DCM Institute for Nonprofit Board & Executive Leadership

Strengthening Your Leadership and Board Today

Our mission is to provide enhanced performance educational tools to nonprofit boards and executive leadership through a series of online training programs, board and organizational assessments, annual board and CEO evaluations, webinars and conferences along with strategic advice to enable nonprofit organizations of all sizes to unlock their true potential and increase their social impact, whether locally, nationally or internationally.

Today, more than ever, nonprofit boards and leaders have to be performance and results driven. Board and leadership coaching, performance assessments and evaluations can be very beneficial to those who would like to improve their leadership results.

Dennis C. Miller, the Founder & Chairman of DCM Associates, has extensive experience as a chief executive officer, board chair, foundation president and nationally recognized leadership coach that allows him to relate to others because he’s been in their shoes. DCM Associates has advised hundreds of nonprofit organizations across the country on how to unlock their potential and achieve their strategic vision. They can work with you to improve the integration of board governance, leadership development, philanthropy and succession planning.

Client Testimonials

Todd Nelson
Board Chair
CAHME

Dr. Anthony Stanowski
President & CEO
CAHME

Anne Ogden
Executive Director
CTC Academy

Stephen N. Lawrence, PhD, MPA
Chair, Council on Trustees
Bonnie Brae

“Dennis provided a valuable training to our board at which many board members and senior executive staff participated in hearty discussions with great profit to us. Many board members were grateful for his insights and help with several key areas of need. We are grateful for Dennis’ expertise and wisdom with non-profit organizational matters, and the assistance he gave to SCARC, Inc. We would look forward to a further relationship with Dennis and his company for future needs and assistance.”

Richard C. Lecher, Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
SCARC, Inc.

“The annual evaluation of board and executive performance is a key duty for nonprofit boards. Understanding the partnership, roles and responsibilities as well as insights on how to improve are critical to both the short and long-term success. The DCM Executive Leadership & Board Governance Assessment Survey and their CEO Annual Performance Evaluation tools enabled our board and CEO to understand our current performances and helped us identify areas of focus for improvement going forward. The coaching style of DCM helped to facilitate discussion and identify an action plan forward. I highly recommend their services.”

Todd Nelson, FHFMA, MBA
Chairperson
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education

“DCM’s Annual CEO Performance Evaluation including the CEO Self-Evaluation survey, the Executive Leadership and Board Governance Online Assessment Survey and the DCM 360 Leadership Development Survey create a comprehensive review and communication tool for the Board and CEO. The feedback provided from the assessment and evaluation tools was insightful and validating. The tools provide a comprehensive review of management competencies, leadership behavior, and progress toward meeting strategic organizational goals by incorporating the perspective of the board members and direct reports, compared to your own perceptions. I highly recommend these tools and the process supported by Dennis and his team!”

Anne Ogden, Executive Director
CTC Academy

“The DCM Executive Leadership & Board Governance Assessment Survey and their CEO Annual Performance Evaluation tools enabled our board and CEO to create a baseline evaluation of our current performances and helped us develop a specific plan of action going forward to ensure the sustainability of our mission. I highly recommend them.”

Robert Kley, Chair of the Board
Monarch Housing Associates

“One of the most important responsibilities of a Governing Board is the annual assessment of the Chief Executive Officer to whom operations of an organization are delegated. Not for profit organizations with rotating officers on the board have a daunting task to standardize the evaluation. To make the process objective, and to engage all officers of the Board, takes much effort and time. CAHME determined to outsource the initial part of the process in 2020-21. DCM assists in standardizing the Performance Evaluation survey to make it timely and more efficient. DCM created and performed a Board survey with elements of our prior assessments. The survey was completed much earlier in the past with the entire participation of the Board. DCM also facilitated the CEO self-evaluation and summarized all results. I am extremely pleased that the Board chose DCM to assist CAHME in the Performance Evaluation survey and assessment process. I highly recommend that other organizations consider DCM.”

Dolores G. Clement, DrPH, FACHE
Chairperson
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education

“The Children’s Home of Easton has utilized DCM Associates for their Executive Coaching and a Board Retreat for Directors and Senior Leaders. Alan Weisberg worked with myself as Executive Director that enhanced both myself and my senior leadership team and as a result, we truly do now have a thriving high functioning senior leadership team. Dennis Miller facilitated our Directors and Senior Leadership Retreat and both Directors and Senior Leaders learned a great deal of how to work together to take our agency to the next level with improved communication, increased awareness, understanding our roles, and reviewed our structure as leaders, both board and staff. The information and presentations were extremely insightful and sparked great conversation about different areas of our agency and internal and external forces we face doing business. Working with DCM Associates is always professional and we are grateful for what we all gained from them as a result.”

Anita Jo Paukovits, M.Ed.
Executive Director/President

“Dennis Miller and his team developed an extremely valuable assessment of our governing board at the Santa Fe Recovery Center. His perceptions and insights resulted in actional recommendations our board understood, embraced, and implemented. Those recommendations led to more effective oversight enabling us to become a more effective substance use disorder recovery organization. Furthermore, Allan Weisberg of DCM conducted 360 evaluations of both the board chair and CEO—one of the recommendations of Dennis’s assessment. These evaluations were comprehensive, they effectively collected the perspectives of the many people who participate in our organization’s success. Allan’s insights into the meaning of the 360 results enabled me as board chair to develop an improvement plan that’s paying great dividends.”

Thomas Starke, PhD, Chairperson, Board of Directors
Santa Fe Recovery Center

“Dennis Miller can ‘talk the talk’ because Dennis has ‘walked the walk’; he’s been there, done that! You know immediately that Dennis isn’t merely speaking from the theoretical or from a textbook but rather, he has a wealth of rich and tremendous knowledge to draw from when providing counsel. And his communication style is refreshing – Dennis doesn’t mince words…he tells it like it is! In the seat I occupy, it’s comforting to know I can tap into that treasure of experience to help advance the mission I am privileged to represent.”

Tom Weatherall, President & CEO
Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey

“My Board had heard it all before and knew what had to happen but, didn’t know how to make it happen. Dennis assessed our organization, conducted meaningful interviews with key individuals and made recommendations that we could begin implementing immediately. His strategic retreat facilitation inspired and engaged every member of our board to recommit to our vision and work towards achieving it with confidence.”

Kathy Goldstein, Chairperson, Board of Trustees
CPC Behavior Healthcare, Inc.