Interview the CEO of a Non Profit Organizations and ask him/her 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?
