Outside Consulting Companies Are Ideal For Conducting Non-profit Board Evaluations

Several years ago, a group of philanthropic entrepreneurs had a great desire to help small business owners in a 3rd world country grow their businesses to the point that the individuals could have a better quality of life free of usurious lenders. A non-profit organization was created in the United States and efforts were put into place to raise funds for the organization. After five years of distributing money to international boards of directors in the 3rd world county, the international NGO's had expanded to three offices. To the U.S. board of directors it looked as if all was well.

Still they were not exactly sure what the effects their fundraising efforts were having on the individuals targeted by their foundation. At this stage of their organization's development, a non-profit board evaluation and an organizational analysis were requested. After the evaluations were completed, the non-profit foundation had a more accurate picture of their successes as well as areas in which they could improve.

One of the key success factors that made the evaluations for this foundation a success was that the non-profit board evaluation was conducted by an independent consultant. An outside company has the ability to approach an organization free from the cultural norms, expectations, and inside social and political factors influencing the organization. This gives the outside consultant a perspective different from those within the organization.

In addition, if there is an outside company conducting the organizational analysis, individuals within the organizational structure may feel more at liberty to be truthful. Being assured of condfidentiality, they may feel like they can address issues without fear of retribution, which is critical for a non-profit analysis to be accurate.

For a non-profit board evaluation to be of any value, it must be able to collect accurate data. It can collect information from all sources available, such as board members, employees, financial data, experiences from those who have received the service of the foundation, etc. This data can be collected in the form of surveys, personal interviews, analysis of financial reports, etc.

As the data is collected, the consultant will be able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the foundation. From this analysis, recommendations can be made for changes to improve the foundation's ability to meet its mission. If the consultant is from an independent company, he or she is free from vested interest in the outcome of the analysis. Thus, he or she has advantage of being able to present the issues and recommendations without restraint.