Board Café

Here at the Board Café, our organization-CompassPoint Nonprofit Services (in San Francisco)-is undergoing a merger with CompassPoint Nonprofit Services (in San Jose). Maybe not as big a deal as the big corporate mergers but our board and staff have found that the commitment needed, the sense of loss, AND the rewards are all greater than we might have anticipated. I hope our own personal experiences with nonprofit mergers help make us better at our work with nonprofit boards and staff. . . . In the middle of this record-breaking heat wave, this issue offers a booklet on lawsuits against nonprofits as well as more info on nonprofit mergers. -- Jan Masaoka

"Everything Managers Need to Know About Nonprofit Lawsuits" is a new helpful booklet from the Nonprofits' Insurance Alliance of California. Board members too will appreciate this overview of legal actions against nonprofits, what to do when served by a lawsuit, and what to expect in a lawsuit process. Hopefully, just reading it will be cooling and calming. 1-800-359-6422, multiple copies free to NIAC members and one copy free to non-members, $1 additional.

ARE BOARD MEMBERS VOLUNTEERS?

What an annoying question . . . of course we are. Board members ARE volunteers, but some organizations are reluctant to CALL us volunteers. When we insist on our volunteer status, we honor the rich voluntary history of most of our public and nonprofit institutions--including fire departments, hospitals, services for the young, poor, elderly, and disabled, conservation corps, and others. As the nonprofit sector gets more professional, we should remember that still (and always, we hope), only a small number of people who do the work of nonprofit organizations are paid.

DEDUCT YOUR MILEAGE TO BOARD MEETINGS

It may not add up to a lot, but if you keep track of mileage you drive for your nonprofit board and other volunteer work, you can save just a little. The IRS now allows itemizers to deduct 14 cents per mile for volunteer activities. 14 cents X 40mi./mo. X 12 mo. X 10 years = $670.00 toward a vacation in 2008!

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH: JOKES ABOUT VOLUNTEERING

Probably not as good a basis for comedy as unhappy childhoods, relentless mothers, or tough neighborhoods, volunteering still gets a few good yuks at <http://www.energizeinc.com/quote.html>. In addition to the jokes, there are quotes such as our favorite: "Some people dream of worthy accomplishments, while other people stay awake and do them!"

This Issue's "Big Idea at the Board Café" is about nonprofit mergers and consolidations. We hear a lot about such partnerships in the business sector, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that nonprofits are considering the same strategic options (and making as many right and wrong decisions as corporations probably are). This article was written for the Board Café by consultant David LaPiana in Piedmont, California.

SHOULD YOUR NONPROFIT BE CONSIDERING A MERGER?

Mergers, joint ventures, back office consolidations, fiscal sponsorship arrangements and virtual nonprofits are all examples of "strategic restructuring" options which nonprofits are viewing with increasing interest. Strategic restructuring goes beyond collaboration to bring the organizations into more formal, long-lasting and profound forms of alliance.

You and your board might be interested in these intense partnerships:

• If your organization is, alas, weak: unable to find or keep an executive director; unable to maintain an active board; too small to compete effectively in a particular market. If this fits your group, you might seek affiliation with a larger organization that has what you lack, or with other smaller organizations, with whom you can develop the necessary strengths.
• If you are ready to grow, want to augment a continuum of services creating a program from scratch; need to increase market share; hope to reduce competition. If this is you, you are probably a strong nonprofit and see affiliation as a way to further grow the organization.
• If you think it might enhance your mission and services: to reduce consumer confusion; to lower overhead and put more dollars into direct service; to increase political clout by speaking with one stronger voice. If this resembles your nonprofit you might partner with others with whom you have a significant mission, program, or identity overlap.

For both the voluntary and paid leadership of nonprofits, strategic restructuring choices often come after years of building organizations and such partnerships threaten the organization's autonomy and identity. If our true goals are to serve our communities (rather than our own agencies), shouldn't we be as willing to serve by partnering as we are to serve by building our own organizations?

For a longer report by the same author, contact The James Irvine Foundation and ask to have a free copy of

"Beyond Collaboration: Strategic Restructuring of Nonprofit Organizations" sent to you. Phone: 415-777-2244; email <info@irvine.org>, website <http://www.irvine.org>or you can see an on-line version at <http://www.ncnb.org/beyond_collaboration/>.

You are reading the BOARD CAFÉ, published by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, in partnership with the Volunteer Consulting Group (of New York). The BOARD CAFÉ is one component of Board Match Plus+, CompassPoint's collaborative venture with the Volunteer Center of San Francisco to help individuals serving on nonprofit boards.

Board Match Plus+/CompassPoint: 706 Mission Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103; (phone) 415-541-9000; (fax) 415-541-7708; (e-mail) info@compasspoint.org

Volunteer Consulting Group: 9 East 41st St., 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017; (phone) 212-687-8530; (e-mail) boardinfo@vcg.org

We welcome your comments and contributions to the BOARD CAFÉ. If you have an item of interest -- something your board does that other boards should know about, a useful booklet or website, or whatever strikes you as newsworthy -- send it along to any of the above numbers.

If you would like your own free fax subscription to the BOARD CAFÉ, contact CompassPoint Nonprofit Services at any of the numbers listed above. If you would like to have the BOARD CAFÉ delivered to you free via electronic mail, send an e-mail message to info@compasspoint.org and in the body of the message type SUBSCRIBE BOARD CAFE. To unsubscribe to the BOARD CAFÉ, send e-mail to info@compasspoint.org and type UNSUBSCRIBE BOARD CAFE in the body of the message, or fax your request to 415-541-7708. The Board Café's e-mail/fax subscriber list is not rented, exchanged, or given to any other entity.

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