Author: Robert C. Clothier

Close-up of a person's hand signing a formal tax document with a fountain pen, the form's text blurred, warm directional lighting.

What Trustees Don’t Know About Form 990 Can Hurt the Organization

July 4, 2026 No Comments

Most nonprofit trustees approve the annual Form 990 without realizing it is far more than a tax filing. It is a public governance report scrutinized by donors, journalists, regulators, and watchdogs. Learn the sections every board member should review, the risks of overlooking them, and how the Form 990 can strengthen both accountability and public trust.

A single classical column on bedrock supporting a city skyline, illustrating a nonprofit board's fundraising responsibilities.

Give, Get, Govern

June 9, 2026 No Comments

Most trustees think board fundraising means writing a check they can’t afford and begging strangers for money. Wrong on both counts — and that misunderstanding is quietly costing your organization its largest gift. The real duty isn’t giving or getting. It’s governing: setting the vision, funding the work, protecting the long horizon. A board that thinks only about this quarter starves the gift it will never see coming.

Robert C. Clothier

Bob is the founder and principal of Clothier Governance Consulting, advising nonprofit boards — including independent schools and colleges — on governance, fiduciary duty, and board effectiveness. He spent a decade as Vice President and General Counsel of Ursinus College and was previously a partner in the higher-education practice at Saul Ewing LLP. A longtime trustee himself, he served nearly twenty years on the board of The Haverford School, including ten as chair of its trusteeship committee. A graduate of Princeton University, he holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.