ABSTRACT
A focus on external relations in nonprofit organizations assists in understanding that an agency consists of more than the sum of its tangible components, such as employees, finances and real property. Similarly, the skill sets needed by a nonprofit executive extend beyond managing these ‘in house’ components, such as human resources, budgeting and asset management. An external relations perspective helps emphasize that the totality of a nonprofit agency includes people and entities that are outside its formal and legal boundaries and the duties of a nonprofit executive include leading ‘beyond the wall,’ such as through management of external relations.
