2010 Webinar Series: Sign Up Today!

The Center’s 2010 webinar series will begin on January 6, 2010 at 2 p.m. (Eastern) with a dynamic program on nonprofit boards. The title of the program is: House of Sand or Foundation of Stone: The Board of Directors/Trustees. The Center’s executive director, Melanie Lockwood Herman, will kick off the 12-part educational series with an hour-long program on governance risks. Melanie has been writing about and speaking on the topic of governance risks for more than a decade. She is also among the featured speakers at the upcoming BoardSource conference in Orlando, FL where she’ll address “Inspired Governance: Risk Management Tools and Practical Resources.” During the webinar series kick-off Melanie will explore best practices and practical risk management strategies in the areas of board composition, board operations, inspiring a culture of candor (“culture of dissent”) and more. To join Melanie for the Center’s all-new program on managing governance risk and reward, register today. Click here to view the series topics, dates, and to register for the kick off program or the entire series.

Affordable, Practical Risk Management Help: New Resources Now Available

Last month during its 14th annual conference – the 2009 Risk Management and Finance Summit for Nonprofits held in Austin, TX—the Nonprofit Risk Management Center released two brand-new online tools for nonprofit leaders.

The first tool, found at www.MyRiskManagementPolicies.org is an easy-to-use program that allows you to create clear, concise, and customized risk management policies to meet the needs of your nonprofit organization. The tool was developed to help leaders avoid the mistake of using ill-suited policies found online or borrowed from other organizations. Creating practical policies that are unique to your nonprofit is an important component of risk management. But instead of effectively managing risk, leaders who “borrow” the policies of another nonprofit may actually increase their exposure to loss by adopting a policy that is beyond the reach of their nonprofit. Using a policy designed for a larger or substantially different nonprofit can expose a nonprofit to liability when the organization is unable to follow the policy to a “T.” The one-time cost of the new tool is $179.

How it Works

After a two-minute registration you will gain access to My Risk Management Policies. Once logged in, get started by indicating the name of your nonprofit and uploading your logo. Next, indicate the name of the policy you want to create. For example, entering “Volunteer Code of Conduct” will take you to content suitable for such a policy. The content in My Risk Management Policies is presented in a “buffet” format. Simply click on the phrases and sentences you want to include in your new policy. Next, click “CREATE MY POLICY” to create your policy. Your new policy is now ready to review or share via email with a review group (such as the management team or a board committee). The system tracks the status of the policy and “final” or adopted policies can be tagged as such. Return at any time to create additional policies or update existing policies.

Create dozens or hundreds of policies using My Risk Management Policies. The one-time cost for a license providing unlimited use, 24/7, is only $179. All of the policies you’ve started or completed will be saved on the site until you decide to remove them. You can return at any time to update your policies. If you are ready to get started, go to www.MyRiskManagementPolicies.org.

Many nonprofit leaders have spent countless hours developing the necessary components of a financial management plan. But for many organizations, the components, from an annual budget, return on investment strategy, cash flow planning tool and more, remain disparate, and the nonprofit lacks a cohesive plan that reflects the organization’s commitment to the effective stewardship of its assets. The Center has created My Financial Management Plan, found at www.MyFinancialManagementPlan.org, to guide leaders in updating the components of their financial management systems and integrating these components into a cohesive plan. This powerful system features 21 modules, covering topics such as Board Fiduciary Obligations, Managing Fraud Risk, Managing Cash Flow, Return on Investment Analysis, Cost Allocation, Classifying Net Assets, Managing Cash Flow, Budgeting, and Grants and Contributions.

My Financial Management Plan is a powerful tool to turn financial management strategies, policies and protocols into a plan that will help your nonprofit demonstrate both competence and accountability. Use the “Plan Modules” feature to go through the 22 system modules. Each module offers the opportunity to upload existing material from your financial management system, create new content (based on our templates or created “on the fly”), or skip sections you don’t wish to use. Use the “Manage My Plan” feature to edit your draft plan, upload supporting PDF files and view/download your plan. The system also features a classroom with easy-to-understand articles and resources on a wide range of financial management topics. The cost is only $239 for a three-year subscription. Renewal subscriptions (entitling the user to another three-year license) are only $99.

My Risk Management Policies and My Financial Management Plan are brought to you by the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a long history of helping nonprofits cope with uncertainty. The Center has been developing innovative software and online risk management tools for more than a decade. Additional information on these newest resources can be found at www.nonprofitrisk.org under the ONLINE TOOLS TAB or at the Web sites for the new tools: www.MyRiskManagementPolicies.org and www.MyFinancialManagementPlan.org. Questions? Call the Center at (202) 785-3891 or write to: info@nonprofitrisk.org. Custom, branded versions of BOTH tools will be available beginning this fall. To discuss the development of a custom version for your organization, contact Melanie Lockwood Herman at: Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org or (202) 785-3891.

2009 Webinar Series: What’s Up Next

The Center’s next webinar will be held November 4, 2009 at 2 p.m. (Eastern) and will address the topic of Managing the Risk of Volunteer Misconduct. Let’s face it, from time to time, even the most promising, mission-driven volunteers make judgment errors or fail to meet performance expectations. The positive contributions of volunteers are incalculable in many nonprofits, yet along with that benefit comes the need to attend to the risks arising from misconduct or poor performance. During this webinar we’ll explore practical strategies that increase the opportunity for your volunteers to succeed. We’ll also look at examples of volunteer misconduct and outline steps that will help you and your organization get back on track with minimal damage. Click here to view the topics, dates, and to register for one, two or the entire series.

Managing Special Event Risks

By Joe Risser and Melanie Lockwood Herman

Note: This article is excerpted from Nonprofit Risk Management Center: Managing Special Event Risks: 10 Steps to Safety—2nd Edition. The book will be available for purchase in September. To order a copy, click here.

Summer is here! Like predictable summer storms, high temps and visiting relatives, nonprofits from coast to coast are planning and presenting a wide range of special events. With our children home from school, workaholics taking much needed time off, and the stress of poor economic conditions affecting everything we do, many nonprofits are moving forward with special events as a way to raise awareness about vital causes and raise funds to cover some of the costs of service delivery. more…

Fiscal Responsibility and Oversight: Empower Your Board to Lead

By Melanie Lockwood Herman

(This article is excerpted from the Center’s book, Financial Risk Management: A Guide for Nonprofit Executives. Order your copy.)

While it is rare in a mature nonprofit for a board member to perform day-to-day bookkeeping or financial management duties (such as making journal entries or signing checks), board members exercise overall responsibility for the fiscal affairs of the nonprofits they serve. To discharge this responsibility board members must more...


In my view, www.nonprofitrisk.org is the Web's gold standard for risk management information. If I was stuck on a desert island and could only bring one Web site with me it would be www.nonprofitrisk.org. That may sound ridiculous, but next time you have a risk management question, I'll bet you can find an answer at www.nonprofitrisk.org.

David Hartley, Manager, Training & Outreach, Insurance and Liability Resource Centre for Nonprofits, Toronto