One Month In. The Work Has Already Begun.
What nonprofit leaders are revealing about governance gaps, legal risk, and the systems they’ve been forced to navigate without
One month ago, Good Works Legal Solutions opened its doors.
The response to our launch has been remarkable.
Nonprofit leaders have been showing up, reaching out, and sharing their stories since day one. Not because we introduced something new, but because we said something out loud that leaders have been carrying quietly for a long time.
Leaders are making high-stakes governance and legal decisions every day, often without access to clear, affordable legal guidance, or even a place to think those decisions through.
That’s why we exist. To help leaders recognize when something doesn’t feel right and pause long enough to get clarity before moving forward. Because when that pause doesn’t happen, decisions get made that carry consequences no one intended.
We’re here to sit upstream of crisis. To help nonprofit leaders think clearly before common governance and legal compliance issues turn into something much harder to unwind.
Preventive care for the legal and governance health of your organization.
And you are part of that work.
COMMUNITY UPDATE
What We Heard at Our Housewarming
On March 26, we hosted our first gathering: Welcome In: Building Stronger Governance with Living Bylaws.
Leaders joined from across the country, and one from St. Lucia.
And once people started talking, the patterns showed up quickly.
One leader shared that his board was so disengaged, he couldn’t remember what some of the members looked like. Another described bylaws written decades ago that no longer reflect how the organization actually operates, but acknowledged they were still technically controlling. A third described a board that had lost its footing entirely, and how helping them return to the bylaws became the only way to reset expectations.
And underneath all of it was the same throughline: leaders are figuring this out as they go, without infrastructure.
When bylaws aren’t usable, people improvise. When roles aren’t clear, people overstep or disappear. When there’s no structure for decision-making, conflict either escalates or gets avoided entirely.
That’s what happens when the system isn’t doing its job.
Another theme came through clearly: most boards are not actually using their bylaws.
Bylaws are simply not written in a way that supports real-time decision-making. As one participant put it, bylaws exist, but they’re not part of how the board actually operates.
The good news is that once that disconnect is named, you can start to do something about it.
To everyone who joined us, thank you. You didn’t just show up. You contributed to shaping this work.
GOVERNANCE & LEGAL COMPLIANCE BRIEFING
How $1.3 Million Walks Out the Door
Federal prosecutors recently indicted the former board chair and executive director of a New York-based nonprofit, along with two others, in connection with a scheme involving the theft of more than $1.3 million.
According to the indictment, the board chair and executive director controlled both decision-making and financial activity, and allegedly directed the nonprofit to make payments to companies they controlled, approved or pushed through transactions that didn’t correspond to real services, created the appearance of legitimate partnerships to justify large transfers of funds, steered contracts to specific vendors in exchange for kickbacks, and failed to disclose those financial relationships to the board.
This allegedly unfolded over several years, between 2020 and 2024, which means there were multiple points where stronger governance might have surfaced questions earlier.
Here are a few places to focus if you’re thinking about how this could show up in your own organization.
1. Conflict of Interest Is Not a Form. It’s a Process.
If disclosures only happen once a year, and only at the board level, you’re missing when conflicts actually arise.
In practice, this means board members and senior staff complete an annual disclosure but also update it any time a new relationship or interest emerges. Meeting agendas include a standing prompt for conflict disclosures tied to the items being discussed. Leaders are expected to name potential conflicts early, even if they’re not sure whether something qualifies. And recusals are documented in meeting minutes, including both discussion and voting.
This is less about paperwork and more about creating a norm. People should know what to disclose and feel expected to say it out loud.
2. Financial Oversight Starts With Access, Then Moves to Inquiry
Some boards aren’t receiving regular financial reports at all. That’s the first issue to fix.
At a minimum, the board should receive financial reports monthly, even if the board doesn’t meet monthly. A standing monthly report keeps visibility consistent.
From there, oversight means engagement: reviewing reports that are clear enough to understand without translation, asking questions about large payments, new vendors, or unusual patterns, understanding who has authority to approve expenditures and within what limits, and establishing approval thresholds for contracts and significant transactions.
You don’t need to be a financial expert. But you do need to be paying attention.
3. Vendor Relationships Should Be Transparent and Verifiable
In this case, leaders allegedly steered work to vendors they were connected to and received kickbacks in return. That’s exactly the type of risk vendor oversight is meant to address.
Basic due diligence should include knowing who owns and controls each vendor, identifying any relationships between vendors and insiders, documenting how vendors are selected, comparing pricing or proposals where appropriate, and avoiding long-term dependence on a single vendor without review.
If you can’t explain how a vendor was chosen or who benefits from that relationship, that’s where to pause.
None of this guarantees that misconduct won’t happen. But it makes it much harder to hide, and much easier to catch early. That’s the role of governance.
WHAT WE’VE BUILT AND HOW TO ENGAGE
We’ve been building. Here’s what’s now available, what’s launching soon, and where you can engage.
The Living Bylaws Studio™ — Enrollment Is Open
Most bylaws were written at formation, using a template, under time pressure. Then the organization evolved. But the bylaws didn’t.
So now you have a document that technically governs your organization but doesn’t reflect how decisions are actually made.
The Living Bylaws Studio™ is a small-cohort experience designed to fix that. We work with you to turn your bylaws into something usable, clear, aligned with your values, and actually referenced in decision-making.
You leave with updated plain-language bylaws that reflect how your organization operates, a governance philosophy that anchors decision-making, a structure for keeping the document current, and a clear path for board adoption.
If your bylaws are outdated, unclear, or sitting on a shelf, this is a strong place to start.
Sessions begin April 30. Enrollment closes April 27. Seats are limited.
The Stewardship Standard — Launching April 14
This monthly publication takes real cases and breaks down what they actually mean for nonprofit leaders. Not hypotheticals. Not theory. Real situations, analyzed through a governance and legal lens, so you can see how these issues unfold in practice.
Free content is an important part of our strategy to make governance and legal compliance knowledge accessible to small and mid-sized nonprofits. Most leaders don’t have consistent access to legal guidance. This is one way we begin to close that gap.
Other Publications Launching Soon
Impact Starters is designed for early-stage leaders building organizations and working to get the structure right from the beginning.
Nonprofit Law, Explained offers plain-language breakdowns of the rules shaping nonprofit governance and operations.
Governance Consultations — Now Easier to Book
We’ve heard from you, and we’re listening. For leaders who want to talk through a governance challenge but aren’t sure where to start, we’ve updated our consultation structure to make access easier. We’ve also added consultation packages for those who need more than a one-time conversation.
A governance consultation gives you structured time to walk through what’s happening, understand the governance dimensions at play, and get clear on your options. Better decisions, made with clarity, reduce legal risk.
Closing
It’s been a meaningful first month. What’s stood out most isn’t just the interest in this work, but the honesty leaders are bringing to it.
We’re looking forward to continuing this work alongside you, building the clarity and infrastructure nonprofit leaders deserve.