A few nonprofit groups have recently announced plans to wind down, not over financial problems but because their missions are nearly finished.

Most notable, perhaps, is Malaria No More, a popular nonprofit that supplies bed nets in malaria zones. Its goal is to end deaths from malaria, a target it sees fast approaching.

The charity has announced plans to close in 2015, but it is keeping its options open in the unlikely event that advances against malaria are reversed.

“We never planned to be around forever,” said Scott Case, a co-founder of Priceline and vice chairman of Malaria No More. “We have thought of this more as a project than as an institution-building exercise, and the project is nearing its completion.”

So far, the number of organizations opting to go out of business for mission-related reasons is too small to call a trend. It is still far more common for a nonprofit to close its doors because of financial pressure, which is increasing as governments continue to pare their budgets and donors maintain tight grips on their giving.

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Nonprofit Network has recently been asked by a number of different funders to help them identify a "red flags".  Here are just some of the key questions we know are important to ask... but we also know that while every organization may operates differently, the answers are more important than the questions 

• How often does the board meet and is it often enough to complete the work of the board?
•  When is the last time the bylaws were updated? 
• Describe how the current chair of the board was chosen/elected.
• Do any of the board members receive reimbursement or payment for any reason?
• Describe the process the board uses to approve the organization’s budget.
• Can the board describe a time in the last year that a vote was NOT unanimous. 
• When was the last time the ED had a performance evaluation?
• Duty of Care can be illustrated with board meeting minutes – are the same board members absent again and again with no explanation, do the minutes reflect active conversation?
• Duty of Loyalty can be illustrated in a purposeful conflict of interest policy and disclosure – can the organization describe their COI disclosure process?
• Does the organization have a strategic plan?  Can the success of the organization be measured with the strategic plan?

How would you answer these questions? 

Did we miss an important one?

Let me know:  regina@nonprofnetwork.org