This book proposes to strengthen nonprofit boards and to improve their productivity through an organizational format called the Corporate Model. Although the switch to the Corporate model is not easy to achieve, it is, I assure you, worth the effort.

The Corporate Model has been in existence since about 1975. I was instrumental in its establishment. It has been copied and used by others; those who have adopted the Model report that it works. It is most effective for the nonprofit organization that has an annual budget in excess of $400,000 and a staff of about 15 or more. Though tried, the Corporate model for nonprofit boards is still new and controversial. It flies against tradition. It has to be tailored to the needs of your organization.

This book is based upon an exchange of letters, memoranda, and other pertinent information between two old friends who have ties to very different nonprofit organizations. Russ is a businessman who was recently appointed to serve on a traditionally structured nonprofit board. He is extremely frustrated by the board's involvement in operational issues and the plodding way in which decisions are reached. He vents his frustrations to his friend Jack. Jack's board and line administrative experience in nonprofit groups is extensive. He is now the president and CEO of a nonprofit organization that has operated under the Corporate Model for approximately four years.

Russ and Jack are fictional characters, but the material contained in their letters and other communications is drawn from numerous case studies, records, speeches, interviews, and observations of nonprofit groups. The book draws heavily upon the author's experience as a volunteer director who conceived and inaugurated the Corporate Model in an actual nonprofit setting. Taken as a whole, the letters and other information illustrate how a nonprofit organization can adopt the Corporate Model format for its own board. Jack and Russ provide rational solutions to the very real problems faced by nonprofit organizations across the country. (p. x-xi, xiii-xiv)

CONTENTS
Foreword.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.

  1. The corporate model: A board alternative.
  2. The corporate model: Professionalism, flexibility, efficiency.
  3. How the model is structured: Intentional simplicity.                  
  4. Assessment and the model: The CEO cannot be insecure. 
  5. The model and the future: The planning and resource committee.
  6. The model at work: The executive committee and its responsibilities.
  7. The model creates a new culture: Trust is the critical factor.
  8. The model and commitment: Board members must be involved.      
  9. The corporate model: The final letters.
10. Is your organization ready for the corporate model?

This book proposes to strengthen nonprofit boards and to improve their productivity through an organizational format called the Corporate Model. Although the switch to the Corporate model is not easy to achieve, it is, I assure you, worth the effort.