Philanthropy Front and Center-Cleveland

Listen! Ron Mattocks Discusses the Zone of Insolvency

Ron Mattocks discusses concepts from his timely book, Zone of Insolvency: How Nonprofits Avoid Hidden Liabilities and Build Financial Strength, and explores how and why nonprofits find themselves in the "zone," a period of financial distress between solvency and total insolvency. Mr. Mattocks outlines some options nonprofits have for reversing the situation, including how and when to consider dissolution. Listen>>

Find other multimedia programs like this one here.

The Answer Desk Is Open. Ask Us!

Do you have questions about fundraising, nonprofit management, and related topics? We have answers and provide them fast. Our Ask Us service is available 24/7.

You can connect with a Foundation Center librarian and ask your question live, in real-time, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 9:30am to 8:00pm Eastern Time and Thursdays and Fridays from 9:30am to 4:30pm Eastern Time. Other times, you can ask by e-mail.

We've answered more than 90,000 questions since our start in 1998 and our fans regularly tell us what they think. So, if you have a question, join the growing number of satisfied customers who regularly Ask Us!

(This post is from Katie Artzner, the Foundation Center's online librarian.)

In the News: Nonprofit Board Diversity

A recent article in the Plain Dealer (6/22/08) provides some illumination on a hot topic: nonprofit boards lack diversity and the attempts made by nonprofit leaders to recruit minority professionals often fall short. Citing statistics from a 2007 Urban Institute survey showing that nonprofit boards are overwhelmingly white, of the more than 5,000 charities surveyed, just over half were entirely white. 

The article features remarks from the experiences of African-American, RPM International executive Randell McShepard who says that nonprofits are not digging deep enough to recruit the many qualified candidates working in the community. As evidence, he points to the 22 invitations he alone received last year to join nonprofit boards. "There is no honor in that for me," said Mr. McShepard. "It saddened me to see so many organizations...that can't see the many talented people who are out there."

The article mentions organizations that are working to increase board minority representation in the Greater Cleveland area, including the Minority Board Member Pipeline, and Business Volunteers Unlimited. 

You can find books and articles about diversity in nonprofits in the library at the Foundation Center-Cleveland, including these:

• Berkshire, Jennifer C. "Ideals in Action: How Five Nonprofit Organizations Made Progress on the Road Toward Inclusion.” Chronicle of Philanthropy (18 October, 2007) p. D-7-D-13.
  Abstract: Profiles the work that five nonprofits have done to increase diversity within their staff and boards, as well as in the nonprofit community at large.

• Fox, Mark. "Tools for Improving Your Board's Diversity.” Nonprofit World (September-October 2007) p. 8-11.
  Abstract: Notes the benefits of a diverse board, and provides a model for a diversity and skills matrix that can be used to evaluate a board’s diversity while avoiding tokenism.