Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders: Using the Law to Achieve Your Mission

by Elizabeth M Schmidt

Overview

A comprehensive and readily accessible guide to help nonprofit leaders use the law to advance their missions

Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders offers a translation of the convoluted nonprofit legal framework into terms that nonprofit leaders without a law degree can understand. Schmidt provides a lens through which nonprofit leaders can see how these laws can help them pursue their missions and be responsive to the changing needs of the nonprofit sector and of society.

This book shows nonprofit leaders, board members, and volunteers how nonprofit law relates to all aspects of nonprofit management.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647126025
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2025
Series:	Georgetown Studies in Philanthropy, Nonprofits, and Nongovernmental Organizations
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth M. Schmidt is a professor of practice at the School of Public Policy in the University of Massachusetts Amherst who specializes in nonprofits, social enterprises, and policy analysis. She is coauthor of Nonprofit Law: The Life Cycle of a Charitable Organization, 3rd Edition (2021).

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Keep the Mission Front and Center
Chapter Three: Govern Wisely
Chapter Four: Fill the Coffers
Chapter Five: Go into Business?
Chapter Six: Treat Your Stakeholders Well (Just Not Too Well)
Chapter Seven: Advocate for Your Cause
Chapter Eight: Complete the Paperwork
Chapter Nine: Know How to Change Course
Chapter Ten: A Constructive Way Forward
Notes
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Robert Katz

Schmidt distills the complex legal landscape of the charitable sector into eight actionable precepts, empowering changemakers to pursue their missions with confidence and integrity.

H. Art Taylor

An essential guide that transforms complex nonprofit law into clear, actionable guidance. Schmidt masterfully bridges theory and practice, helping leaders understand not just what the rules are but how to apply them effectively in service of their missions. What sets this book apart is its positive framing—rather than focusing on restrictions, it empowers nonprofit leaders to understand what they can do to achieve their goals while staying within legal bounds. The real-world examples and practical insights make this an invaluable resource for both new and experienced nonprofit leaders. This is the book I wish I had when I first joined a nonprofit board.

Mark Sidel

Schmidt's lively volume provides a very important service to nonprofit organizations, leaders, and staff—the best accessible introduction we have to doing good legally. All nonprofit leaders and staff should have this very useful guide to positive, legal action on their shelves.

Martha B. Lackritz-Peltier

Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders accomplishes something that is both unique and sorely needed: it combines a plain-English guide to nonprofit law with the very practical realities that nonprofit leaders face when trying to operationalize their visions. With clear, concise, and compelling writing, Schmidt's book is essential reading for nonprofit managers, executives, and startups, as well as lawyers entering the nonprofit space.

Jacob Harold

Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders is not just a book; it's a methodology for channeling social change passion. Schmidt does her readers a great service by focusing on what the law makes possible, not what it prohibits. This is no small feat; legal confusion too often snuffs out nonprofit passion—even as the law can in fact help keep us oriented toward purpose.

Ruth McCambridge

This book belongs on the bookshelf of any and every serious nonprofit leader. Schmidt refreshingly encourages an informed constraints testing approach, which is too often missing in day-to-day practice.

Editorial Reviews

Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders is both accessible to persons who are not lawyers and helpful to lawyers who dabble in this practice area.

Nonprofit Law Blog

It succeeds. It is helpful, appealing to common-sense ideas and inclinations, and policies and practices.

The Giving Review