February 19^th, 2020

Can humans serve as successful board members?

February 19^th, 2020

Time to revive this oldy. It seems the preaching about the failures of human board members is reaching a crescendo.

I’ve been thinking a lot about our expectations of volunteer board members. When you look at the law of most states, the description of what boards do ususally runs to something like this: Manage the affairs of the corporation.

That’s not a lot of guidance. So our sector experts have stepped in to fill the gap.

But, have we taken it too far? When I read the lists of what boards and their members should be doing, I wonder if any mere mortal is up to the task of serving on a nonprofit board.

Here are some of the things board members are supposed to do:

Give us time, lots of it. (Most nonprofits want attendance at a monthly board meeting, a monthly committee meeting, and whatever out-of-meeting time it takes to achieve the tasks a board member has been assigned.)
Give us money. As much as they can.
Get money. As much as they can.
Develop an in depth understanding of the technical issues facing this particular organization
Understand the nonprofit’s financial structure AND to read complex (and sometimes incomprehensible) financial statements
Understand the laws and regulations governing public charities
Be strategic thinkers and prescient forecasters
Connect us with community resources
Advocate for our organization
Attend our special events
Represent our nonprofit at the events of others
Know and support staff
Evaluate the Executive Director
Schmooze donors
Master group process
Show leadership and speak up
Lead others
Understand complex parliamentary procedures such as Robert’s Rules of Order
Expose themselves to some legal risk
Be responsible for the futures of real people, whether clients or staff
Hold each other accountable