CEO succession in nonprofit community-based organizations: is there room for insiders at the top?

In this article we investigated the degree to which nonprofit organizations have developed succession plans and to what degree there is room at the top for insiders to succeed incumbents. Twelve nonprofit community‐based organizations (CBOs) within a major urban center in the northeastern portion of the USA served as our sample. CEOs responded to a questionnaire and were interviewed to collect personal and organizational data. Findings included that most of the organizations did not have succession plans; boards of directors, not incumbent CEOs, appointed successors, except in the case of founders; and despite the fact that insiders are provided with leadership training, they are often not promoted to the position of CEO. Implication for leadership and organization development and recommendations for future research are made.