VCG Governance Matters ®

Board Effectiveness

Breaking up is hard to do: Transition planning when a founder leaves the organization.
Finding Common Ground: An umbrella organization develops a culture encourages participation by its widely diverse members.
Changing leadership: how and when: Transition planning when the skills of the executive director, who is also the founder, no longer meet the needs of organization.
Know What You Need, Then Make Sure You Get It! When the ED walks out, what can the board do to make sure it gets the right replacement?
Pick Yourself Up And Start All Over An over-dedicated founder who holds too tightly to the reins can create a crisis for the very organization she treasures.

Board Operations

From quicksand to stable ground: Building an effective board when no one wants to serve.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade: Using crisis to reshape and reinvigorate a board.

Strategic Planning

Setting a True Course: The strategic planning process unites a fragmented agency.
Good Plan! Regular, thorough strategic planning keeps board up to date and able to respond to challenges and opportunities.
How to survive the real estate boom: Using resources from funders and the board to find affordable, appropriate space.

Program Effectiveness

Getting from good to great: Transforming a good-enough program into a great program by shifting focus and reallocating resources.
Growing up and moving on: Reshaping a program to fit current clients despite the bond between the old program and a current board member.

Funding Stability

Surviving the bad times A good strategic plan enables quick response to economic crisis.
From rags to riches: Building a funding base by making every program count.

Financial Oversight

Beyond the numbers: Relationships, procedures and training that make financial oversight effective and palatable.
When it comes to numbers, presentation counts: How to present financial information so that it is meaningful, useful and interesting to all members of the board.

Constituent Voice

The Phoenix rises: A dying program becomes the heart of a community by becoming part of the community.
Mixing it up: How to effectively mix former clients of an agency with "regular" board members to improve program.
Finding Common Ground: An umbrella organization gives voice to all, despite the diversity of background and culture.

External Relations

When NIMBYs run amok: Dealing with a public relations crisis.
Reach Out! Successful ideas for engaging your board, the media and the community.

Organizational Evaluation

Why fix it if it isn't broken: Evaluation can reveal surprising opportunities for growth and improvement.
Getting to know ourselves: Program evaluation leads to better staffing, better training and more effective programs.
From good to great: Transforming a good-enough program into a great program by shifting focus and reallocating resources.

More information on each of these topics can be found in the Good Governance Guide.