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Abstract

This case explores governance and leadership challenges within a growing nonprofit sport organization governed by a volunteer board of directors. Within this case, the Litchberg Valley Rowing Club (LVRC), a rowing organization in a small community, experienced rapid growth in membership, financial resources, and competitive success. Despite this growth, the organization maintained informal governance structures and policies to guide its decision-making. In this case, the board of directors elected to terminate the head coach because of difficult contract negotiations and other issues at hand. This decision was met with public backlash, raising concerns about club leadership and the future of the organization. As a result, the board of directors largely resigned, a new board was appointed, and the head coach was reinstated. The new board is now tasked with addressing operational deficiencies and setting up the club for future success. This case asks students to evaluate the effectiveness of the board’s decision-making process and determine what governance and leadership changes are necessary to ensure long-term organizational stability.

 

Learning Objectives

  • Expound on the basic structure of a nonprofit board of directors with volunteer members;
  • Demonstrate leadership failures in a successful organization;
  • Showcase the need for effective governance in non-profits including formal structures, policies, and responsibilities; and
  • Discuss strategies to identify and prevent organizational failures within nonprofit sport organizations.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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