This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by McCambridge, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Underestimating the Power of Nonprofit Governance

Nonprofit Quarterly

Much of the dialogue around nonprofit boards has focused on secondary or transactional issues rather than on the question of what good governance must include in a nonprofit setting. This serves to rob the nonprofits of creativity, rigor, power, and the kind of finely tuned understanding of accountability the public should expect. By focusing on the central questions and principles of nonprofit governance rather than on structural concerns, the possibilities for a wider variation in governance models open up. All organizations are set in a larger social context, so we cannot end our reflection at the individual nonprofit level. These questions are particularly pertinent during a period when our attention is focused on governance from Wall Street to Baghdad. Some believe that public governance is overly affected by corporate interests, and we are now seeing case after case of scandals exposing ethical problems in the governance of corporations that only recently were seen as exemplary. This puts the interests of ordinary and particularly marginalized people at risk. In a democracy, the nonprofit sector is there to ensure that people have a voice in our future—at the community, national, and global levels. If we accept this as our primary role, it has implications for what should be present as constants in our governance structures.

Key Words: nonprofit governance • boards of directors • trustees • stewardship • account-ability • community-based organization • community building

References

• Bollier, D. (2003). Silent theft: The private plunder of our public wealth. New York: Routledge.
• Ecologist. (1993). Whose common future? Reclaiming the commons. London: Earthscan Publications.
• Government of Western Australia, Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Citizens and Civics Unit. (2003). A voice for all: Strengthening democracy. Western Australia Citizenship Policy.
• Healy, B., Latour, F., Pfeiffer, S., & Rezendes, M. (2003, October 9). Some officers of charities steer assets to selves. The Boston Globe, p. 1.
• Jeavons, T. (1992). When management is the message. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 2(4), 403-416.
• Lohmann, R. A. (1992). The commons: Perspectives on nonprofit organization and voluntary action. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
• Lohmann, R. A. (2003, Summer). The commons: Our mission if we choose to accept it. The Nonprofit Quarterly, 6-10.
• McGinley, A. (2003, Fall). Making hope and history rhyme. The Nonprofit Quarterly, 16-23.
• Newport, G. (2003, Fall). Why are we replacing furniture when half the neighborhood is missing? The Nonprofit Quarterly, 10-15.
• Ryan, W., Chait, R., & Taylor, B. (2003). Problem boards or board problem? The Nonprofit Quarterly, 49-53.

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 2, 346-354 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764004263551


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. M. Stone and F. Ostrower Acting in the Public Interest? Another Look at Research on Nonprofit Governance Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, September 1, 2007; 36(3): 416 - 438. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. B. Morrison and P. Salipante Governance for Broadened Accountability: Blending Deliberate and Emergent Strategizing Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, June 1, 2007; 36(2): 195 - 217. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. E. Garrett The Debate Regarding the Better Business Bureau's Commitment to Neutrality: An Analysis of Local Better Business Bureau Boards of Directors Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, March 1, 2007; 36(1): 22 - 40. [Abstract] [PDF]

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by McCambridge, R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?