Succession Planning

Succession planning: A grantmaker at a West Coast foundation explained that simply asking for a plan outlining the proposed timeline and steps in the transition process can be a helpful move... Some funders urge their grantees to have in place a written leadership succession plan... The plan should clarify the circumstances under which it would come into effect, along with key roles and responsibilities. One grantmaker also urged the importance of encouraging a “culture inside the organization of knowledge transfer and distributing leadership away from a singular leader.” This, she argued, “eases the organization’s ability to endure a leadership change.” A funder can help by “being clear that the foundation’s relationship is with the organization, not just the director,” and, more specifically, by “extending meeting invitations to more people than just the executive director, welcoming other staff at trainings and events, and supporting leadership development activities within the organization.”

Takeaways are critical, bite-sized resources either excerpted from our guides or written by Candid Learning for Funders using the guide's research data or themes post-publication. Attribution is given if the takeaway is a quotation.

This takeaway was derived from Executive Transitions.

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