Non-profit Board Responsibilities
Overview of Non-profit Board Governance
A non profit's board of directors has several important responsibilities to fulfill. This article reviews basic non-profit board governance.
A board of directors is the governing body of a non-profit organization. It has many serious responsibilities, which can be loosely categorized as follows:
1. Setting the policy for the organization. This is done by:
- Creating or updating the mission and vision statements.
- Determining the organization’s programs and services.
- Approving the strategic plan.
2. Monitoring the organization’s operations:
- Hiring and periodically evaluating the organization’s executive director.
- Working with and providing support to the executive.
- Approving the annual budget, annual report, etc.
- Approving major contracts and grants.
- Soliciting and reviewing program evaluations.
- Troubleshooting as necessary.
3. Serving as a public figure for the organization
- Fundraising, by directly donating to the non-profit and soliciting donations from others.
- Advocating for the organization.
4. Fufilling other board responsibiltiies
- Documenting policies and decisions to create an organizational memory.
- Preparing for and attending board meetings.
- Researching and discussing issues before decisions are made.
- Replacing and orienting board members when a vacancy arises.
A board of directors also has certain legal obligations, known as duties. While the details may vary from state to state, here are some common legal responsibilities for members of non-profit boards to:
- Take reasonable care when making decisions for the organization (called “duty of care”)
- Act in the best interest of the organization (called “duty of loyalty”)
- Act in accordance with the organization’s mission (called “duty of obedience”)
- Stand aside when there is a conflict of interest (called “recusal”)
While there a board has many responsibilities, there are also things it should avoid. Basically, board members should avoid being over- or under-involved. More specifically, the board of directors should not:
- Concern itself with the day-to-day management of the organization. That is the executive director’s job.
- Rubber stamp decisions. While the board should take the recommendations of the organization’s director, staff, and members into consideration, the board needs to be an independent decision-making body.
More on Non-profit Boards of Directors:
