This Month's topic: Conflict of Interest
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| This Month's Topic: Conflict of Interest |
Each month, this area provides with a
number of my favorite and most helpful sites regarding the topic of the month.
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Management
Tip of the Month
Each issue, I start with a discussion
of my management perspective on the month's topic, and give you a few hands-on
ideas to consider.
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Recommended Publications
Here, I provide you with my
recommendations on the materials available that can help you
become more mission-capable in the area of Conflict of Interest.
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Technology
I provide you with some good ideas for
uses of tech to better your organization in the area of Conflict of Interest.
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Marketing
Tip
So much to say, so little space to say
it.....
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Next
Issue
In January, we'll start 2007 with examine an issue -- one that we don't like to think about much: Business Recovery Planning
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Websites of the
Month
Here are my recommendations for websites of interest
on this month's topic: Conflict of Interest
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Top
Management Tip of the Month
Conflict of Interest
Repeat after me:
Your organization needs a conflict of interest (COI) policy. Your
organization needs a conflict of interest policy for your board, and for your staff.
Keep going, you're not done: You
need to discuss this policy by giving examples of what it does and does
not cover at least annually. You need to have everyone affected by by
the policy sign a statement saying that they have been given the
policy, been provided the opportunity to ask questions, and agree to
abide by it.
Are we clear? This is not optional.
I am amazed (and a bit horrified) by the blase approach so many
nonprofits still have toward the issue of conflict of interest. "We
have good people. There won't be a problem." "It's kind of insulting to
our staff and board to make them sign this." "It's really not a big
deal...and it takes a lot of time to get a policy together."
Perhaps ten years ago, I could understand this attitude, although I
didn't agree with it; but today? With Sarbanes-Oxley, media oversight,
online watchdogs, and a growing distrust of institutions of all kinds,
you simply cannot operate without conflict of interest policies in
place, practiced, and agreed to. The links above provide great
resources to get started if you haven't yet. You can also go to your
trade association, your United Way, your state association of
nonprofits, your community foundation, or your local Management
Services Organization (MSO) for sugggestions. And do it soon.
Here are some questions I get regularly about conflict of interest:
What should I ban in my conflict statements? There's
no set answer. What is or is not allowable under your policies should
be set based on four things: First, the law in your state (if there is
one); second, the regulations of your funders; third, local practice
and size of your community; and fourth, how recently some other
nonprofit messed up.
Should I distribute my conflict policies beyond the board and staff? Absolutely. Complete organizational transparency necessitates that your policies be available on your website.
My board doesn't want to set up a policy: they think it's a waste of time. What can I do? Try to talk them into adopting a policy. And try hard. Talk to them about how it will look in the following situation: You
let an RFP for, say, repaving your parking lot. The spouse of a board
member owns a paving company, which, after going through the normal
bidding and review, is awarded the contract. A competitor (who also
bid) gets mad, goes to the local newspaper, and calls foul. A reporter
calls the board president and asks: "Did you follow your conflict of
interest policy?" And your board president has to say...."What policy?"
Or, what about the increasing number of funders who require COI as a
pre-requisite to funding? Pull out all the stops. You want this policy,
and you want it current. Ultimately, of course, it's a board decision
to set board policies. Frankly, for me as an exec, this would be a
resignation issue.
What's the best process to develop a conflict of interest policy?
This is pretty straightforward. First, review the sites listed above
for samples. Second, talk to peer organizations and the other groups
listed in the fourth paragraph of this Tip. Also, look at the Marketing
Tip below to review some specific asking ideas to generate more input.
Third, draft your policies (one for staff, one for board) and float
them throughout the organization. Fourth, amend and adopt the policies,
and fifth, TRAIN on the policies. Make sure everyone gets copies, that
you role play, that people have time to ask about the policies, and
then, sixth, have everyone sign thier statement of agreement. Repeat
the training and review your signatures annually.
If
you found this hint helpful, there are lots more management, marketing, and
technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at
www.missionbased.com. Check them
out--they're free.
And, remember to take a look at the
Mission-Based Management
Blog.
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Top
Print Resources
My recommendations for the best text on Conflict of Interest is:.
Managing Conflict of Interest: by Daniel Kurtz (a BoardSource publication)
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Technology Tip
How can Tech help with Conflict of Interest?
The key tech assist here is transparancy. Conflict of interest policies
belong on your website where everyone can see them. By putting them out
in front, you not only hold yourself (and your board) publicly
accountable, you can deflect criticism before it occurs. Finally, both
board and staff can easily check the policies to see what is and is not
allowable.
I recommend a link on your homepage along with links to your most
recent IRS 990 form, your most recent audit, and strategic plan. As the
saying goes: If you have nothing to hide...don't hide anything.
If you found this hint helpful, there are lots more
management, marketing, and technology ideas for you in the "Ideas" section at
www.missionbased.com. Check them
out--they're free.
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Top
Training Schedule for Peter Brinckerhoff
Below you'll see the date, location, and topics
of public training I'm scheduled to do in the next few months. For more
information on a particular speaking engagement, get in touch with the contact
person listed in the right hand column, or
email me.
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