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Please help us with a next installment of Rich Tips on the topic of what you should know before hiring a grant writer. If you have any interesting words of wisdom to add to this topic, send them to editor@richardmale.com

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This week's tips:

How to Deal with Problem Board Members

Nobody hits a home run every time they go to bat. Even the best of us make mistakes (and hopefully learn from them rather than repeat them). As careful as we are in trying to recruit dedicated, passionate, and skilled board members, occasionally we encounter board disunity. Organizations are similar to families in the sense that conflict is inevitable - and sometimes necessary. But it is imperative to deal with conflict proactively, and view it as a learning opportunity, because unless you do, it will eventually turn into an even more destructive problem.

In studies of nonprofit effectiveness, there is almost a direct correlation between the effectiveness of the board and the long-term success of the organization. Leading and managing a board is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of being a part of a nonprofit organization. Boards are not born with excellence; they are developed, and nurtured. Remember, you are dealing with people and personalities and inevitably there will be conflict.

With that said, here are some ways I have successfully dealt with problem board members in the past:

1. Recognize there is a problem – The first step is to recognize that a problem exists and don't ignore it. If one of the board members is always negative and critical of decisions made by the organization, or if they are hostile to the executive director, or they don't follow-through with assignments, meet with this person directly and pin down the real issue.
2. Set clear standards and expectations – Make sure the board has a “contract” that spells out each board member's roles and responsibilities including their financial pledge to the organization, their time commitments, committee assignments, code of conduct at the meetings, and confidentiality issues. Revisit this once every year.
3. Interview each board member yearly to find out how they are feeling about the organization, and to determine whether they are being used well and are learning new skills. The best defense is an offense, and you can head-off issues before they become full-blown problems by spending time with your board members in this way.
4. Assign a "care and feeding" person – Every board should have a person assigned to look after the care and feeding of the board members. This individual is a process person who attends and pays close attention to the flow, interaction, and involvement of board members at board meetings.
5. Make sure people move beyond controversial decisions – It is critical that once a decision is reached by the board that everyone supports that decision PUBLICALLY even if they did not support the decision at the meeting. When I was an executive director, the board made a decision on an issue but only 75 percent of the board had voted in favor of it. Two weeks later, one of the leading board members, who had not voted in its favor, began to decry the organization in the community. This was unacceptable behavior. We had a meeting with the executive committee and asked this leading board member to resign from the board.
6. Board president is key to leadership – When conflict begins to crop up, the executive director should work with the board president and key leadership to deal directly with, rather than ignore the conflict. If the board can't resolve the issue through a democratic vote, assign it to committee and bring it to the board at the next meeting for resolution.
7. Standards of conduct leadership – One of our largest clients is an organization that has been riddled with dissension and conflict. Everyone in the organization is operating in their own vat rather than as a team. To combat this, we developed a code of conduct at all staff meetings so everyone was clear how to deal with dissention and disagreement. The key point was to make sure everyone respected everyone.
8. Facilitators can be helpful – When issues emerge that can't be resolved at board meetings or through individual intervention, you might consider bringing in a professional mediator or facilitator to resolve the conflict. This is the same strategy that is used in a personal relationship when conflict keeps on coming up and cannot be resolved. Healthy people seek help and welcome someone who can intervene and assist in remedying the situation - this is not a sign of weakness but rather a position of strength.
9. Anticipation by executive director is critical – Executive directors typically manage the board leadership so the board can lead. The ED should spend time each week with the board (not only the board leadership) so she/he will be able to anticipate rather than react to conflicts that may arise.
10. MOVING THROUGH CONFLICT RATHER THAN COPING – It is important to realize that conflict is part of life and will not go away. View opportunities of dissention and disagreement as opportunities for people to understand different positions, values, and ideas. You want a board with diversity of opinion, age, gender, ethnicity, etc. Built into this, and the beauty of this, is that as you weave your board together, not all the pieces will always fit together. The creative tension - as long as it is managed - is one of the strengths you bring to the community.

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New Grant Opportunities (if you need grant research or grant writing help, please contact us! We have an experienced team of grant writers with a tremendous track record who will be happy to handle your grant research, grant calendars, grant writing, and grant tracking. For more information be sure to contact Nicolle Fogleson at RMA at grants@richardmale.com.)

Literature Fellowships: Translation Projects

Through fellowships to published translators of exceptional talent, the Arts Endowment supports projects that involve the specific translation of prose, poetry, or drama from other languages into English. For the past several years, Translation Projects have operated on a two-year cycle with fellowships in prose available one year and fellowships in poetry available the next. This year, prose, poetry, and drama all are eligible for translation.

We encourage translations of writers and of work which are insufficiently represented in English translation. All proposed projects must be for creative translations of published literary material into English. The work to be translated should be of interest for its literary excellence and value. Priority will be given to projects that involve work that has not yet been translated into English.

Competition for fellowships is extremely rigorous. Potential applicants should consider carefully whether their work will be competitive at the national level.

For detailed information go to: http://www.arts.gov/grants/apply/LitTranslation/index.html

San Francisco Bay Salmonid Habitat Restoration Fund

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries, invites competitive grant proposals for Central and South San Francisco Bay salmonid habitat restoration projects to be initiated beginning in 2005.
Types of projects primarily funded by this program include but are not limited to:
Fish passage barrier removal or modification
Riparian habitat restoration and invasive species removal
Fish screen design and installation
Instream habitat enhancement structures
Water rights acquisition in flow-limited salmonid habitat
Sediment source reduction
Conservation easements Other projects that will be considered for a smaller portion of the grant funds if they will directly benefit salmonids in Central and South San Francisco Bay tributaries include:
Watershed planning
Education/outreach
Research

For detailed information go to: http://www.nfwf.org/programs/sfbshrf.htm

North Gulf Coast Initiative

Support hands-on marine and coastal habitat restoration projects by supporting collaborative efforts of the local communities in the Mobile Bay Region.
Benefit NOAA trust species by protecting key habitats including oyster, scallop and other shellfish habitat; anadromous fish habitat; endangered and threatened marine species habitats; and habitat for marine mammals and sea turtles.
Restore and enhance coastal and marine habitats including salt marshes, salt barrens, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, and other habitats including those resources associated with National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves.
Restore and enhance riparian and watershed habitats that directly influence the health of Mobile Bay.
Provide long-term restoration benefits for the bay as future degradation vectors are removed to make ‘source to bay' habitat restoration possible.

For detailed information go to: http://www.nfwf.org/programs/north_gulf_coast.htm

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Federal Grant Opportunities (if any of the following grants sound appealing, please contact Mourene Tesler to learn more about the application procedure - mtesler@tcg-systems.com)

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Federal Family Education Loan Program

Closing Date:

Amount:

Eligible Applicants:

Agency/Department:
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

SUMMARY:
The Chief Operating Officer for Federal Student Aid announces the interest rates for loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program for the period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005.

Listed in:
Federal Register:
October 22, 2004
Volume 69, Number 204
Page 62031-62033

For detailed information go to:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/E4-2805.htm

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