Skip Evaluation at Your Peril

Not sure how we’ve already celebrated Thanksgiving and are headed fast and furious toward the end of 2012, but it’s a fact.  If you are like me, there are lots of things on the end of year to do list.  For some, it’s the annual report (see our Best Practices Hub topic below).  For others, it’s the finishing touches on a holiday appeal and the next calendar year’s budget.  It’s hectic for certain, and there is one item that we easily can skip when our to do lists are full – the executive director’s evaluation.  But I urge executives and board members to not skip this important opportunity to share feedback with each other on things going well and things needing improvement in this critical partnership.

Too often, the evaluation falls victim to the lack of time or the lack of board knowledge on how to make this a meaningful process.  With some organizations, we aren’t happy with our current process and heading in a new direction seems too daunting.  For other organizations, we’ve never done an evaluation – so getting started is completely overwhelming (especially at year end).  Here’s a great article on the topic from Blue Avocado.  The good news is that this doesn’t have to be a complicated process and it’s not too late.
I invite executives and board members to join me on December 3 at 4pm for a webinar: It’s Not About the Form: A Process for Evaluation to discuss how your nonprofit can implement a straightforward and effective evaluation process that produces meaningful feedback for the board and executive director.  My goal is to help your nonprofit mark this item off the year-end to do list with confidence.

Danielle Clore

Executive Director