Interview the CEO of a nonprofit organization and ask the
following questions:
a. How did you become involved with this organization? (Or, if the
leader also founded the organization: Why did you start this
organization? How has it grown or changed over time?)
b. Can you tell me about the work your organization does and the
program or programs you run? [As a follow up, what differentiates
you from other organizations?] (Here you are trying to get at how the
organization is unique while confirming your impression of what
causes or people it serves, what programs it offers, and how it gets
results.) What do you think your constituents or beneficiaries would
say is the best thing about your organization?
c. What results does your organization achieve? How has your program
improved over time?
d. What are your goals for the next three to five years? What priorities
will help you achieve them? What barriers are in your way?
e. What proportion of your revenue for next year will come from similar
sources to this year’s revenue? Do you have plans to increase this
consistency over time? (Here you are trying to get a sense of how
stable/unstable their revenue picture is, and how dependent it is on a
few decision-makers.)
f. Where is your leadership team strong, and where does it need
development?
g. What is the hardest decision the organization has had to make
recently, and how did you evaluate the tradeoffs involved?
h. What do you, personally, spend most of your time on?