Human Resources

Executive transitions can be stressful for everyone involved. Transition Guides makes this transition easier with an "Executive Search & Transition Time Line Worksheet" to assist your organization in the process. (Transition Guides)

These sample job descriptions for board officers from Community Change include the goals, duties and responsibilities, and qualifications for board president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary. Nonprofits can adapt the descriptions for their own board members.

A Sabbatical Leave Policy (editable Word doc from Workable) describes the requirements and procedures for offering paid sabbatical leave to your employees. This type of leave is separate from vacation, PTO and sick leave, and applies only to long-term employees.

Practice Note

Sample Emergency Succession Plan by Tim Wolfred gives a model plan with emphasis on "identifying the key leadership functions carried by the executive, identifying the agency managers best qualified to step into the executive role in an emergency, and prescribing the cross-training necessary to prepare the back-up managers to cover the leadership functions." (CompassPoint Nonprofit Services,

This question raises the blood pressure of many executive directors, and opinions are sharply divided, but what is the answer?  See what Jan Masaoka, publisher of Blue Avocado and CEO of CalNonprofits, has to say on the topic.

© North Carolina Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Inc. From Common Ground, a publication of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits, www.ncnonprofits.org.

In this 2019 BoardSource article, Should Your CEO Serve as a Board Member?, and 

Nonprofit executive directors often wonder if it's the right time to leave. Maybe the demands of the job seem ever more burdensome, or the board seems increasingly dissatisfied, or the ticking of the retirement clock is getting louder.

This article explores succession planning for nonprofit leaders other than the CEO. Eureka moments often occur during our consulting engagements when nonprofit teams realize the CEO is one of many individuals whose departure could cause ‘transition trauma.’ Read on for inspiration for establishing a non-CEO succession planning process. (Nonprofit Risk Management Center)

In most cases a graceful exit, in which the founder leaves the organization completely, is the most appropriate way for an organization to manage the transition from a long-time or founding chief executive. However, the conventional wisdom about founder transitions has taken on the character of an absolute rule.