Boards & Governance

Never before has the role of nonprofit board members been so important. With many nonprofits stretched beyond capacity trying to meet serious community needs in uncertain times, board members must provide both bold leadership and steady stewardship.

Historically, the structure of charitable nonprofits in America has placed sizable responsibilities on board members. These part-time, usually unpaid, board members are tasked with legal obligations of serving as fiduciaries to ensure that the nonprofit’s assets serve a public benefit. Board members also serve the role of visionaries, community leaders, cheerleaders for their nonprofit’s mission, and ambassadors to donors, potential donors, volunteers, and clients/consumers of the nonprofit’s services.

Q: Can nonprofit board members be paid?

A: The vast, indeed overwhelming majority of board members of charitable nonprofits are unpaid volunteer members of their boards of directors. It is extremely rare for board members of charitable nonprofits in the United States to be paid.

Board members of nonprofit organizations may find themselves a bit overwhelmed by the task of bringing their nonprofit up to speed with the most current governance practices. It’s a hard task. Even so, it is the responsibility of each nonprofit’s board of directors, individually and collectively, to identify, adopt, and implement policies and practices of good governance.

Our website offers nonprofit leaders various resources to help them navigate the challenges of learning about and adopting the most appropriate governance practices for their nonprofit. The tools and resources in the Governance Resource section reflect the trends and challenges currently facing nonprofit leaders. Many resources describe practices that help to increase the “transparency” and “accountability” of nonprofits, (see also our separate Resources on Ethics and Accountability). Plus, you will find information on selecting the right board members, leadership succession, effective meetings and the importance of diversity on boards, among other topics. The resources on these pages should help guide and inspire conversations about good governance among board members and among staff.

If you would like these website resources to feature more information on any particular topic, please let us know. Also, if you are interested in keeping up to date with developments in the governance area, be sure to sign up for the National Council of Nonprofits’ free e-Newsletter, Nonprofit Knowledge Matters, from the side bar on any page of this website.

Remember that state associations of nonprofits offer capacity building trainings and affordable webinars on governance topics, as well as opportunities to network with your peers. Some state associations also offer resources for matching board members with nonprofits.

Explore more information on governance topics from the following links:

• IRS Form 990 governance guidance
• Good governance resources offered by State Association Members of the National Council
• Roles and responsibilities of nonprofit boards
• Board development: how to identify, recruit, orient, and educate your board
• Board member self-assessment
• Diversity on boards
• Various tools on board governance from the online library of Governance Matters