275 nonprofit boards of directors; more than half of the candidates have risen to board leadership positions.

Peer Learning Forum on May 6, 2005
Governance Matters Board Leadership Committee hosted its second interactive forum on Board Directors and Leadership in Transition. Members heard a case study from the Board Leadership Project and discussed topics such as unanticipated and traumatic ED transition and the Board's role; sucession planning for the Executive Director; leadership sucession planning on the Board; and changing leadership needs through the organizational lifecycle. Participants contributed their stories and insights that we documented.

Peer Learning Forum on April 8, 2005
Governance Matters Board Leadership Committee began the first of three work sessions where members hear examples from the Board Leadership Project research and contribute their stories and insights. The topic of this session was Board Leadership in Times of Crises. Members who participated will receive notes from all three forums.