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DOING GOOD EVEN BETTER How to be an Effective Board Member of a Nonprofit Organization by Edgar Stoesz Good Books October 2007 $9.95/trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-56148-601-4 Buy this book Printer-friendly page

Contact: Dalyn A. Miller
617.504.6869
Dalyn@dalynmillerpr.com

Behind every nonprofit there is a board, usually made up of successful, accomplished community leaders who are united in a common goal: they are passionate about doing good by governing the non-profit organization at hand.

But what's a board to do when this dynamic cross-section of do-gooders can't seem to get anything done? Nonprofit board membership is a unique and challenging job, and it is often wildly different from the professional world that go-getting board members know from their everyday workplace. Without proper training, mentoring, and guidance, even the most highly accomplished board members can find themselves lost or overwhelmed.

In DOING GOOD EVEN BETTER: How to be an Effective Board Member of a Nonprofit Organization, Edgar Stoesz, retired Chairperson of Habitat for Humanity International (a board he served on with former President Jimmy Carter), culls from a lifetime of nonprofit board service to offer the ultimate guide to nonprofit board leadership. Enthusiasm and energy can get even the most talented group of individuals so far-this book will help them get the rest of the way.

In short, pointedly written chapters, Edgar Stoesz offers practical, ready-to-go material for board members who are stiffly new or wearily veteran. This book covers:

• Helping Directors Understand Their Governance Role
• A Plan to Fulfill the Purpose
• Reporting Back to the Members
• Planning Effective Meetings
• Great Boards Have a Good Fight (occasionally)
• Working Your Way Through a Crisis
• Great Boards Celebrate
• Leaving Right

Whether looking to shake things up with new ideas, or learning the ropes as a recently formed non-profit, DOING GOOD EVEN BETTER can help any board succeed. Complete with "Discussion/Action Questions" concluding many of the chapters, and a section filled with helpful evaluation forms and guides, this book is the perfect, prescriptive tool that board members will refer to again and again.

Over 1.5 million non-profits are working hard to make positive change in the U.S. today - 500,000 of which have been created in the last ten years. There couldn't be a better time to help these organizations onto the path to greatness. DOING GOOD EVEN BETTER will show them how.

Edgar Stoesz has spent most of his adult life in nonprofit organizations, both as director and employee. He was a staff member of Mennonite Central Committee for 33 years, seven of those as Associate Executive Secretary. He served as President-CEO of Mennonite Indemnity for 34 years. Stoesz spent six years on the board of Habitat for Humanity International, four of those years as Chair. And while in that position, he worked closely with former President Jimmy Carter. He is currently First Vice President of Hospital Albert Schweitzer (Haiti). Presently he also chairs the board of the American Leprosy mission. In his administrative responsibilities, he has visited more than 50 countries. He has contributed articles to many publications and addressed audiences on a variety of subjects related to his service.

He is the author of Doing Good Better and Common Sense for Board Members, and the editor of Meditations for Meetings, all published by Good Books.