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All non-profit organizations begin with governance. Whether you are a small non-profit
just starting up or a multi-million dollar national association, effective
board governance is key in achieving you mission.
Boards have four key responsibilities: Legal and fudiciary,
Oversight, Fundraising and Representation of the stakeholders
in the mission of the organization.
There are many different types of nonprofit boards. There
are working boards where the board carries out many of
the roles and responsibilities otherwise performed by staff.
In these situation the board should be very careful not
to get confused about whether they are acting in the capacity
of staff or representing the board.There are policy making
boards who carry out the mission of the organization by
setting policy and then hiring staff to carry out the programs
and objectives of the organization.Then there are boards
that are everything in between those two types. There is
no one size fits all and each organization must determine
it’s governance style.
Some key elements of all successful boards are:
- A strong recruitment and nomination process
- Effective board orientation
- Well defined Board roles and responsibilities
- Commitment to financial literacy on the part of the
board
- Effective meetings and process
- Committee structure that helps the board do it’s
business
- Planned commitment to strategic planning
- Code of ethics and conflict of interest policies
- Regular monitoring and evaluation of executive staff
- Commitment to fundraising on the part of all individuals
- Leadership
Some resources to consider reviewing are:
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