The Center for Ethics, Governance, & Accountability

When was the last time your NPO held a board retreat? Chances are, you went through a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) or some derivation of it. While the practicality of the SWOT planning method is not the subject of this blog post, it does seem to provide a good starting point for evaluating issues related to governance (or any other issue for that matter) at the board and executive director level for an charitable organization.

It seems to me that we are too general with our planning discussions. And, that we rarely (if ever) take advantage of evaluating an outcome to learn from our mistakes and lost opportunities.

Example: "Okay," says the facilitator, "let's talk about our Weaknesses."

So the group starts talking about 'weaknesses' -- arguably, too much in the abstract: we don't have enough money; our membership is decreasing; fewer people are using our programs; etc.

We need to talk more about the specifics -- how long has it been since we conducted a capital or operational funding campaign?; oops, has it really been a year since our last monthly mailer went out to our members?; wow, time flies - our website is two years out-of-date?; and we really have not changed or updated our basic programming in over five years?

While specific questions about broad subjects can be uncomfortable, from a non-profit board governance perspective, such issues must be put on the table. The NPO needs to look internally, first and foremost, at its grants writing structure, its regulatory performance, and conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the internal systems (including programs and services). Informed with answers to these questions, the NPO can then look externally for assistance.

Obviously, some issues of non-profit regulatory compliance can be much more serious than others. What if the NPO missed the deadline on filing its IRS Form 990? This blog suggests that there is importance in looking at why that happened, who is responsible, and what steps will be taken to assure it does not happen again.

So, the suggestion is that issues of NPO governance should be discussed in greater operational detail than in the abstract. After all, the sucess of the non-profit organization and the fulfillment of its charitable mission to the community depend on it.

More and more of our non-profit organizations tell us they are getting their news and industry-specific information online, via the Internet.

This specific title was one I was asked to write about, so I will give it my best shot.

Hometown newspapers continue a downward trend. Many have been sold to conglomerates and others have closed down completely.

The study of ethics and the media has long been an interest of this blogger. For a number of years, local newspaper writers have tended to start in small market towns and cities and then move up the career ladder by leaving town for a larger media market. This ongoing trend leaves non-profit organizations without solid media contacts that know about the charitable organization and can report on successes. Accordingly, an important issue for NPOs is the cultivation of positive relationships with media contacts.

Albeit anecdotally, it seems appropriate to draw distinctions between local media and national media -- and even newspapers vs. television stations (local radio news seems to have all but disappeared in small to medium markets). Traditionally, the television news has focused on what everyone has come to call 'sound bites' of information. To be fair, television news must cover a vast array of information in a very short period of time.

Executive directors of most non-profit organizations would be quick to notice that television news does not serve them too well. And, to the oft-uninitiated executive director, the sound bite may not come across as intended, inviting a phone call from members of the board of directors and the members of the charitable organization!

The limitations of the television news leaves the non-profit executive director with little choice but to focus on the local newspaper. However, efforts to get cooperation from the newspaper in getting information from the NPO to the community can be very frustrating. News releases are constantly being sent to newspapers and, as most people know, the majority of the news releases never make it into the newspaper. Most NPOs then conclude, rightly or wrongly, that the news media really doesn't care about their organizations.

Also, as previously mentioned, the majority of the remaining newspapers are in small to medium markets, where experience among the news writers tends to be less than the national newspapers with tenured and seasoned writers. And, let's face it, not many small-town newspaper writers will look to a non-profit to provide that "big story" that wins them the prize! (Unless, perhaps, it is a scandal of some sorts and they desire to become the next Woodward and Bernstein...)

So, is it really any wonder that the Internet has become an increasingly popular mechanism for NPOs to seek information and communicate their message? It's free, it provides full use of your First Amendment rights, no begging is required to get your story published, and it's popular! (There are still millions of Amercans who enjoy holding the newspaper every day.)

But, our question is about ethics.

While it is incumbent upon the writer of a blog -- in this case, let's consider it to be a non-profit organization that is writing the blog in conjunction with its web site -- to get the information correct and/or to share an opinion about an issue of interest to its readers. This is not necessarily the case among newspaper reporters. Arguably, if the NPO conducts itself in an un-ethical manner, its constituency will respond promptly and 'vote' with its contributions. Such does not seem to be the case among newspaper reporters, their deadlines, and the advertising-driven business plan.

Again, to be fair, newspaper reporters are typicaly handed daily assignments, about topics they generally know absolutely nothing about, and given a deadline for publication. The opposite is true for the blogger: it is not an assignment, the subject matter is almost always something that the blogger is very passionate and/or knowledgeable about, and there is no deadline. Over the years, personal experience has shown that the number of newspaper writers willing to seek information is dwindling rapidly; this is sad and does not bode well for the profession or the industry. One reporter actually told me once upon a time that the readers would not be able to understand the complex story, so the important issues were discarded in favor of a sensational twist. This is sad.

To the extent that 'ethics' in this case relates to accuracy, depth of knowledge, willingness to learn more about the subject, and personal responsibility and accountability (another key issue) for the blog of an NPO, it would be very interesting to hear the argument that would support the ethical superiority of the newspaper writer when it comes to these key factors.

Ostensibly, as the non-profit sector continues to wrestle with increasingly stringent oversight by the IRS and its funders, executive directors and board members will focus on ethics (and governance and accountability) in far more depth. Who will provide such oversight among the news media?

It seems to me that Bloggers need to take great care to write about issues that are of importance to their constituency. Everyone is on 'information overload' and running on and on (while clearly your right) is not likely to provide long-term benefits.

Feedback on this issue will be interesting.

Our organization is dedicated to assisting NPOs with issues of ethics, among other things, so a debate on this issue can also be instructive.