|
A Letter to Nonprofit Leaders:
Building Today’s Nonprofit…
for the Future
Dear Nonprofit Leader,
Every successful nonprofit has a great
story.
And to create such a story your
founder most likely took significant risks.
You know the story as your own, or perhaps
it is your own. In most cases the story began with a man
or woman who recognized a need and decided to actually do
something about it.
These individuals were visionaries and
great risk takers. He or she went to a dangerous area. Provided
an unpopular service. Attempted a new approach to address
a long-existing problem. Made great financial sacrifice
to fund the cause.
By expressing clear vision and taking
significant risks, nonprofit leaders successfully advance
their mission. Only with such leadership can an idea become
a fledgling organization. With ongoing vision and risk taking,
and maturity, the fledgling organization can become a strong
organization poised to impact the local, national, or even
international community.
With growth comes complexity and
risk.
At some point in a nonprofit’s life,
however, its leaders must consider how to protect what has
been built. This was not necessary at the beginning stages
when there was no staff, no reputation, no bank account,
no endowment, no building, no volunteers, and no program
in existence! Yet with growth comes complexity and risks,
including legal ones.
Today nonprofits can be sued by disgruntled
employees. They are answerable to the IRS. They can be investigated
by their state’s attorney general. They are held accountable
to their donors. And they face potential liability from
the very services they provide.
The realities of our litigious, regulated,
and now quite suspicious post-Enron society pose new challenges
for all nonprofit leaders.
Are you managing your organization’s
risk?
No longer can the nonprofit leader be
“only” a visionary and risk taker. He or she,
or someone else, must perform the function of risk
manager. This means there must be someone evaluating
the positive risk necessary to advance your organization’s
mission against with the harmful risk of potential mistakes
and snares that could destroy your organization’s
reputation and financial viability.
You don’t have to invest
a fortune to manage your organization’s risk.
My firm was created out of a recognition
that only the largest nonprofits in our country need (or
can afford) to staff in-house counsel or a full-time risk
manager. Yet depending on their size and stage, most nonprofits
require some level of legal and risk management counsel
to effectively equip their staff, boards, and volunteers.
Essentially, I serve as the
in-house counsel for my nonprofit clients.
I am keenly aware of their missions and
their operations. I provide counsel to their boards and
staff. I help them create risk management strategies. I
help them craft policy and training that can be embraced
throughout their organization. I develop and provide systems
tools that make risk management efficient and affordable.
And I stay abreast of the laws, services, and best practices
that will strengthen their organization.
I have also developed a referral
network of other attorneys and CPA’s that can provide
needed expertise in most of the specialized legal and accounting
areas important to nonprofit organizations.
I invite you to explore my services in
greater detail and to take advantage of the several free
resources on my website.
Having served as a nonprofit administrator
for over a decade and having served as an in-house counsel
for an association of nonprofits, I am committed to thinking
about and providing strategies to help your organization
avoid harmful risk. By doing so, you won’t need to
– and can focus your time and energy taking inspiring
risks that fulfill your organization’s goals and mission.
Today’s successful nonprofit leaders
must be risk takers and risk managers. Both are essential
to building an organization that will carry out its mission
for years to come.
Most Sincerely,
David W. Adams
Links:
|
