The Nonprofit Boards Role
When you sit on a nonprofit board your responsibility is to provide legal and financial oversight. These responsibilities ensure that the organization is operating within its budget and in conformity with state, local and federal laws. You must also put the organization’s interests above your own. It is your responsibility to disclose any conflict of interest.
Nonprofit boards offer guidance to non-profits by improving their organizational culture, strategic focus effectiveness, financial sustainability. They act as ambassadors for the work and mission of the organization.
The mission of a non-profit organization should be clearly communicated to its staff, volunteers supporters, constituents, and staff and this communication can only happen through advocacy. A board that is passionate and committed is more likely to stay involved and help the organization grow.
The board is also accountable for setting and adhering to an annual budget, as well as creating policies that guide the management of staff and donors of the organization. It is crucial to the nonprofit’s success that people trust that funds are being used responsibly and in line with the stated goals of the organization.
Nonprofit boards are also accountable to an executive director, who is ultimately in charge of the day-to-day operations of a non-profit. In smaller nonprofits, it is possible that volunteer directors work as employees, but this model can quickly become unsustainable and prevent the board from focusing solely on governance and oversight. To ensure that the board is more effective the board should delegate its responsibilities to committees, and those committees should report back to the board.
