What’s New
Spring 2024
Partner Mike Burns in NonProfit Pro Magazine
How to Incentivize Nonprofit Board Members’ Performance
Tearing your hair out to get your nonprofit board to just “do” something? We hear about this situation all the time from execs and board chairs alike. Partner Mike Burns offers six suggestions for improving board member performance.
Partner Mike Burns in NonProfit Pro Magazine
5 Board Oversight Failures and How to Overcome Them
We’ve got a list of five fails that most nonprofit boards have likely experienced. The good news is: the board can simply remedy these scenarios by providing board members with a high level of satisfaction and productivity! Partner Mike Burns tells us what these failures look like and how to overcome them.
Summer 2023
Discovering Amistad
Discovering Amistad teaches the lessons of the 1839 Amistad Uprising to advance racial and social justice today. Their schooner, The Amistad, is Connecticut’s flagship replica and serves as a floating classroom to supplement their proprietary in-class and on-line curriculum. BWB worked with the newly reconstructed non-profit, including its first paid Executive Director as well as a new set of board members, on strategic planning. BWB also facilitated board members in creating, building & reinforcing relationships with one another. Together we created a strategic plan for program direction, management & operations, financial sustainability, and governance.
Fall 2022
Connecticut RC&D
Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development (CT RC&D) has partnered with the Town of Lebanon and Connecticut Department of Agriculture to design a planning study toward evaluating the process and building a template for an affordable farming pilot project in the Town of Lebanon.
Spring 2022
Partner Mike Burns is featured in NonProfit Pro Magazine
Reverse Board Inaction With Informative Reports
Fall 2021
Children’s Equity Coalition
Children’s Equity Coalition, located in Little Rock AR, works to create equitable opportunities, and prepare children for success in school, work, and beyond. By developing resources that foster safe, learning environments in and beyond the classroom, CEC addresses inequity and supports communities in creating solutions that work for them. Due to circumstances beyond their control, they were faced with the need for a massive corporate restructuring. BWB provided support and strategic guidance to their CEO during turmoil. BWB coached them through the process and was able to help CEC reform their identity around a gap in the parental support network, centering around grandparents stepping into parental roles. They are now in the process of rolling out a new resource that they hope will be a cornerstone in this work, geared toward strengthening the parental support network.
Partner Mike Burns is featured in NonProfit Pro Magazine
The Nonprofit Board Treasurer: 4 Myths Busted
Partner Mike Burns is featured in NonProfit Pro Magazine
How To Bring Out the Best Among Board Members and With the Executive Director
Summer 2021
Partner Mike Burns is featured on Inspired Nonprofit Leadership podcast
Founders and Boards: Must-Know Tips For a Relationship That Works
Center for NYC Neighborhoods (CNYCN)
CNYCN is the largest independent nonprofit organization in the country devoted to helping homeowners at risk of foreclosure. BWB assisted the Center in developing a blueprint for improved homeowner services and an enhanced service delivery structure in New York City. This highly collaborative effort engaged the Center’s 39 partner organizations in strategic conversations through surveys, in-person interviews, and group discussions. In addition, community-based groups representing the interests of local homeowners served as members of the project advisory committee, ensuring the communities served had representation in the deliberations. The outcome of this effort was a feasibility evaluation of specific product and program offerings, the development of a new structure for delivering homeownership services by the Center and its partners, and the development of financial sustainability of the model including new sources of grant and fee-for-service funding.
Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) – LIIF innovates financial solutions that center racial equity to create more equitable outcomes for all by building and preserving affordable homes, quality educational opportunities from early childhood through higher education, health clinics, healthy food retail and community facilities. BWB developed a portfolio profitability model for loans originated by LIIF and held on its balance sheet. The portfolio model estimated profitability for all loans originated in a single year, both at the individual loan level and for the portfolio as a whole. The model estimated profitability for eight different loan types, from pre-development all the way through to permanent financing. The user has the ability to test the impact on profitability of a range of variables, including total loan volume, individual loan size, term, interest rate, cost of funds, new vs. existing sponsor, etc. The model is an integral part of LIIF’s impact, risk and profitability framework, enabling LIIF to better judgements about how to balance tradeoffs among these key strategic elements.
Spring 2021
Partner Mike Burns is featured on The Nonprofit MBA Podcast
State of Nonprofit Board Chairs: Preparing, Selecting, Supporting Featuring Mike Burns from BWB Solutions on The Nonprofit MBA Podcast
Read an Executive Summary or Listen to the Podcast HERE
On this episode of Nonprofit MBA Podcast, Mike Burns from BWB Solutions talks about that there is no doubt that serving as a committee chair comes with significant board leadership and decision-making tasks. However, it is not just a chairperson’s responsibility to use their power for getting things done, but it is also their responsibility to oversee the board committee members and senior management team.
Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC)
PCDC provides loans to primary care practices and clinics across the US and is seeking to expand its capital base to meet increased demand. It engaged BWB Solutions to develop a detailed forecasting model which allows it to project loan demand by geography and by various types of targeted funding sources over a five-year period. The model also tracks repayments of loans from PCDC’s borrowers, and the repayments that PCDC must make to its investors, enabling a precise calculation of how much additional funding would need to be raised in each market, and at what rates and terms, to enable PCDC to fully meet the projected market demand and to maintain profitability.
First 5 LA
With generous support from First 5 LA, John led a team in a multiyear project that resulted in the creation of three collaboratives of childcare providers in LA County. The collaboratives are enabling childcare providers to share information, professional development, substitutes, specialized staff, and fund development. This helps providers to manage their organizations more effectively, increased revenues, reduce their costs, and improve quality of the care they provide to children and families.
Summer 2020
BWB Solutions and Cause & Effect, Inc. have released a new report on how nonprofit boards responded to disruptions cause by COVID since March. The report, How COVID affected nonprofit board practices, is based on a survey of 119 nonprofit board and staff leaders at organizations in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The authors of the report are Mike Burns of BWB Solutions and Gayle L. Gifford and Jon Howard of Cause & Effect, Inc. They are experienced governance consultants committed to understanding and sharing management and governance practices that enhance the ability of nonprofits to achieve their missions. They recommend that boards and executives reflect on what they can learn and adapt from changes in board practice since COVIC. They further call on boards to challenge all core assumptions to better prepare for future disruptions.
Spring 2020
Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has risen to the top of the board agenda, and it has changed how we interact, work and think about impact. In an article sort-of, kind-of about COVID-19 and the boardroom, a discussion among folks who care about these matters.
Winter 2019
In this just released “Inspired Nonprofit Leadership” podcast in which Mary Hiland, nonprofit leadership expert, interviews Mike Burns to explore nonprofit board stages of development. Mike offers that recognition of board stages helps establish achievable expectations and appropriately and systematically develop. Click here to listen.
Summer 2019
In a shifting and uncertain world, community-based organizations are hard put to secure funding for their initiatives — urban centers like New York City see that challenge expressed in growing displacement and inequity. When seasoned financial consultant Kevin McQueen joined The New School, his goal was to harness university talent and direct it towards sustainable economic development in cities. Today, that effort has transformed into Milano School of Policy, Management, and the Environment’s Community Development Finance Lab (CDFL), a key course in Milano’s curriculum.
Click here to read.
Winter 2018
In this just released “Inspired Nonprofit Leadership” podcast in which Mary Hiland, nonprofit leadership expert, interviews Mike Burns to explore nonprofit board stages of development. Mike offers that recognition of board stages helps establish achievable expectations and appropriately and systematically develop.
Click here to listen.
Summer 2018
New report explores Shared Equity Homeownership Funding Model.
Can a combination of public, private and philanthropic financing, rather than grants, be used to make shared equity homeownership possible?
Kevin McQueen and Emily Thaden of Grounded Solutions report on “Assessing the Feasibility of a Shared Appreciation Loan Fund Designed for Long-Term Sustainable Affordable Homeownership. Shared Appreciation Loan Fund Report
Mike Burns and Kevin McQueen, partners at BWB Solutions, and special guest Carla Weil, the Chief Strategy Officer from Capital for Change, the largest full-service CDFI in Connecticut, share their experiences effectively identifying funding sources and raising capital to strengthen an organization and provide more impact in low-income communities. Carla Mannings of Partners for the Common Good and CapNexus moderated the panel.
Click here to listen.
Winter 2018
Nonprofit Coach: 3 Experts Take “Deep Dive” Into Strengthening Nonprofit Boards
Mike Burns joins Ted Hart on this podcast to help you maneuver through this economic downturn in the charitable sector to greater levels of efficiency and fundraising success.
Listen to podcast here.
Fall 2017
Successful Nonprofits Podcast: Share Power to Strengthen Your Board.
Are your board leaders struggling to balance power among themselves? Are they not understanding their roles outside of the boardroom? If you answered yes to any of these, listen to Ep. 58 of our podcast as we host Mike Burns and Judy Freiwirth. Mike and Judy share their expertise, which is based on their Nonprofit Alliance study Voices of Board Chairs.
Listen to podcast here.
Summer 2017
Community Development Investment Review
The latest edition of the Community Development Investment Review, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, contains six case studies of the Partner in Progress grantees. John Weiser and Carl Sussman authored five of the six case studies.
Summer 2016
Mike Burns discusses the roles and responsibilities of board members in the Summer 2016 edition of “Nonprofit Advantage”.
Many misunderstandings about the roles and responsibilities of board members exist due to the numerous responsibilities that they are dealt. Getting and receiving training, support and assistance is the focus of my “From the Nonprofit Board Chair Seat” column featured in the Summer 2016 Nonprofit Advantage edition.
In a shifting and uncertain world, community-based organizations are hard put to secure funding for their initiatives — urban centers like New York City see that challenge expressed in growing displacement and inequity. When seasoned financial consultant Kevin McQueen joined The New School, his goal was to harness university talent and direct it towards sustainable economic development in cities. Today, that effort has transformed into Milano School of Policy, Management, and the Environment’s Community Development Finance Lab (CDFL), a key course in Milano’s curriculum. Click here to read.
In a shifting and uncertain world, community-based organizations are hard put to secure funding for their initiatives — urban centers like New York City see that challenge expressed in growing displacement and inequity. When seasoned financial consultant Kevin McQueen joined The New School, his goal was to harness university talent and direct it towards sustainable economic development in cities. Today, that effort has transformed into Milano School of Policy, Management, and the Environment’s Community Development Finance Lab (CDFL), a key course in Milano’s curriculum. Click here to read.
Winter 2019
In this just released “Inspired Nonprofit Leadership” podcast in which Mary Hiland, nonprofit leadership expert, interviews Mike Burns to explore nonprofit board stages of development. Mike offers that recognition of board stages helps establish achievable expectations and appropriately and systematically develop. Click here to listen.
In the latest episode of “Inspired Nonprofit Leadership” podcast with Mary Hillman, Mary Hiland and Mike Burns discuss national research on board chairs and board leaders.
Click here to listen.
Winter 2016
The Donaghue Foundation turns to BWB Solutions to support The Hastings Institutes efforts to promote new levels of evidence based innovation.
Mike Burns discusses how a board should introduce new board members to their jobs in the Winter 2016 edition of “Nonprofit Advantage”.
Despite the wringing of hands continuously experienced by nonprofit board members and execs over how to fill the board seats, the fact is, new people do get recruited and elected. On-boarding appears to be the new language referring to how a board should introduce new board members to their jobs. On-boarding is my focus in my “From the Nonprofit Board Chair Seat” column found in the Winter 2016 edition of Nonprofit Advantage.
Winter 2015
Nonprofit Board Chair Study
As part of Alliance for Nonprofit Management Governance Affinity Group team, in August 2015 conducted national survey to better understand how nonprofit board chairs perceive their roles in relationship to the board and the community and how individuals prepare themselves for serving as board chairs. Survey responses: 635. Responses continue to be analyzed this 19th day of October 2015.
Board Chair Research Infographic
Winter 2013-2014
Kevin discusses “The inter-workings of community development and public works projects”, on Research Radio podcast.
The content covers the emergence of the community development field as a mature industry. To view this podcast visit Research Radio at The New School
Mike Burns shares his wisdom in “The Nonprofit Quarterly.”
Summer 2013
In the August 15th edition of Nonprofit Quarterly, Mike Burns shares his article, “The CEO As Board Chair,” In this edition Mike talks about debate “raging” as to whether CEOs should also serve in the position of Board Chair.
NPQ is the nonprofit sector’s leading management journal.
BWB Solutions assist “The Hastings Center” in distributing its new ethical guidelines on palliative and end-of-life care.
Spring/Summer 2013
Over the past few months BWB Solutions has been working with The Hastings Center to help identify the needs, expectations, and specific content interests of medical professionals who provide care to patients facing decisions about life-sustaining treatment and/or nearing the end of life, but who do not think of themselves as “end-of-life” providers through a series of interviews. This research will form the foundation for the creation of web-based resources and face-to-face programs designed to connect the Guidelines with these new audiences – and change their minds and practices.
The Hastings Center is a nonprofit bioethics research institute founded in 1969. The Center’s mission is to address fundamental ethical issues in the areas of health, medicine, and the environment as they affect individuals, communities, and societies.
Mike Burns contributes to The Charity Channel’s new book, “YOU and Your Nonprofit Board: Advice and Tips from the Fields Top Practitioners, Researchers, and Provocateurs.”
Spring 2013
Mike Burns has been included as a contributor with two of his articles. One provides questions that help a nonprofit board think through the process of making program and business planning decisions and the other provides an understanding of organizational stages of development which explain why, at different times, boards behave the way they do. The Resource for all nonprofits
The Charity Channel is a resource that connects you to your nonprofit colleagues around the corner and around the world.
BWB Solutions takes part in preparing “The Cherokee Foundation’s” 10th Anniversary web-based report.
Fall 2012
The Cherokee Preservation Foundation has announced the development of a new interactive report titled “From Transactional to Transformational” that describes some of the unique challenges of place-based grantmaking on tribal lands and in rural areas and highlights strategies for success that may be helpful to other funders. John and Kevin assisted in producing this interactive report which draws on lessons the Foundation has learned during its first decade of work.
Cherokee Preservation Foundation is an independent nonprofit foundation working to improve the quality of life of the EBCI and strengthen the western North Carolina region. The Foundation focuses on cultural preservation, economic development, job creation, and environmental preservation.
BWB Solutions research attracts attention of U.S. Attorney General
Spring 2012
Following three intensive months of facilitating staff meetings, conducting interviews which included US Justice Department staff and pro bono attorneys, and collecting and analyzing reams of data on the flow of unaccompanied immigrant children and the services that are available to them, BWB Solutions developed a model to support KIND’s (Kid’s In Need of Defense) planning to ensure that legal counsel is provided for all unaccompanied immigrant children. The resulting model projects the demand for services and approach, costs and resources needed over the next few years. In a meeting kicked off by the Attorney General this model was presented to the Officials of the White House, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Health and Human Services and the KIND Board of Directors.
KIND assists children who have come to the United States without a parent or legal guardian, and are unable to find or afford an attorney to represent them in immigration proceedings.
Living Cities has recently released a report on “Scale Pathways”, Co-authored by John Weiser.
Spring 2012
Practitioners in the field of asset-building across the country are developing innovative approaches to expanding savings opportunities in low-income communities. Unfortunately, these programs and services rarely reach enough scale to transform entire cities, regions, states, or even neighborhoods. This report “Scale Pathways, Bringing Asset-Building Products and Services to Scale” is based on insights developed from interviews with practitioners working in the field of asset-building and a meeting conducted by the Living Cities Income & Assets Working Group held on July 26, 2011. With this paper as a guide, funders can better assess the elements of scale best suited for their investments, while practitioners can more effectively design projects for scaling.
Living Cities harnesses the collective power of philanthropy and financial institutions to improve the lives of low-income people and the cities where they live.
John Weiser is excited to be a part of the planning and designing of the 11th Annual Charities@Work Best Practices Conference
Spring 2012
The Annual Charities at Work Best Practices Conference focuses on the trends, best practices and changes in a range of employee engagement programs including volunteerism, matching gift and annual giving programs. Additionally, guest speakers address issues such as managing international programs and reinvigorating mature employee engagement programs. This annual seminar gives participants the opportunity to share ideas and network with other professionals and provides an opportunity to stay current on the trends, hot topics and best models of employee engagement initiatives. To learn more about Charities At Work visit http://www.charitiesatwork.org
The Charity Channel publishes Partner Mike Burns article, “Nonprofit Crises: An Assessment Process to Help Restore an Organization’s Footing.”
Spring 2012
This article discusses the development of a multi-stage Leadership/Management Assessment Process to address a nonprofit leadership crisis. The CharityChannel is a resource that connects you to your nonprofit colleagues around the corner and around the world. To view this article click here .
Mike Burns returns as Guest Speaker on Leadership Matters with Dr. G.
Winter 2012
Mike Burns is one of the panelist’s speaking about “Engaging Boards for Greater Visionary Leadership and Support” episode of Leadership Matters with Dr. G. To listen to this broadcast go to: http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/60220/engaging-boards-for-greater-visionary-leadership-and-support
Mike Burns assist The Orthodox Christian Mission Center in developing a strategic plan.
Winter 2011
Over the past year Mike Burns at BWB Solutions assisted the Board and staff of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center to develop a strategic plan. Assistance included the facilitation of planning committee meetings, staff meetings, and assistance with survey/data collection design and analysis. The planning process resulted in a plan that provides directional commitments and measures for program, management and governance for the next four years.
The Orthodox Christian Mission Center is the unified outreach effort of the Orthodox communions in the US. The Center engages volunteers in targeted regions around the world providing service and understanding of the Orthodox faith.
BWB Solutions partners with TCC Group to develop a business plan for APHA.
Winter 2011
American Public Health Association is the national membership organization of public health professionals, students, and agencies. In 2010, BWB (in partnership with the TCC Group) completed an initiative to build the capacity of the association’s state affiliates in the area of business planning. Partnering with the TCC Group, we designed a series of webinars that took the participants through the business planning process, and provided individual coaching to the state affiliates on completing their own plans. Subsequent to this activity, BWB Solutions again partnered with TCC Group to develop a business plan to support APHA’s affiliate services.
