The Nonprofit FAQ

What are good jobs to keep board members involved?
Ina Frank wrote:

First and foremost: Think about leaders in a
different
way than you might think about office volunteers. Leadership leads.
They
set policy. Maybe with professional staff's guidance and
recommendations;
but it's their responsibility, both legally and organizationally.

Committees are one of the best ways to engage people who want to
help.
Engage them in areas where they have an interest and can be most
helpful. Committees do much of the preliminary work on certain
topics;
they gather information and make recommendations between board
meetings.
If the real work doesn't happen then, it's very difficult for the
organization to be effective.

Common committees are: Executive, development (both people and
money,
though usually the latter), nominating, personnel, finance, audit
and
education.

Jane Garthson added:

I think they should be out fundraising and raising public awareness
on
the agency's mission.

Are there some other "regular" activities they should be involved
in?"

The role of a Board is something the Board and Executive Director
(ED)
should spend time defining, as it is critical and not simple.

I assume in this case there are staff and non-Board volunteers, so
the
Board is not delivering the services of your agency. In that case,
the
Board role is normally defined as primarily policy-setting the
overall
direction for the organization (desired "ends") and leaving the
"means"
and details up to the Executive Director and staff. The Board must
manage its relationship with the ED, including hiring, appraisal and
dismissal as for any management relationship, but also including
setting
any limits on his or her authority. For example, does the Board want
approval of capital projects but will leave operational cost
decisions
to the ED?

The Board's role is to represent members, clients and other
stakeholders
in making the major decisions for the organization. It also
represents
the agency to the community, and as such must be involved in public
awareness and fund-raising to some extent. The extent relates to the
availability of staff time and expertise and the relationship with
major
donors and partners. Board member time on fund-raising is usually
better
spent in meeting with foundations, corporations, service clubs and
the
like than in event organization.

The Board must take responsibility for its own renewal and
development.
In other words, it must find replacements for members whose terms
are
expiring, and should do so in consideration of skills gaps,
representation gaps (e.g. if no clients are on the board, find some,
or
some proxy clients; for example, all clients are children, find
parents
for the Board). Thus, if the Board has no other committee, it should
have a Nominating Committee preparing for the election and Annual
General Meeting.

One Board I am on has split the work of Board members between
"Board"
committees-Nominating, Fund-Raising, Public Relations, Planning and
Evaluation (at the organization level, not the program level), and
Finance/Audit-and "Management" Committees. The Executive Director
decides what management committees are needed and whether he wants
any
board members on them, basically they let him have access to board
members with special skills so they can help him carry out his
management responsibilities. Board committees report to the Board at
Board meetings; management committees do not although the Executive
Director's report may deal with their issues and progress.

Another board I am on has no staff, only an association management
company that charges for each task, so we even do things like
banking
ourselves. We have no choice about being hands-on, but as much as
possible such details should be kept out of Board meetings so that
the
Board as a group can concentrate on its leadership responsibilities.

Our Board also includes people who are regular volunteers in our
programs, so we don't lose touch with the clients, staff and other
volunteers.

There are a number of books about boards (don't bother with anything
written before 1990; the thinking is changing too much) and many
colleges and unversities have courses in non-profit management,
ranging
one day seminars to MBA programs. If there is an umbrella group in
your
community they may also run conferences or seminars; in my community
the
United Way takes lead on this.




The Free Management Library notes that one of the best ways to keep board members involved is by including them in appropriate board committees. For a description of typical board committees, see http://www.mapnp.org/library/boards/brdcmtte.htm . For suggestions to ensure strong attendance to committees, see http://www.mapnp.org/library/boards/goodcmte.htm . Also see the Board Attendance Policy at http://www.mapnp.org/library/boards/brdattnd.htm




Revised 8/11/99 -- CM