Great Policy and Procedure Templates for NFPs | This Week’s Blog | Upcoming Events | Finance Tips From Julie | How Can I Help?
Hi there – thanks for checking out my latest Good Governance Newsletter!
I hope you had a wonderful festive season and that 2025 has started well for you!
Because you are here, I know you understand the importance of good governance and leadership for our not-for-profits, and you want to make sure you do everything you can to steer your organisation in the right direction.
So to support you with that, through my regular Good Governance Newsletters I strive to bring to you valuable information and updates, happenings and events, that will help you do exactly that!
So grab yourself a cuppa and take a moment to check out what I have to share with you in this week’s newsletter…
Read on for:
- ICDA’s Policy Bank
- My latest Blog – What’s important and why: Leading Organisational Culture
- Book in your Board development activities for 2025 now with my calendar of online events
- Finance Tips from Julie – Legal and Compliance Costs Part 2
- Working with me – How my Board Refresh and Refocus Program can help your NFP Board
I’m so glad you have found me and all the resources I share via my newsletters and emails.
I am sure I will have something to help you in the not-for-profit work you do, whether it be as an Executive, a Board member, or a grass-roots community volunteer.
So dive on in and let me know what grabbed your attention this time.
And here’s to an amazing 2025!
Have a lovely week.
Regards
Megan
DON’T REINVENT THE WHEEL WHEN WRITING POLICY
A common question I get when I am helping not-for-profits uplevel their governance is: ‘Where do I start with policy development?’.
Well I’m please to share with you the answer I give them: ‘Start with the ICDA’s policy bank!’
This amazing collection of policy (and procedure) templates has been put together by the wonderful people at the ICDA for you to use – for FREE – to develop the polices and procedures you need for your NFP organisation.
Whether you use these excellent documents as a starting point to tailor something bespoke for your organisation, or you find they suit perfectly already and all you need to do is add your logo, this set of resources will take a lot of the hassle out of improving the documentation framework for your NFP – be it large or small.
So check out everything this amazing resource has to offer you HERE!
MY LATEST BLOG
This week I have posted my latest article in my new short Blog series: What’s important and why.
In this series I’ll be exploring some of the headline issues a NFP Board or Committee member needs to be across in order to effectively fulfil their duties to the organisation/s they serve, and why these things are so important to get right.
In this next article I explore Leading Organisational Culture, and I unpack – from a number of angles – why it matters to do it properly.
Check out the article HERE and I do hope you find it helpful for the NFP organisations you are a part of.
And if you want to read more of my blog articles, or listen to some podcasts I have spoken on, or even watch some of my past webinars, then check out my back catalogue of Blogs & Pods HERE.
Enjoy!
A YEAR OF AMAZING ONLINE GOVERNANCE SUPPORT IS JUST AT YOUR FINGERTIPS!
🎉 Check out my 2025 Calendar of Events! 🎉
This year will see me bringing you some exciting new webinars and training sessions, plus there is the return of many perennial favourites as well, of course.
You can check them all out, and get them booked and in the diary for the year ahead HERE.
Here’s just a taste of some of what’s on…
🟢 10 tips for better fundraising:
Wed 5 Mar. 12-1pm (AEDT/Melbourne time). Online.
For further information and registrations, click HERE.
🟡 Good Governance for Not-for-Profits:
Thurs 6 Mar. 5.30-8pm (AEDT/Melbourne time). Online.
For further information and registrations, click HERE.
🔴 Finance Basics:
Thurs 1 May. 5.30-8pm (AEST/Melbourne time). Online.
For further information and registrations, click HERE.
🔵 10 tips for better strategy planning:
Wed 3 Sept. 11am-12pm (AEST/Melbourne time). Online.
For further information and registrations, click HERE.
For the full calendar of my online Events for the year ahead, click HERE to find out more.
I hope to see you at some more of my events in 2025!
FINANCE TIPS FROM JULIE
Julie Doyle is my business finances guru, and this week she is generously sharing some of her wisdom around Legal and Compliance Costs Part 2.
This week Julie says:
This week’s article is the continuation of the Legal and Compliance budgetary costs for Not-for-profits article which I shared in the last newsletter.
As I mentioned last time, these costs will vary for your NFP depending on several factors, including the size of your organisation, the complexity of your activities, the jurisdiction in which you may operate, and the specific requirements you need to meet.
As I indicated previously, these costs generally involve ensuring that your entity is adhering to all the applicable laws and regulations which are in place in your jurisdiction/s, as well as maintaining good internal governance.
Here are some further key areas that contribute to the legal and compliance costs for NFPs:
Fundraising Compliance – NFPs must adhere to fundraising laws, which vary by state and country. These can include restrictions on how donations are solicited, how funds are used, and requirements for transparency. Legal counsel may also be needed for contract review when entering into agreements with fundraising platforms, donors, or event organisers.
Employment Laws – Compliance with employment laws, including the Fair Work Act, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) regulations, and others, can require legal advice. NFPs must also ensure that they comply with wage laws, workers compensation, health and safety, and other employment-related regulations, which can lead to both legal and administrative costs. Some NFPs may need legal assistance to draft employee handbooks, create volunteer agreements, and review or handle employee disputes.
Risk Management and Insurance – Not-for-profits usually need insurance coverage to protect against legal claims, such as general liability, director and officer liability (D&O), or professional liability insurance. The costs for these insurances can be significant, and sometimes legal advice is required to ensure proper coverage. Risk management also involves ensuring that the not-for-profit is in compliance with any industry-specific laws (such as healthcare or education laws) and may require legal consultation.
Legal and compliance costs for NFPs can range in costs annually, depending on the complexity and scope of the entity’s activities. Ensuring compliance with overarching tax laws, governance standards, fundraising regulations, and other legal requirements is crucial to the ongoing operations of any NFP. NFPs should budget for these costs in advance in order to avoid potential penalties or fines for non-compliance.
If you have a NFP finance query you would like Julie to talk about via my Good Governance Newsletter, just email it to me on megan@mjbconsulting.net.au.
BOOK IN A BOARD REFRESH AND REFOCUS SSESSION AS PART OF YOUR BOARD’S DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR 2025
By now your post-AGM Board should be settling in and I imagine you are beginning to think about Board development activities for the year ahead.
Good Board development is critical for a strong and effective Board and it is something that should be approached like any other continuous improvement process.
So that’s why I created my Board Refresh & Refocus program.
Ideal for the early months of a new Board, not only does my Program keep your returning Board members up-to-date and informed, but it provides your newcomers with a really good grounding in your organisation’s Vision and Mission, Purpose and Strategy, as well as focusing on key governance roles and responsibilities, and showcasing the overall business of the organisation too – the perfect complement to you own Board orientation and induction activities.
My Board Refresh & Refocus program steps your Board members – new and returning – through the critical things that support the delivery of your organisational Purpose – and provides a reminder of the Board’s key governance role of overseeing the delivery of that Purpose.
Here’s what one of the organisations I worked with on this said:
Megan provided her half day Refresh & Refocus session for our Board after speaking with each Director to discuss what they would like to get out of the session.
Megan was great to work with – collaborative and very professional in the lead up to the session. She read through our key governance documents so she was familiar with our organisation including our strategy and constitutions.
The Board was very pleased with the session – they found it time well spent and provided very positive feedback about Megan:
We would definitely book Megan again.
Michele Rowse, Chief Executive Officer, Y Whittlesea.
My Board Refresh & Refocus is the ideal program to get everybody invigorated (or reinvigorated, as the case may be!) and on the same page.
So if this is what your Board needs, click HERE for further information, and book a discovery call with me now to talk about how we can work together to deliver this for YOUR Board, as I’d love to help your organisation with this important work too!
If you want to explore more of my other supports for NFPs, check out my Services page on my website HERE.
Or for all the details, go directly to:
I hope I can help your organisation with what you need!
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