Roles and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards

Many publications provide excellent guidance for board members on the role of a nonprofit board in general and the role of nonprofit board members individually. 

State Associations of nonprofits offer webinars and in-person training on governance topics, including board roles.  In addition, local volunteer centers, community foundations, university/college programs teach nonprofit governance, and other local organizations that support nonprofits, are good places to find training opportunities for board members. Another option is to engage a consultant to work directly with your nonprofit’s board members.

• Inviting veteran board members to meet with newly elected board members in an orientation meeting can be effective to start to build bonds and encourage the engagement of new board members with their colleagues. Hearing the perspective of a well-regarded peer is compelling. 
• Reviewing the role of the board as a whole, and the individual role of board members, should be covered in an orientation program for new board members, but that’s just the beginning. Remember to include a regular focus on governance issues from time to time throughout the year during board meetings so that all board members are reminded about their legal duties and important governance policies, such as disclosing conflicts of interests and the nonprofit’s conflict of interest policy.
• If your nonprofit is not able to engage a consultant, or identify an appropriate volunteer to lead a training session for your board members, consider using this free on-line training on Board Basics developed by CompassPoint.

Help Board Members Understand Their Roles - Activities and Tools

• Set the expectations early, starting from when your nonprofit recruits a new board member. Share a sample board member agreement with the prospective board member during the cultivation process.
• Just as you would with a paid staff member or a volunteer, put the expectations for board members in writing. Make sure the prospective board member knows how many meetings there are a year and whether a personal contribution to the nonprofit is expected, how many committees and special events board members participate in and what the process for nomination and election is.
• Share this handout on How to Be a Great Board Member.
• Assign each new board member a veteran board member to serve as his/her mentor.
• After the first few months of a board member’s service, ask him/her to complete a confidential mini-self-evaluation to help shape a conversation with the Board Chair (or chair of the board development/governance committee) about how the new board member is adjusting to his or her board service. Use this sample Individual Board Member Self-Evaluation questionnaire.
• Resources, including tips and job descriptions for volunteer treasurers and finance committee members, are available from the National Council’s resources on Financial Management.
• What should be included in minutes of board meetings? Helpful guidance from the Nonprofit Law Blog.
• Review the resources in the Free Management Library’s Toolkit for Boards on Board Roles and Responsibilities.
• Share a few of these questions and answers prepared by BoardSource to kick off a short discussion about board roles and responsibilities at every meeting.
• Download sample documents, such as a sample board of directors' manual, from the online library compiled by Governance Matters.
• Get the Leap of Reason board package for information on strategy, self-assessment, and other topics to keep your board well informed and effective.

Challenges for Today’s Boards

• Help for boards leading their organization through a financial crisis by BoardSource.
• The role of a Treasurer of a nonprofit is challenging. The Nonprofit Assistance Fund offers helpful resources for treasurers and finance committees, including a description of their responsibilities and tips for finding volunteers to serve as treasurers.
• Read the transcript of an interview with Francie Ostrower, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute, discussing the five most challenging issues for nonprofit boards, as reflected in the Urban Institute’s first-ever national survey of mid-sized organizations’ boards (2008).
  • Read the full report: Boards of Mid-Sized Nonprofits, Their Needs and Challenges, by Ostrower, (Urban Institute, 2008).
• Follow the BoardSource blog Exceptional Boards to stay informed on how your board can remain effective in today's changing environment.
• How are boards doing? An annual governance survey by BoardSource spotlights the trends: Nonprofit Governance Index 2010.

Also visit the section on Boards and Governance in the National Council's online bookstore.