With financial woes unveiled by an inability to repay thousands owed to Pima County, and citing his inability to manage a multimillion-dollar organization, El Tour de Tucson’s Richard DeBernardis will leave at the end of 2019.
In the instant when the board tells the executive director there’s no longer a place for them at the organization they founded, questions arise: Who’s right? How did it come to this? How to respond? Sometimes, the public never gets an answer.
Should the family foundation run by the CEO of a company convicted of environmental crimes be forced to pay for the necessary cleanup after the company’s sudden shutdown? The fact that the latest CEO makes $400 an hour as a trustee makes the setup look enticing.
Dynamics between a nonprofit and its founder can be difficult, but there are times when the mythology of it all can just get in the way of real concerns.
Depending on how the transition occurs, following a strong nonprofit founder can be a pretty bumpy ride.
We all know that strong personalities can be a double-edged sword, both attracting followers to a nonprofit and sometimes taking up way too much space. Even after death, in fact, some founders haunt the halls.
The circumstances that arise after the departure of a founder can overwhelm an organization. But the forces that bring on this turmoil can be harnessed and productively used, if they are understood.
What does values integrity in your organization have to do with fundraising? Quite a bit, Simone Joyaux thinks; she has some thoughts about how values are authentically identified and expressed!
Sweet Briar needs a hero in the form of a fiduciary.
FROM THE NPQ ARCHIVE: The nonprofit sector‘s love-hate relationship with founders has lasted for decades. Understanding some of the very recognizable dynamics laid out lovingly in this classic management article might help one avoid the sometimes-too-public founder/nonprofit breakups and meltdowns that abound in our passionate sector.
