Global Best Practices for CSO, NGO, and Other Nonprofit Boards

Global Best Practices for CSO, NGO, and Other Nonprofit Boards

by BoardSource, Penelope Cagney
Released May 2018
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119423270

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

An ideal resource for boards everywhere

There are at least 10 million Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s in the world, each of them with a board composed of individuals doing their best to govern well and wisely. There is no single model of governance to emulate, but are there universal principles and practices that can help boards everywhere perform at the highest level.  

This book takes us for a trip around the world to look at what is working for boards. Its discoveries will help not only boards, but also nonprofit staff leaders seeking to assist their boards to optimal performance, and capacity-builders looking to strengthen their civil society sector.

Even if your organizational concerns extend no further than city boundaries, this book is for you. One of the greatest governance challenges today is a lack of diversity on the board. This can seriously hamper an organization’s ability to realize mission and to understand and serve its community. Reading this book will provide a greater understanding of how the cultural context affects governance and will sensitize the reader to different ways of thinking about governance.

Global Best Practices For CSO, NGO and Other Nonprofit Boards presents case studies from different parts of the world that illustrate effective practice, identifies and discusses interesting and significant differences, and explores global governance trends with implications for us all.

  • Tests for universal truths about roles, responsibilities and practices using criteria established by BoardSource, the premier voice on nonprofit governance
  • Provides information that builds exceptional nonprofit boards
  • Discusses cultural differences in governance that will help all boards to better function in increasingly diverse environments
  • Offers inspiration to NGO boards in any part of civil society
  • Reflects on the future of governance worldwide

If you’re a capacity-builder, a board member, or an executive leader looking for guidance on governance, this is the book you’ll want to have on hand.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. CHAPTER 1: Overview
    1. WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR
    2. INTRODUCTION
    3. ABOUT THE BOOK'S TITLE
    4. ORGANIZATION OF CONTENTS
    5. FRAMEWORK
    6. APOLOGIES
    7. CULTURE
    8. GLOBAL TRENDS
    9. REFERENCES
  5. CHAPTER 2: Africa
    1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT FOR GOVERNANCE
    2. CHALLENGES TO CSO GOVERNANCE
    3. GOVERNANCE SUCCESSES
    4. CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN CSO BOARDS
    5. CASE STUDY: KENYA
    6. BEST PRACTICES OF KENYAN BOARDS
    7. TRENDS
    8. CONCLUSION
    9. NOTES
  6. CHAPTER 3: Asia
    1. OVERVIEW
    2. ASIA OVERVIEW NOTES
    3. CAMBODIA
    4. CAMBODIA REFERENCES
    5. CAMBODIA NOTES
    6. CHINA
    7. CHINA NOTES
    8. INDIA
    9. INDIA REFERENCES
    10. INDIA NOTES
    11. INDONESIA
    12. INDONESIA REFERENCES
    13. INDONESIA NOTES
    14. JAPAN
    15. KOREA
    16. KOREA REFERENCES
    17. KOREA FURTHER READING
    18. PHILIPPINES
    19. PHILIPPINES NOTES
    20. SINGAPORE
    21. SINGAPORE REFERENCES
    22. SINGAPORE NOTES
  7. CHAPTER 4: Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand
    1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT FOR GOVERNANCE
    2. UNDERSTANDING THE NGO SECTOR
    3. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS AFFECTING NGO BOARDS
    4. THE ROLES OF BOARDS
    5. BOARD COMPOSITION, ROTATION, AND RECRUITMENT
    6. BOARD'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CEO AND OTHER STAFF
    7. ORGANIZATION OF MEETINGS AND CULTURE OF INQUIRY
    8. EVALUATION AND MONITORING
    9. ETHICAL CHALLENGES
    10. GOVERNANCE TRENDS
    11. CASE STUDY: OXFAM AUSTRALIA
    12. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    13. REFERENCES
    14. NOTES
  8. CHAPTER 5: Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia
    1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR GOVERNANCE
    2. EVOLUTION OF THE SECTOR
    3. LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
    4. A BRIEF HISTORY OF REGIONAL APPROACHES TO CSO GOVERNANCE
    5. LOOKING FORWARD TO NEW PRACTICES
    6. CONCLUSION
    7. REFERENCES
    8. NOTES
  9. CHAPTER 6: Europe
    1. UNITED KINGDOM
    2. CONTINENTAL EUROPE
    3. MEDITERRANEAN REGION
    4. NORTHERN EUROPE
    5. PROMOTING BOARD PERFORMANCE THROUGH REMUNERATION AND INCENTIVES
    6. INNOVATIVE MODELS FOR BOARDS IN EUROPE
    7. GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES AND NONPROFIT REALITY
    8. STRIVING FOR AN INVOLVED BOARD
    9. CONCLUSION
    10. REFERENCES
    11. NOTES
    12. FURTHER READING
  10. CHAPTER 7: Latin America
    1. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT FOR GOVERNANCE
    2. RELEVANT LEGAL/TAX REQUIREMENTS AFFECTING NGO BOARDS
    3. COMPOSITION AND RECRUITMENT CONSIDERATIONS
    4. ORGANIZATION OF MEETING, CULTURE OF INQUIRY
    5. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
    6. EVALUATION AND MONITORING
    7. TRENDS AND CASE STUDIES OF BEST PRACTICES
    8. CONCLUSION
    9. REFERENCES
    10. NOTES
    11. FURTHER READING
  11. CHAPTER 8: Middle East and North Africa
    1. THE PHILANTHROPIC LANDSCAPE—A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY
    2. THE ROLE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
    3. STEWARDSHIP
    4. CHALLENGES TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
    5. NEED FOR STUDY OF THE SECTOR
    6. MENA CULTURE
    7. CASE STUDY: EMIRATES FOUNDATION
    8. CASE STUDY: AM QATTAN FOUNDATION
    9. TAKEAWAY POINTS
    10. CONCLUSION
    11. REFERENCES
    12. NOTES
    13. FURTHER READING
  12. CHAPTER 9: North America
    1. CANADA
    2. CANADA REFERENCES
    3. CANADA NOTES
    4. CANADA FURTHER READING
    5. UNITED STATES
    6. UNITED STATES REFERENCES
  13. CHAPTER 10: From Reform of Governance to Transfer of Power
    1. ICSO' GOVERNANCE MODEL OF CHOICE: INTERNATIONAL FEDERATIONS OF AUTONOMOUS NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
    2. THE SELF-ASSESSMENT: THE QUALITY OF ICSO' GOVERNANCE
    3. TOWARDS EFFECTIVE GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
    4. CORNERSTONES OF ICSO' TRANSFORMATION
    5. NOTES
  14. CHAPTER 11: The Future
    1. WEALTH INEQUALITY
    2. PROACTIVE PHILANTHROPY
    3. REACTION TO GLOBALIZATION
    4. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
    5. TOMORROW'S ORGANIZATIONS
    6. SERVANT LEADERSHIP
    7. NEW APPROACHES TO GOVERNANCE
    8. CONCLUSION
    9. REFERENCES
    10. NOTES
    11. FURTHER READING
  15. Appendix
    1. 10 BASIC RESPONSIBILITIES OF NONPROFIT BOARDS (SUMMARY)
    2. THE SOURCE: 12 PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNANCE THAT POWER EXCEPTIONAL BOARDS
    3. NOTES
  16. Glossary
    1. REFERENCES
    2. NOTES
  17. About the Contributors
  18. Index
  19. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Global Best Practices for CSO, NGO, and Other Nonprofit Boards
  • Author(s): BoardSource, Penelope Cagney
  • Release date: May 2018
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119423270