Synopses & Reviews
Too often, nonprofit managers unwittingly adopt an unrealistic attitude toward risk management. They acknowledge the risks inherent in the nonprofit businessfrom serving a vulnerable population while using volunteers to deliver services, to relying on the kindness of strangers for donations to meet payroll and other expenses. Yet their risk management strategy seeks only to avoid or eliminate risk. Not only does this stance fail to account for the fact that many risks in nonprofit work are plainly unavoidable, but it further fails to recognize the inherently positive component of risk-taking. An organization that designs its risk management activities solely around the goal of minimizing or avoiding risk will miss out on opportunities to strengthen the organizations assets, offer more meaningful services to individuals or a wider community, and attract a steadily growing constituency of donors, supporters, and volunteers. Four leaders from the Nonprofit Risk Management Center explain how to minimize the negative and maximize the positive consequences of risk-taking in Managing Risk in Nonprofit Organizations: A Comprehensive Guide.
The team of expert authors analyzes every facet of the risk management process, including identifying and prioritizing risk, selecting and implementing risk management techniques, and monitoring risk management for the long term. They begin by highlighting five reasons why risk management should be a top priority for all nonprofit personnel, from the governing board to unpaid volunteers:
- Asset stewardship
- Achieving public accountability
- Attracting stakeholders
- Freeing up resources for mission
- Staying true to mission
The authors systematically explain how risk management can be leveraged in a time-sensitive manner in each of these and other areas, recognizing the myriad pressures and competing concerns that every nonprofit staff faces. Diagrams of the risk management cycle and "dimensions of risk" graphics further illustrate process implementation.
Risk management should be viewed not as a bit of unpleasant housekeeping, but rather as an opportunity to achieve your organizations full potential. With this practical guide, nonprofit managers will learn how to reap the considerable benefits that proper risk management has to offer.
Synopsis
* Written by two leaders at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, a management assistance organization that provides informational resources, technical assistance, and training to an estimated 20,000 nonprofits annually
Synopsis
Managing Risk in Nonprofit Organizations explains and defines risk management, especially as it applies to nonprofits. It provides comprehensive guidance on such topics as identifying risk, prioritising risk, selecting appropriate risk management techniques, implementing risk management techniques, monitoring risk management, and financing.
* Includes diagrams of the risk management cycle and dimensions of risk graphic
* The nature of these unique risks and the special challenges facing a nonprofit that embarks on a risk management program will also be addressed.
* Written by two leaders at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, a management assistance organization that provides informational resources, technical assistance, and training to an estimated 20,000 nonprofits annually
Synopsis
MELANIE L. HERMAN is the executive director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, a management assistance organization that provides informational resources, technical assistance, and training to an estimated 20,000 nonprofits annually. Before her appointment as CEO of the Center in 1996, she served on the senior management team at the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, where she directed the association’s development, membership, and communications activities. She has authored and coauthored more than a dozen books on risk management in nonprofit organizations.
GEORGE L. HEAD, PhD, holder of several professional designations in insurance, safety, and risk management, has been a risk management educator for over thirty years. Since retiring from an award-winning career at the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters, he continues to write, consult, and serve as a Special Advisor with the Nonprofit Risk Management Center in Washington, D.C.
PEGGY M. JACKSON, DPA, CPCU, is a founding partner of Fogarty, Jackson & Associates in San Francisco. She has coauthored three previous book s on risk management in nonprofit organizations.
TONI E. FOGARTY, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Human Resources and Organization Development program at the University of San Francisco, where she teaches courses in organizational behavior and change, research methods, data analysis, and business fundamentals. She is also a general partner and CFO with Fogarty, Jackson & Associates in San Francisco.
About the Author
“…looks at many aspects of the subject in great detail…. The approach is a practical one…” (Oxfam’s Development Resources Review, April 2004)
Table of Contents
PART I: MANAGING RISK IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR.
Chapter 1: The Nature and Purposes of Risk Management.
Chapter 2: Recognizing the Context for Risk Management.
PART II: UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL RISKS FACING NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
Chapter 3: Property Risks.
Chapter 4: Income Risks.
Chapter 5: Liability Risks.
Chapter 6: People Risks.
Chapter 7: Reputation and Mission Risks.
Chapter 8: Managing Volunteer Risks.
Chapter 9: Governance and Fiduciary Risks.
Chapter 10: Managing Risks Related to Serving Vulnerable Populations.
Chapter 11: Managing the Risks of Transporting Clients.
Chapter 12: Managing Collaboration Risk.
PART III: RISK FINANCING FOR NONPROFITS.
Chapter 13: Fundamental Objectives and Alternatives for Risk Financing.
Chapter 14: Working with Insurance Professionals.
Chapter 15: Insurance.
Epilogue: A Risk Management Decalogue.
Glossary.
Bibliography.
Resource Organizations.
Index.