By Elizabeth Brown
This summer, the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys (CFFK) experienced a passing of the baton. After years of dedicated service in a variety of leadership roles, longtime board member Jodi Weinhofer completed her term. Thankfully, “terming off” doesn’t mean saying goodbye. Jodi will always be part of our foundation family. We also welcomed three new board members: Tim Ervin, William Monroe and Kevin Trapani. We’re excited about the knowledge and energy they’ll bring, but it’s difficult to let go of the good ones.
Jodi was one of the very best. She embodied what it means to serve. She didn’t just attend meetings, she participated. She offered thoughtful counsel, opened doors, made introductions and invested personally in our mission. If you’ve spent much time around nonprofits, you know how rare that combination is and how hard it is to let go of people like that.
But that’s exactly what good governance is all about.
The truth is, organizations don’t grow because of any one person. They grow because good people build good systems that outlast them.
Sometimes governance asks us to follow the bylaws when our hearts would rather make an exception. Sometimes it means term limits for someone we’d happily keep forever. Sometimes it means slowing down to make sure decisions are made the right way instead of the easy way.
That can be frustrating, but it’s what makes organizations healthy.
Transitions are a test. They tell us whether we’ve built something sustainable. If we’ve done our jobs well, the mission continues, new leaders step in and the organization keeps moving forward.
There’s another lesson in all of this: None of us is permanent. Regardless of our role, we are all simply stewards for a season, and our hope should be to leave them a little stronger than we found them.
Thankfully, strong and transparent governance has been, and will remain, one of the cornerstones of the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys. We’re grateful to every board member, regional council member, volunteer and staff member who helped bring us to where we are today and continue to shape where we’re going next.
If you’d like to learn more about nonprofit governance, please join us on Sept. 16 in Marathon for our fifth annual Florida Keys Nonprofit Day, presented by the Florida Keys Funders Alliance. This year’s program will feature an overview of new legislation that’s affecting nonprofits across Florida by the Florida Nonprofits Alliance. Then in October, join us for Leadership Success Academy, our signature two-day program on nonprofit leadership and board governance.
Speaking of stewardship, August is National Make-A-Will Month. One of the greatest gifts we can leave isn’t just to our families, but to the causes that have shaped our lives and will continue shaping our community. If you’d like to learn more about including a charitable gift in your estate plans, we’d be happy to help.
To Jodi, and to every board member serving organizations throughout the Keys, whether you’re just beginning your service, continuing it or finishing your final term, thank you. It’s that everyday, often unsung leadership that keeps our organizations moving forward and our communities stronger.
Good governance isn’t always exciting. In fact, when it’s working well, you hardly notice it at all. But it’s one of the reasons our missions continue long after each of us hands off the baton.
Elizabeth Brown is president and CEO of the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, whose mission is to connect people with resources to fill needs in the local community. More information is at cffk.org.
