Why a Nonprofit Ombud Might Be the Most Impactful Volunteer Role Your Organization Ever Adds

An anonymous former nonprofit CEO recently wrote a powerful essay for Blue Avocado about a problem nonprofit leaders often discuss privately over drinks but rarely address openly. 

As a summary, these three passages give an overview the essay’s:

Definition of the problem 

“Every CEO I know has faced this: A single, strong personality on the board who dominates meetings, undermines leadership, and becomes the de facto decision-maker — not because they have the authority, but because no one else wants to challenge them. 

This creates a culture of complicity. Dysfunction isn’t challenged.”

Explanation of the impact on the CEO 

“The CEO is left managing the fallout while trying to protect the nonprofit’s staff, reputation, and mission delivery — all while their own leadership is being chipped away.”

Suggested solution for board members 

“If you’re a board member, here’s what I want you to know: Silence is not neutrality. Your role is governance. That includes governance of your own behavior, and that of your peers.

Stop excusing dysfunction just because someone ‘means well’ or has been there a long time. Speak up. You may be a volunteer, but your decisions hold lives, jobs, and futures in their hands.”

The author’s call to action makes an important point — but it also places a heavy burden on individual board members to confront uncomfortable behavior despite the risk to their personal and professional behaviors.

There's a different solution, though, that eases the burden of dealing with this issue on both staff members and other board members — a nonprofit ombud. 

Introducing Ombuds: a potential solution

The word ombud comes from a Swedish term meaning “a person who has an ear to the people.” 

It’s an apt description: organizational ombuds roles exist to give less powerful staff and stakeholders at an organization a neutral place to raise concerns long before they become crises.

According to the International Ombuds Association, organizational ombuds — whether volunteer or paid — serve as “trusted advisors leading the way toward more just, engaged, and inclusive organizations.” They offer a pathway for people to surface issues confidentially without fear of retaliation or escalation.

In a TEDx talk on organizational conflict, ombuds practitioner Tom Kosakowski explains that people who are navigating internal concerns need someone who is confidential, neutral, independent, and informal. 

An ombud doesn’t replace the board, HR, or legal counsel. Instead, the role fills the gap between silence and formal complaint — giving nonprofits a structured, trusted way to surface concerns early and keep their governance healthy.

Ombuds are a long-established role in certain types of nonprofits

While ombuds may feel new to many nonprofit leaders, the role has existed for decades in several nonprofit sub-sectors:

1. Universities

   Higher education has long relied on examples like the Loyola Marymount Ombuds Services to provide a confidential, neutral space for students, staff, and faculty to raise concerns. These offices aim to increase satisfaction, offer a “safety net” for issues not addressed through normal channels, and prevent escalation that could otherwise lead to litigation.

   
   

2. Healthcare providers

   Large healthcare organizations like Kaiser Permanente use ombuds or patient advocates as part of their grievance systems. These roles help resolve concerns early, maintain confidentiality, and surface systemic issues that affect quality of care.

   
   

3. Large national nonprofits

   The American Red Cross has operated a corporate ombuds office since 2007, offering staff, volunteers, and stakeholders a neutral channel for raising concerns. Their ombuds function is considered part of the organization’s governance and accountability infrastructure, not just an HR support.

Now ombuds are a growing trend in other modern, future-ready orgs

Now more nonprofits are now adopting them as part of modern governance practice.

A 2023 Forbes Nonprofit Council article argued that ombuds are becoming essential for organizations navigating increasingly complex stakeholder environments. They help improve communication, reduce conflict, and support stronger decision-making.

The National Council of Nonprofits’ 2024 policy agenda similarly calls for stronger accountability structures, including neutral reporting mechanisms, to help boards fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.

Major foundations are also moving in this direction. In 2024, the MacArthur Foundation launched a formal organizational ombuds program for its global staff, signaling that the role is shifting from an HR support function to a core governance tool.

Even policymakers are recognizing the need. In 2024, New Jersey introduced legislation to create a statewide Office of Nonprofit Ombudsperson, designed to help nonprofits navigate compliance, surface concerns, and strengthen public trust.

Together, these signals point to a clear trend: ombuds functions are rapidly becoming part of what it means to operate a future-ready, well-governed nonprofit.

Problems the Ombuds Can Help Avoid

The main problems ombuds help organizations avoid stem from breaches of board fiduciary responsibility. 

In for-profit companies, boards are fiduciaries for shareholders; in nonprofits, boards are fiduciaries of the mission and people served. 

The category of breaches that tend to garner the most publicity fall under Duty of Loyalty (like self-dealing or embezzlement).

The types of breaches that tend to be resolved privately, but can still be very damaging, include:

• Breaches of Duty of Care (such as making decisions without adequate information, ignoring financial warnings, rubber-stamping proposals without due diligence, or failing to address known risks)

• Breaches of Duty of Obedience (such as bypassing bylaws, allowing individual board members to overstep authority, making unilateral decisions that belong to the full board, or interfering in day-to-day operations reserved for staff)

These breakdowns typically create three types of harm:

1. Damage to the Organization’s Results 

   Poor governance almost always shows up first in performance. Without guardrails, boards make decisions without adequate information or challenge, leading to stalled initiatives, misallocated resources, unrealistic strategies, and weakened leadership focus. An ED pulled into board dysfunction spends less time on programs, fundraising, and execution, and the mission suffers as a result.

   
   

2. Damage to Board & Staff Morale — and to the Organization’s Reputation 

   Board and staff quickly sense when fiduciary duties are slipping. Turnover rises, communication breaks down, and priorities lose momentum. Donors and partners notice patterns of instability long before root causes are named. When governance issues finally surface, stakeholders often learn they were ignored or mishandled, causing reputational harm that can take years to repair.

   
   

3. Liability 

   When governance concerns go unaddressed, liability increases on several fronts. 

   
   

   A) Directors & Officer's insurance claims Any stakeholder affected by any breaches of fiduciary responsibility could have standing to bring a claim against the organization's D&O insurance.

   
   

   B) Employment-Related liability claims Retaliation or wrongful termination claims become more likely when there is no safe reporting path for staff. 

   
   

   C) Personal Liability for Board Members Directors may be exposed when they ignore clear red flags, fail to exercise reasonable inquiry, or allow individual board members to exceed their authority.

An ombuds helps surface concerns early, route them appropriately, and give the board the opportunity to address issues before they cause real harm.

Resources to get started

Here are a few resources that can help organizations explore or adopt an ombuds function:

• Nonprofit Ombuds A shared-service model that provides independent, confidential ombuds support specifically for nonprofits that may not have the budget to build an internal function.
  

• International Ombuds Association

  An organization with great free resources about what an organizational ombuds is, the standards they follow, and how the model works across sectors.
  

• A real-world Idealist post for a volunteer ombuds  

  This ombuds role is in the long-term care sector, showing how trained volunteers can effectively support confidentiality, neutrality, and early conflict resolution

Another resource – join the Proimpact ED Hive! 

If conversations like this remind you how isolating nonprofit leadership can be, the Proimpact ED Hive offers a simple way to get real support. Each month, you’ll be matched with another Executive Director for a candid 30-minute conversation — no prep, no pressure, just someone who understands the realities of board dynamics and leadership.

It’s free, easy, and designed to help you feel less alone in the hardest parts of this work.

👉 Join the Proimpact ED Hive today!