Please do not exceed page or word limits – more is not
always more. Reference pages are not included in page lengths. All papers
should be double-spaced, Times New Roman or Calibri 12 pt. font, with 1″
margins on all sides.
Critical Analysis Paper Each student will select a nonprofit
organization and analyze its governance.
Students will prepare an 8-10 page paper concerning this organization
and submit it to be reviewed. The papers will be due Sunday, August 6. The papers
are to be written in 12 pt. type and double-spaced. APA format is required for
citations and formatting; however, a title page and abstract are not necessary.
If references are used, they must be properly cited, and a reference page must
be included. The papers should include a
brief history of the organization, the players, problems, current programs,
funding sources, and SWOT analysis. Students must include a summary of what
they think the organization must do to improve its governance. Questions that should be addressed include:
• How many members are there on the board? • What is the board composition?
[age, race, sex, occupation, etc.] • What is the board’s structure or how does
it operate? [Are committees used?] • How often does the board meet? • Who is in
charge? • What policies has the board enacted? • Are the policies followed? •
What is the relationship between the board (or the board chair) and the
Executive • Director or Chief Executive
Officer? • What problems does the agency have or do you see? [Include a SWOT
analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the
organization.] • What is the mission? • What are the current programs? 4 • What are the funding sources? • Do you
see any moral, legal, or ethical issues of concern? • What is your assessment
of how the board/organization works and what do you see for its future? These questions are to give you guidance as
to what to cover in the paper. They are
not in any particular order. Students may organize the paper any way they
wish. Students are advised to choose a
nonprofit organization that they can visit to analyze and to attend more than
one board meeting if possible. Due to the fact that some nonprofit boards meet
only quarterly, students must select their organization by July 17 so that they
may be able to attend at least one board meeting before the papers are
due. All papers are due August 6. Advisory boards of any kind may not be used.
You must analyze an organization with an actual governing board. While some
government agencies do similar work to a nonprofit, they do not have a
governing board structure and may not be used. Make sure the board meetings are
at a place you can attend and not many miles away unless you are willing to
make the time and financial commitment to really attend the board meetings. If
the board will only meet one time before August 6 make sure that the board
meeting is one that you can attend.