Identifying Working Boards


By Jennifer E. Goldman, President of Resonance, LLC

I am often asked if I will serve on a committee or board of nonprofit organizations. As the former Executive Director of a nonprofit organization with a working board (and I use the term ‘working’ very loosely), I weigh this decision very carefully. My decision is based on three things:

  1. Does this organization have a mission that I can feel passionate about?
  2. Does the organization currently have a well-functioning board?
  3. Do I have the ability to truly give of my time, treasure AND talent, according to both their expectations and mine?

Obviously the first and third question are things every prospective board member will have to decide for themselves, but what about the second? How can you tell if an organization’s current board is well-functioning? Here are some tips:

  • Ask to attend a board meeting (or two). Be observant! There should be no more than one or two absentees. The meeting should take only as long as planned – if the board meets once a month an hour should be plenty, if quarterly then two or three. Are decisions being made at the meeting? Are the Executive Committee members making reports to the rest of the board? Are all (or nearly all) board members participating in the meeting? What does the room feel like? Is there a lot of respect, professionalism, passion, energy and enthusiasm?
  • Ask for a list of board members with their professions/talents. There should be a good mix of talent. The best boards have one person who excels in each of the following areas: finance, legal, marketing, organization, sales, development, management. There are others, but these are the most common. Also ask yourself which one of those roles will you fill and are there others already on the board serving the same role?
  • What are the organization’s requirements of a board member? Every member should be REQUIRED to give of their time, treasure and talent, but to a certain extent.  At the very minimum (in my opinion) board members should be required to raise a certain percentage of the annual budget with the option to stroke a check for that total, raise it through other community members, or a combination, attend ALL board meetings, serve on one committee, and attend at least 50 percent of the organization’s major events.
  • Who is the organization’s staff comprised of and what is the turnover rate? Employees coming and going each year is a bad sign.
  • Attend one of the organization’s events. Can you find any board members while you’re there? Are they identifiable even if you didn’t know they were on the board? Are they shaking hands and introducing themselves to attendees and talking about the organization? Are they participating in or working the event, or are they just in attendance?

In all honestly, I can remember clinging to the really passionate and effective board members in the organization I ran. I had wished I could clone them. My goal now is to find a working board that is comprised of nothing but passion, talent and effectiveness – that’s the board I’ll join. They DO exist, I promise.

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