A source for tools, advice and training to control risks ... so you can focus on your nonprofit's mission

Summer Webinars: Add Some Sizzle to Your Training Calendar
During the Center’s upcoming webinar on July 7 we will explore the topic of “Evaluating Organizational Structure.” The program will include a discussion of the opportunity to look beneath the exterior of your nonprofit at the infrastructure that helps keep the organization’s mission and programs on a solid footing. That (infra)structure must be carefully constructed while remaining flexible to withstand the storms that are impossible to predict. Constructing, de-constructing or rebuilding the underlying management or governance structure of a nonprofit is no simple task, nor is it a quick fix for unfulfilled potential. Register for this program to learn more about the process of finding and fixing what needs attention.

During the webinar scheduled for August 4 we will explore the topic of “Reputation Risk.” As too many nonprofit leaders have discovered, a hard-earned reputation can be damaged or lost in short order. During the one-hour, recorded webinar we will explore how to anticipate possible reputation loss by considering the perspectives and perceptions of various stakeholder groups. We will also discuss the most important actions that leaders can take to protect the name and reputation of a nonprofit. To learn more about these programs, or to register, visit: click here.

You Choose: Four Ways to Access New Tools
Order the Center’s brand-new risk management book, policy-creation tool, or both. Advance your risk-taking and risk-coping “know how” and skills with practical new resources.

$25—Ready…or Not: A Risk Management Guide for Nonprofit Executives (ebook) Click here

$35—($25 plus $10 S&H) Ready… or Not: A Risk Management Guide for Nonprofit Executives (book) Click here

$179—My Risk Management Policies – create custom policies for your nonprofit in a matter of minutes! Click here

$179—My Risk Management Policies AND Ready…or Not: A Risk Management Guide for Nonprofit Executives (printed book and ebook) Click here

May 26, 2010

The Grand Finale

By Melanie Lockwood Herman

It’s finale week on reality TV. Several of the most popular reality shows on network television wrap up this week, with winners and “losers” receiving prize money, trophies, apprenticeships and recording contracts. In my experience many nonprofit leaders approach the process of managing risk as a seasonal exercise. In the view of some, the risk management process concludes with: the completion of a risk management plan, the formation of a risk management committee, or the discussion of critical risks at the spring board meeting.

A closer examination of the discipline of risk management reveals its unending nature. Sound risk management begins long before the participants enroll and continues long after the season draws to a close. Risk management is a year-round, rather than a seasonal activity.

This week a nonprofit leader contacted the Center to request a recipe for a risk management program. Just as altitude, oven type and cooking vessel affect the length of time required to bake the perfect cheesecake, there is no single risk management “recipe” that will work in many or most organizations. Yet like the basic ingredients found in the pantry of experienced home cooks, the ingredients of a successful program include:

The willingness to examine past losses (including near misses) without losing focus on future possibilities;
The commitment to engage and involve a diverse group of stakeholders in exploring the nature of risk in the nonprofit;
An appetite for considering multiple versions of the nonprofit’s “future”;
Appreciation for the need to explain the “why” behind the nonprofit’s safety policies as well as the “what”; and
Patience in whatever dose is required to explain, demonstrate, coach, mentor, and model the changed behaviors and discipline thoughtful risk management strategies require.

Unlike the predictably short season of serial television programs, risk management has a long season. As you examine, re-examine and work to improve the strategies in place to increase the confidence of stakeholders, remember that what truly matters is the mission. I have a hunch that your commitment to the mission will inspire and sustain you in the journey.

Melanie Lockwood Herman is Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She welcomes your feedback on this article and questions about the Center’s resources at Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org or (202) 785-3891.

Melanie’s most recent books include EXPOSED: A Legal Field Guide for Nonprofit Executives. Information on this book can be found at www.nonprofitrisk.org/store/hot.asp.

Up Next

The Center’s 2010 Webinar Series continues June 2nd at 2 p.m. (Eastern) with the sixth program in the year-long series: Shred or Retain? A Closer Look at Records Destruction/Retention Policies. For more information on the 2010 series, visit: http://nonprofitrisk.org/training/webinars/webinars2010.asp.

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Mark Your Calendar! 2010 Risk Management & Finance Summit for Nonprofits

The Center will host its sixteenth annual conference this October 10-12 at the Loews Hotel in Philadelphia. Conference details will be announced in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, consider reserving your room at the Loews by using the hotel’s online reservations process. The process is explained on the 2010 SUMMIT page. Click here for details.

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