Boards and Committees
Decision-making roles and staff
responsibilities
. Boards are the primary decision-making
structure in nonprofit organizations.
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Corporations and some government agencies also have boards, although
responsibilities and roles may differ.
In most nonprofit organizations, board members are volunteers.
Board members set policies for the organization.
On some boards, members may be expected to fundraise, lobby on behalf of the
organization with government, help obtain publicity for the organization, or volunteer
to help run programs or deliver services.
Organizations generally look for board members that are influential in the community,
have connections to other powerful people, or that can raise money. In some cases,
organizations look for board members that have special skills that can be used to
help the organization (for example, lawyers, accountants, social workers etc.).
Clients or community residents may be seated on boards if they are believed to be
knowledgeable about client needs or if they can provide a link between the
organization and the community.
Boards are responsible for the
fiscal oversight of the
organization and are legally liable
if funds are misspent.
Boards hire and fire the executive
director.
Holland (1998) identifies six competency
areas for board members:
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Contextual. The board understands the norms and values that influence the
organization’s culture and uses this understanding to guide its actions.
Educational. The board makes sure that all members are informed about
organization operations and their own roles in decision-making.
Interpersonal. The board members engage in activities that help them
develop a sense of group cohesion.
Analytical. Board members adequately gain an understanding of the issues
they address and take into account a variety of perspectives on these
issues.
Political. The board develops and maintains good relationships with
constituency groups within and outside the organization.
Strategic. The board is actively involved in making decisions that pertain to
the organization’s future direction.
Why would anyone want to be
on a board?
• Altruism
• Give service to community
• Likely to use the service or be a parent or
relative of someone who uses the service
• Employer may require participation in
community service.
• Opportunity for networking or finding
employment opportunities.
• Social opportunities
• Provides visibility in the community (promote
yourself or your business)
Boards have:
• Officers (usually President, Vice-President,
Secretary, and Treasurer).
• Rules for making decisions (By-laws).
• A set of formal procedures (Roberts Rules
of Order) in most organizations.
• Established meeting times
• A predetermined number of members
There are different views about the
board’s relationship with the executive
director:
• Partnership between the board and the
director.
• The director does most of the work
because he or she has expertise. The
board simply makes policy based on what
the director tells them.
• The executive director follows the orders
of the board.
Executive Directors should have the
following skills:
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Choosing information to be presented to the board.
Selecting items to be placed on the agenda.
Building working partnerships with board members.
Using effective verbal and written communication of
recommendations for policies and procedures.
The ability to work with a variety of people
The ability to communicate the experiences and perspectives
of clients and staff to the board and to advocate, as
appropriate for these constituency groups.
The ability to communicate with board members about
strategies that should be used for interactions with people and
institutions in the organization’s external environment
The ability to work with the board and other key constituency
groups to develop operational and strategic (long-term) plans
for the organization (Hardina & Malott, 1996a; Holland, 1998;
Murray et al., 1992; Tropman, 1997).
Roberts Rules are used by many
boards to guide decision-making
• Based on a formal, hierarchical structure.
• Requires that proposals for decisions be made
in terms of motions – motion must be seconded,
a period of discussion is allowed, and then there
is a vote. Motions and votes are recorded in the
board minutes
• Involves majority rule.
• Chair (usually the Board President is in charge)
• Strict use of Robert’s Rules can tie up decisionmaking.
Not everyone uses or likes the
Robert’s Rules model
• Some people are more comfortable with
consensus.
• A modified form of Robert’s Rules can be
used that includes consensus building.
Board members may be:
• Appointed
• Nominated by a Committee of the
Board
• Elected
One primary assumption of much of the recent
literature on boards is that boards should be diverse in
terms of gender, ethnicity, and social class. Inclusion of
people with diverse interests in organization decisionmaking is believed to improve the quality of services,
stimulate innovation, and help the organization balance
the demands of funders with the needs of the
community (Parker & Betz, 1996). The term “diversity”
as it pertains to organization board generally refers to
member skills and experience as well as demographic
characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity, physical
or mental disabilities, sexual orientation, and social
class (Daley, 2002).
Parker and Betz (1996) identify a number of
effective methods for recruiting members of
diverse groups for membership on boards:
• Ask community leaders to identify prospective board
members.
• Extend face-to-face invitations to potential recruits.
• Use established community groups as recruiting pools
for participants.
• Identify and recruit informal community leaders.
• Hold board or planning meetings at times when
prospective members can easily attend them.
• Plan special events or activities that can be used to
introduce the organization to new people.
• Provide training for new board members so that they
understand they role and duties.
Boards delegate some of their
work to committees:
• Committees are smaller groups that have a
specific task or function.
• May be regular (standing) committees or ad hoc
(temporary).
• May include people who are not on the board.
• May be internal to the organization and be made
up of staff members or a mixture of clients, staff,
board members or people outside the
organization.
One type of committee is a task
force:
• Consists of staff members or other representatives of
organizations that serve the same community or target
population.
• A Task Force can also include community leaders and
representatives of constituency groups.
• They are intended to be time limited and are established to
address unmet needs or urgent problems.
• One advantage of this type of decision-making vehicle is that
permits an organization to engage in problem-solving on one
new issue without losing its ability to focus on its primary
goals (Often task forces start out as informal groups and
transition into formal coalitions or collaborative, partnerships
in which organizations establish formal decision-making
structures to lobby government for funds or legislation or
engage in the joint delivery of services).
Most committees or task groups elect a
chairperson, although administrators may
appoint internal committee chairs.
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Committee leaders are responsible for chairing meetings, helping the group
to set goals and decision-making rules, resolving conflicts among members,
and identifying tasks to be completed by the group.
In most cases, the chair will set the agenda and schedule meetings,
although some of these responsibilities may be delegated to staff members.
The chair is also the person responsible for making sure that the agenda is
followed during meetings and following up with group members to make
sure their assignments have been completed.
The chair must make sure that committee members feel involved and
committed. Committee members may not contribute to the group unless
they feel involved in decision-making and that they have made a
contribution to the group’s success.
Many committees in social service organizations also
receive support from a designated staff person. Staff
responsibilities can include:
• Establishing a good working relationship with the chair.
• Helping the chair set the agenda.
• Providing information about what decisions should be
made and when.
• Preparing written agendas and meeting minutes.
• Researching issues to be addressed by the committee.
• Sending out meeting reminder notices to members.
• Providing technical expertise.
• Preparing reports and other written products in
consultation with community members
Power
Given what we’ve said about organizational
hierarchies, who do you think has the most
power in nonprofit organizations: Board
members or the executive director?
If we are recruiting upper, middle, and low-income
or members of other marginalized groups to the
board, which of the board members can be
expected to have the most power?
Techniques that can be used by Executive
Directors to Limit Board Power
(What not to do)
• Help select board members
• Encourage board members to recruit friends, employees, and
relatives for seats on the board
• Encourage board members to stay on the board rather than rotate
off when their terms expire; do not support efforts to diversify the
board
• Manipulate the selection of the board president and other officers so
that people who like you are select
• Develop all policy recommendations for the board – limit discussion
to up or down votes.
• Withhold financial and other documentation from the board
• Provide limited training to board members. Use training material that
encourages board members to limit their role to approving policies
or reviewing prepared financial statements.
• Establish an advisory committee with no power, authority, decisionmaking role that meets infrequently
Techniques that can be used by the
executive director to build a diverse and
empowered board
• Encourage the board’s nominating committee to recruit a
diverse board (in terms of gender, age, social class,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status)
• Establish a working partnership with the board
• Provide leadership and guidance that transmits values
that promote respect, empowerment ,and cooperative
relationships among board members.
• Provides supports (training, board self-evaluation
procedures, transportation, translation services, conflict
resolution, mentorship for new board members, an
appropriate committee and decision-making structure)
that allows for the maintenance of a healthy board.
• Establishes an advisory committee with diverse
members with a definite purpose and responsibilities
Consumer Control
• Highest level of participation
• Most organizations range from low to high on
the scale.
• Consumers/service users are most effective on
boards when they represent a constituency
group and have access to other sources of
power such as information, education and
training to enhance technical decision-making,
and the media.