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Governance

May 26

Penn State researcher creates app to make time banking mobile

By Feature, Governance, Leadership

By Katie Jacobs, Penn State News |

For Katherine Watt, a cookie isn’t just a cookie. Sometimes — with the help of a system called time banking — it can be turned into a wool cape.

Time banking is the exchange of services based on the number of hours it takes to complete them. Members of a time bank earn hours by performing services, bank those hours and then redeem them for a service from another member. Someone may trade an hour of raking leaves for an hour of roof patching, for example.

Watt, a member of the local Happy Valley Timebank, earned hours baking and delivering homemade cookies before redeeming them for sewing lessons.

Until recently, time banking had been mostly managed with desktop transaction systems. But in an ever-more-mobile society, Jack Carroll — a distinguished professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) — got the idea to create an app in which members of time banking communities could record their hours, post jobs and hire other members from their smartphones.

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May 26

In pursuit of board diversity: Join us June 16

By Governance, Sponsor Insight

By Bryan Orander, president, Charitable Advisors |

Many nonprofit boards are striving to increase their diversity. Most recognize that diversity increases effective governance by bringing new perspectives, energy, and new ideas. Sometimes the motivation comes as an expectation of a funder or accreditation body.

While some funders, such as United Way of Central Indiana, place a high priority on diversity and inclusion, the latest BoardSource Governance Index shows slow progress.  Though we tend to think first in racial/ethnic terms, you likely know boards dominated by one gender, a limited age group or common background.

The BoardSource Index highlights two related findings about board diversity:

1) Board composition — size and diversity — is changing, slowly. BoardSource research shows that average board size has declined from 19 members in 1994 to 15 members in 2014 while the percentage of board members of color increased from 16 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in the 2014 survey.

2) Best-in-class boards pay attention to culture and dynamics. While leaders report that 69 percent of board members understand their responsibilities and 81 percent of organizations have written expectations of board members, less than 40 percent are satisfied with the level of board discussion in meetings or overall board member engagement. In addition, 88 percent of board chairs see potential for new board member orientation to be strengthened. These factors tie directly to engaging new members, helping them understand how they are expected to bring their skills and interests, and building effective board teamwork.

The real secret to board success — leadership culture — is difficult to measure. A productive leadership culture requires having the right people on the board, achieving clarity around roles and responsibilities, and educating and engaging board members.

Please mark your calendar for the morning of June 16 and plan to join us and your colleagues for a discussion with a panel of local nonprofit leaders about ways you can “move the needle” on diversity and inclusion in your organization.

This free program is part of the Quarterly Nonprofit Forum, hosted by Conner Insurance at Indiana Wesleyan – North. Linda Kirby of Leadership Indianapolis and Bryan Orander of Charitable Advisors are developing the program and to date the panelist list includes: Yvonne Harrington, Key Bank; Terri Garcia, Southeast Community Services; and Rafael Sanchez, Fineline Printing Group.

The emphasis of discussions will be on both attracting diversity and also helping a more diverse group to work together effectively. You will hear how these panelists have experienced both success and frustration in their efforts to build and lead effective nonprofit boards and community working groups, and participants will have time to discuss and apply these lessons.

bryanBryan Orander is founder and president of Charitable Advisors. After 18 years of for-profit leadership in the Fortune 50 business world and a disability-related nonprofit, Bryan joined a large regional accounting and consulting firm. In 2000, he founded Charitable Advisors with the vision of going beyond traditional consulting to become a connector, advocate and problem solver for the nonprofit sector.

May 05

Cooper Union inquiry puts nonprofits on notice

By Feature, Fundraising, Governance

By James B. Stewart, New York Times |

In what should be a ringing alarm for nonprofit boards across the country long accustomed to minimal scrutiny or accountability, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York has signaled that the laissez-faire approach to nonprofit governance is over.

Mr. Schneiderman’s office has sent letters to the board members of Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the prestigious college founded in Manhattan in 1859 by the philanthropist Peter Cooper on the premise that it be “open and free to all.” Last year, after the school said it faced financial ruin otherwise, it began charging tuition.

The investigation, reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, is focusing on the board’s management of its endowment; its handling of its major asset, the Chrysler Building; its dealings with Tishman Speyer Properties, which manages the skyscraper; and how it obtained a $175 million loan from MetLife using the building as collateral, according to people involved.

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May 05

From projects to people

By Feature, Fundraising, Governance

By Ken Banks, Ashoka fellow, Stanford Social Innovation Review |

Bill Siemering was about to jump in his cab to make an airport pickup when his home phone rang. It was the vice president of the MacArthur Foundation. “I was shocked,” said Bill, “when he told me I was being awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.” That phone call proved to be the turning point of his life.

He never did make that airport pickup.

Years before, Bill had been the director of programming of National Public Radio (NPR), where he had created the first signature program in public radio, All Things Considered. He had also crafted NPR’s first mission statement, and while vice president at WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, he was instrumental in bringing Terry Gross and Fresh Air from a local to a national audience. Not bad, you might think.

Despite blazing a trail, though, Bill had eventually found himself out of work; at that time, there just weren’t many opportunities in his sector. As he put it: “I’d spent over 30 years practicing the art and craft of my profession and had no way to use it. I felt like a pianist who lost the use of his hands.” Out of frustration and the need for a job—any job—he started training to be a driver for a car service at Philadelphia airport. He was about to go on his first driving assignment when he got the MacArthur call.

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May 05

Eight common innovation traps

By Feature, Fundraising, Governance

By Gabriel Kasper & Justin Marcoux, Stanford Social Innovation Review |

Innovation, it seems, is easier said than done.

Despite growing interest in applying innovation methodologies to social sector challenges over the past decade, more often than not, philanthropic efforts to support innovation fall short.

That’s because the processes, strategies, and structures that funders need to deliberately seek out and support innovation are often quite different from the ones they use for traditional grantmaking—a lesson many funders learn the hard way.

In our SSIR article “The Re-Emerging Art of Funding Innovation” last year, we highlighted many specific approaches that innovation funders are now using. But we find that many grantmakers still end up falling into one or more “innovation traps”—common mistakes that can prevent them from succeeding as they try to find and fund breakthrough social change.

Some of these traps are challenges related to execution and implementation; others are more conceptual, rooted in the way organizations think about what innovation is and what it can achieve. As you read through the eight common innovation traps below, ask yourself whether your organization has faced one or more of these problems, and consider sharing your experience in the comments.

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