Stan Hutton - Nonprofit Kit For Dummies

In any organization, building practices that create financial checks and balances is a good idea. These practices are particularly important when board members also act as staff. For example, an organization has better financial oversight and control when one person approves bills for payment, a different person signs the checks, and another person reviews the canceled checks and monthly bank statements. You don’t have to use this system — it’s just one way to make sure that funds are used and accounted for properly.

You don’t want just anybody to serve on your board. You want to choose the members of your community who believe in what you’re doing and who will attend all your meetings, advocate for your programs, provide honest and ethical oversight to the organization, make regular and generous donations, and sweep the floor on weekends.

Perhaps, not surprisingly, you won’t find many board members who fit this description. Even so, the following three traits are critical to the success of the organization:

Believing in the mission

Being a strong advocate on behalf of its programs

Serving the organization as a careful and honest board member

Sure, having wealthy members who do the dirty work when needed is nice, but, most importantly, you must find board members who understand and believe deeply in your work. Showing up for board meetings is a nice habit, too.

Think seriously about the skills that board members bring to your organization. Do you need an accountant to set up financial systems? A public relations specialist to help with media campaigns? An attorney to help with legal matters? Yes, you probably do. But don’t expect the accountant to do your audit or the attorney to represent you in court. You need a disinterested professional to do that work.

Your board should reflect your organization’s character and mission. A community-organizing group dedicated to collective decision-making may want board members who work well together. A neighborhood development organization clearly wants board members from its neighborhood. A youth leadership organization may want to invest in future leadership by creating positions for youth members on its board. ( Note: Before adding young people to your board, check whether your state laws allow minors to serve on nonprofit boards. If your state prohibits minors from serving, consider inviting them to serve on advisory committees instead.)

Although having a friend or two on the board is fine, be careful about overloading the board with golfing buddies and carpool partners. Boards need diverse opinions and honest feedback from members.

Every governing board should represent the community-at-large that your new nonprofit organization plans to serve. For example, you’re planning to locate your new nonprofit in Tucson, Arizona. Before you start recruiting board members, take the time to research the most recent US census demographics for the city, town, village, hamlet, or region where services will be provided. Table 3-1takes a look at the most recent demographics for what ethnic groups are represented in Tucson’s population. Note: The board recruitment metrics to meet are calculated based on a 9-member board of directors. The number of board members should always be an odd number so that it’s easier to have a board member quorum (majority) in order to start meetings and have a majority of members present to take actions on resolutions.

Recruiting and selecting board members who align with the majority of the population is essential. However, your entire board composition cannot represent the majority. You also have to look at the demographics of the nonmajority groups. In the example I just presented, the two largest population groups are Whites and Hispanic or Latino. Therefore, starting to recruit from these two groups gives you six of the nine planned board members. The remaining three board vacancies should be filed with one member representing Blacks or African Americans, American Indians, and Asians. How would this composition change? It would change if your nonprofit organization weren’t serving all of Tucson, but instead was focusing on a census tract or neighborhood where one of the minority groups has the largest number of residents.

TABLE 3-1Example Demographics for Tucson, Arizona

*Population estimates, July 1, 2020, US Census Bureau, State and County QuickFacts

Diversity is often perceived to be about perspective, representation, tough conversation, and supporting inclusion. Inclusion prompts answers about creating environments conducive to feedback, supporting diversity, and being open. Equity is described as fairness, sameness, and valuing diversity and inclusion. This list describes them all:

Diversity incudes all the ways in which people differ, encompassing the different characteristics that make one individual or group (like a nonprofit board) different from another. Though diversity is often used in reference to race, ethnicity, or gender, the definition embraces a broader definition that includes age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance. Geographic diversity refers to the location(s) of the people you plan to serve. Funders want to know about zip codes, census tracts, specific states, counties, towns, and neighborhoods that will benefit from your services.

Equity is the fair treatment of, access to, opportunity for, and advancement of all people (this applies to your board of directors) while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness within the procedures and processes of institutions or systems, including nonprofit organizations.

Inclusion is the creation of environments in which any individual or group (this applies to your board of directors) can be — and can feel — welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions for all people.

Many people think a board member’s primary role is to raise money. In fact, a popular slogan addressed to board members who aren’t raising funds is “Give, get, or get off.” Harsh, isn’t it? Nonprofits can’t fulfill their purposes effectively without money, and board members who take an active interest in the organization’s financial vitality are important. But a board member’s role is broader than fundraising. Other roles include staying well informed about the organization’s work, selecting leadership, setting policies, planning, overseeing, and serving as an ambassador for the organization. Many highly skilled volunteers think they shouldn’t serve on boards because they aren’t wealthy, and this misconception represents a real loss to nonprofit organizations.