Asked how he would not know about a $500,000 payment from the alliance, Jackson said: "I wasn't chief financial officer, I was chief operating officer." (from the Philadelphia Inquirer).
I don't read much about the idea that nonprofits have "C-suites". It's true that that such nomenclature tends to be limited to the corporate sector but in reality, more and more nonprofits have been adopting the C-suite language in senior executive titles -- not I presume to establish pretty names but more to label folks correctly and reflect the job. So Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Finance Officer etc. -- within a nonprofit of reasonable size or greater, the titles do indeed, in my experience, correctly reflect job.
That said, I found the quote I used to begin this blog somewhat comic. One of the best attributes of Nonprofits I believe is their focus on process and teams. Actually, the corporate sector is big on teams too but maybe not so much process. But this beginning line, while ludicrous at first impression, does raise the question as to whether some nonprofits are as good at creating silos as for-profits. That would be my first impression if the COO says they don't have a clue about a half-million dollar gift to the organization. And often times, most nonprofits would be announcing such gifts everywhere, not to just senior-level managers.
But, really? Is it possible even without grand announcements, that the COO would be unaware of a major gift? Team or not, at least this type and much information "trickles down"and across the ranks.
Is there a nonprofit COO who wouldn't know about a large gift they likely would be managing if they were COO?