Corporations are recognizing their mutual interests in partnerships with NGOs and governments to address vital global challenges. Collaborations include companies bringing valuable resources to bear in helping to develop regional economies in emerging and dynamic markets where corporations seek to establish or expand their presence. In particular, companies are engaging...

A business owner has been rebuked by many for coercing his employees to vote for a particular presidential candidate. Most of us are hold very dear the right and privilege to vote for the candidates of our choice, and we feel fortunate to live free in the United...

LinkedIn Board Connect has taken online board matching to a new level for non-profit organizations. As I noted in my September 21 post here, this innovative approach is an advance in bringing non-profits and potential candidates together; the most important improvement is the opportunity for people...

Helping nonprofit boards and qualified board candidates to find each other is vitally important, a cause to which I have been devoted for nearly two decades. Nothing powers a board better than talented people who are stirred by the mission, and reaching beyond the narrow circles of the "usual suspects"...

Sophisticated and experienced NGO/nonprofit board members and CEOs routinely ask me to explain the role of the board. It's not surprising and I'm glad they do. So let me share my four essentials for effective governance.

1. Achievement: The role of the board is to achieve the...

Given financial threats and opportunities and a passion for their missions, a growing number of NGO/nonprofit boards are seeking to assess how they can become stronger and more effective in maximizing their greater potential.

Business executives and professionals and people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives who serve on NGO/nonprofit...

The nonprofit board scandals of the past year are highly distressing: revealing everything from complete board dysfunction in the firing of the CEO at the University of Virginia, to the cover-up of criminal behavior at Penn State, to policy decisions that arguably destroyed Komen's leading nonprofit brand. In all three...

There continues to be upheaval emanating from the board rooms of major nonprofit institutions, including The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Penn State, and the University of Virginia. The facts will emerge over time as various perspectives are shared and evidence is revealed and examined. In the meantime, boards...

If your board is absent a person with expertise in a certain area -- like finance or law, go find and recruit the right person. If your board needs a bit of training and inspiration, bring in a terrific expert for a lively, illuminating session. In some cases,...

Excessive executive compensation is at the forefront of discussions about public companies, but what about the nonprofit sector? In fact, one of the most important things that nonprofit boards can do to strengthen the organizations that they govern is to get the salaries right for the CEOs of their nonprofits.

With global corporations actively pursuing growth opportunities in emerging markets, Harvard Business School Professor Bill George raises the compelling leadership development challenge facing these businesses in this HBR blog. He points out how companies require entirely new approaches to prepare leaders for "aligning employees around the company's mission...

That's how Eugene Lang introduced me to the President of Swarthmore College when we met a few years ago. I was startled by the introduction. Standing there in Gene Lang's office in my black suit and black patent heels, that wasn't the introduction I anticipated. I've thought it...

Imagine the members of a nonprofit board being so committed to the mission that they put the board meetings in their calendars in advance and attended all meetings in person; made financial contributions and asked their company and friends to support the organization; always acted to advance the mission; and...

Philanthrocapitalists are to be applauded for their abundant generosity in seeking and funding solutions to some of the world's most daunting challenges, including poverty, healthcare, education and the environment, just to name a few. And all of our personal charity and volunteer service is vital. But to a...

"You're placing corporate executives on nonprofit boards?" exclaimed the senior program officer of a prominent and well endowed national foundation. He looked at me with horror. Then he spit out, "But they're Republicans!"

This was in 2002, nearly a decade into my career in providing strategic corporate social responsibility...