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Governance & board development

CEO and executive director transition planning for nonprofits

Signs you need a leadership transition plan

A leadership transition is approaching — planned or unplanned — and the organisation has no succession plan, no process, and no safeguards in place.

What you'll achieve

A well-managed transition that protects organisational continuity, maintains staff and funder confidence, and sets the incoming leader up for success.

How a Nonprofit Builder consultant helps

  • Review existing succession provisions, facilitate a transition planning process with the board, support the handover design, and advise on the recruitment or interim arrangements.

Key deliverables

  • Succession policy, transition risk assessment, handover plan, board communication guide, recruitment brief or interim specification.

From the resource library

Free tools and guides to get started

  • 3.3C037

    A question of balance

    A guide for charity chairs and chief executives on building a working relationship. Based on interviews with 22 chairs and chief executives, it weighs different approaches to the chair's part in day-to-day operations, who represents the charity in public, how close the two should be and how to balance challenge and support. It finds no single formula, so it asks both people to be self-aware, invest time and adjust when the relationship is not working.

    Start hereClassicKey manual or guideFree
  • 14.2C188

    Thinking Through the Business Model

    A short worksheet from Nonprofit Finance Fund that helps a nonprofit team describe its business model. It has 6 prompts: mission, market (who receives services and who pays for them), programmes, expenses, revenue and outreach. Teams fill it in together, often before a budget or strategy session, to see how the parts connect and where money and mission pull apart.

    Start hereClassicTool or templateFree