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Governance
"Is there a need for this organization?"
Before you create a board of directors this is the most important
question you must ask. This will set the foundation for your research
in identifying whether there actually exists a need for the development
of an organization in your community.
"Do you have a plan?" Your plan should
address four important questions. Who else is doing this?
Do you have community support?
Where is do you plan to get funding from?
Are you the best person for the job?
Scan your community to see what programs exist and explore possible
opportunities for collaboration or a partnership once you have established
a need.
Do you have people who support the development of your organization?
Solicit feedback and ideas. Take as much time as you need to determine
if this is truly a need in your community. Why has this organization
not been created before?
Where will you get funding for this organization? Starting a nonprofit
organization does not take a lot of money, but sustaining a healthy
organization takes well thought financial strategies.
What makes you the best person to start this organization? Do you
have special expertise, or training which qualify you for starting
this organization? Dedication and commitment are needed to embark
on any organizational development, but there are certain practical
considerations to starting and sustaining a new not-for-profit organization.
Once you have identified a need and developed a plan you are ready
to begin.
Building a not-for-profit board will depend on where the organization
is in its life cycle. Are you starting a brand new organization?
Is it an organization that has been in existence for a few years;
or, is it a more mature organization with experienced board members?
There are three stages in the life cycle of a nonprofit board
1. Working/Administrative Board
2. Policy Making Board
3. Policy Governance Board
Some organizations will evolve and move through these three life
cycles and some will not. The important thing is not whether your
organization makes the transition from step one to step three, but
that you recognize where the organization is and plan the creation
and development of your board accordingly.
A brief summary of some of the broad differences between the boards
of organizations depending on the stage of development is as follows:
| Working/Administrative
Board |
| |
|
|
| Role
of the Board Members: |
|
Volunteering
Supporting the Executive Director/Founder |
 |
| Size
of the Board: |
|
3
- 10 |
| |
| Composition
and Style of the Board: |
|
Informal
Less focus on professionals - more "hands on"
Less focus on diversity |
| |
| Approach
of the Board: |
|
Organizing
Building |
| |
| Policy
Making Board |
| |
| Role
of the Board Members: |
|
Governance
Planning
Supervising finances
Some volunteering |
| |
| Size
of the Board: |
|
10
- 25 |
| |
| Composition
and Style of the Board: |
|
More
formal
More professional
More focus on diversity |
| |
| Focus
of the Board: |
|
Governance
Effectiveness |
| |
| Policy
Governance Board |
| |
| Role
of the Board Members: |
|
Governance
Fundraising |
| |
| Size
of the Board: |
|
25
- 40 |
| |
| Composition
and Style of the Board: |
|
Relatively
formal
Access to contacts and donors |
|
|
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Trends in Non-Profit Boards
Once you have determined where you are in the life cycle it will
be helpful to know what the current trends are in nonprofit boards.
| FROM: |
|
TO: |
| |
|
|
| Enjoying
the public trust |
|
Having
to be accountable |
| |
| Forging
individual participatory roles at the discretion of the individual |
|
Being
expected to govern |
| |
| Creating
a loose federation of common interests |
|
Maintaining
a compact community aware of its culture and political dynamics |
| |
| Constituting
the board in large numbers to ensure involvement |
|
Downsizing
to ensure effectiveness |
| |
| Recruiting
new board members based on personal relationships with existing
members or strong emotional commitment to the cause |
|
Recruiting
selectively, based on board members' skills and influence as
they relate to the organization's strategic focus and direction |
| |
| FROM: |
|
TO: |
| Orienting
new board members informally |
|
Holding
formal orientations |
| |
| Agreeing
to be a board member while unclear about role expectations |
|
Being
clear about one's responsibilities |
| |
| Receiving
and reviewing vast amounts of information |
|
Receiving
targeted and strategic information related to key issues |
| |
| Preparing
agendas that reflect immediate past activities |
|
Preparing
highly structured agendas to address key organizational strategies |
| |
| Making
decisions as a committee of the whole |
|
Organizing
effective committee structures to recommend policy to the board |
| |
| Providing
financial oversight with a small, closed group |
|
Sharing
relevant financial information with the entire board |
| |
| Being
uninsured and unaware of potential risks |
|
Having
sufficient insurance and a risk management plan |
| |
| Serving
for unspecified terms |
|
Having
and respecting term limits |
| |
| Having
little or no involvement in fundraising |
|
Being
involved in fundraising according to one's means, talents and
contacts |
| |
| Informally
and irregularly assessing the performance of the Executive Director |
|
Structuring
a regular review of the Chief Executive's performance as it
relates to the organization's stated goals and expected outcomes |
|
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