| How do I become a great board member? | Join for the right reasons, act with integrity, and make the most of your term. |
If you’ve ever thought about becoming a board member for a nonprofit, you are in good company. More than 600,000 people in Canada and 2-million people in the USA serve on nonprofit boards of directors.
It’s hard to overstate how much boards matter. Board members are the volunteers leading the 1.7-million nonprofit organizations responsible for the social services, community programs, and advocacy shaping our daily lives.
Who fills board seats, what they decide to do, and how they make their decisions change the course of local and global history. Boards determine which issues get attention in our communities.
Boards also decide who leads nonprofit organizations, the way staff and money are managed, and the solutions that get advanced in society.
If you are thinking about joining a board of directors, thank you. It is one of the most important ways you can serve your community.
The board of directors is the official head of a nonprofit organization. Acting as a single unit, the board of directors sets the strategy, monitors financial and human resource management, and ensures the organization follows the law. The board hires, supervises, and works closely with the Executive Directors / Chief Executive Officers directing non-profits day-to-day.
Most importantly, board members are elected or appointed to represent the needs of the community that an organization serves. You might represent a group of members or future generations, but you always represent a public interest. For that reason, board members are expected to volunteer their time, and they can’t profit from their service.
There are loads of great resources that can help you become a good board member. There are workshops and primers describing general board roles and responsibilities. The organization you govern should also provide you with background information to describe its specific needs and practices.
Here’s what the formal resources don’t usually tell you about being a great board member:
Join a board because you believe in the organization’s mission. Your volunteer time is precious, so choose to spend it on something that will feel genuinely rewarding and fulfilling.
It is very common for people to be asked to join boards to help out a friend or a family member. Sometimes they are encouraged by their employer to join a board to build their business profile or find clients. And sometimes people feel like no one else will step up, so they believe they have no choice.
Great board members join because they are inspired by the cause and the organization’s approach. This is the motivation you need to make your commitment feel worthwhile and to bring much-appreciated energy to the organization’s work.
Being on a board takes time. No matter what an organization tells you the commitment will be, you should plan on giving a little extra.
Each meeting will have background materials that need to be reviewed and follow up tasks that need to be completed. You’ll want to pay attention to the work the organization is doing, which usually means attending events, reading newsletters, following them on social media, and other engagement. You also need to establish and maintain good working relationships with the other board members, the board chair, committees, and staff.
In general, the smaller the organization, the more hands-on board members will be. The larger and more professionalized the organization, the less involved you will be in day-to-day work.
If you can’t spare the time for the entire duration of your board term, look for other volunteer opportunities like committees or project-focused roles. You could also schedule an annual coffee chat with the chief executive and offer the non-profit advice on an informal basis.
When a chief executive is full-time and board members are part-time volunteers, there can be a big knowledge imbalance. Board members often rely heavily on executive staff to provide them with all of the information they need to govern, from determining what goes onto a meeting agenda to preparing the background information used to make decisions.
Great board members make an effort to understand the entire organization from the perspective of staff, volunteers, and the community being served. You can work respectfully with the chief executive, but your understanding of the organization, its culture, and its impact should be rooted in data and information that flows from a variety of credible sources.
When you first join a board, it can seem like there is too much to learn. Don’t worry: no board member is supposed to “do it all.” Your job is not to replace executive staff or to know everything about every aspect of the organization.
Great board members carve out a role that allows them to make a meaningful contribution in one or two areas.
Your plan will change during your time on the board, but it’s good to come into the role with an understanding of what you can contribute. You might be inspired by a priority in the strategic plan or a desire to mentor young staff. Perhaps you have a management or meeting skill you want to develop.
Once you know why you are there and how you can contribute, you can relax and enjoy your contribution and the experience.
Most board positions have term limits. When you are elected to the board, it is usually for a specific period of time. Some organizations also have limits on the number of times in a row the same person can be re-elected.
Term limits are healthy. It’s easy for organizations to get comfortable with their board members and encourage them to stay longer, but a regular influx of new ideas, talents, and perspectives is needed for sustainability.
Great board members thrive in environments where there is community involvement and a diversity of perspectives. They recognize the need for people to come and go, including themselves. They also know that an organization can’t depend on one or two key volunteers forever.
It might be hard to think about leaving when you are just joining a board, but planning your exit helps to put all of the other issues in perspective.
It’s hard to capture the significance of boards and what it’s like to be on one in written form. No matter how important the topic is, writing about it saps some of the magic.
Being a board member is important. It’s sometimes thankless. It’s a little bit legal, a little bit business, a little bit politics, and a little bit a lot of things. It can be both overwhelming and dull. Your experience is rarely shared by others, unlikely to be properly captured in articles or manuals.
Like all leadership roles, you are sometimes so far removed from the day-to-day experience that everything takes on an abstract quality. It’s easy to forget about — or fail to appreciate — the consequences of your choices. It’s just as easy to get caught up in a mission that becomes part of your identity.
When you join a board, you become part of a legacy of civic participation that has shaped many of the most important, positive aspects of our society. You also become part of an organizational framework that has some dark social and political roots.
If there is one lesson to bear in mind as you join your first (or next) board, it is this: learn from the experience of the directors and experts who have come before you, but forge your own path.
Great board members are great because they bring themselves to a mission. They give what they can while they can, respect the cause and the community, and then they make way for others.
Q: How do I join a board?
A: FORA’s Rise on Boards (formerly Girls on Boards) program places experienced young leaders from diverse backgrounds on non-profit governance boards or committees.
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