Board Governance

Culture Suck: How a Bad Ethical Culture Can Doom a Good Nonprofit

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FROM THE ARCHIVE: A negative culture almost always organizes itself around secrets that must not be revealed. When that culture is deeply entrenched, trying to reveal what’s hidden can be like taking your life in your hands. The shocking demise of New York’s Healing Arts Initiative emphasizes the need for nonprofit boards and executives to reinforce the inherent cultures of their organizations and consciously build habits of integrity and vigilance that become part of that culture.

art museums

Not Feeling the Board: A Little Berkshire Backstory

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It is to be expected that in a time of radical change in an institution, some disagreements would exist on the board even to the point of sparking resignations. A closer peek at what the process felt like at the Berkshire Museum may help us all think about how to approach the big questions in front of our own boards.

Podcasts

Charity Art Auctions: What’s in It for Artists?

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Have you ever bought a work of art at a charity auction? It turns out that the artists who donate their works can only deduct their direct costs from their taxes. Moreover, charity art sales may even depress the prices artists fetch at gallery sales. Amy Costello, in a podcast, explores these and other issues with artists, an art industry critic, and a nonprofit director.