Boards and Committees

1
Boards and Committees

• Decision-making roles and staff responsibilities

2
. Boards are the primary decision-making
structure in nonprofit organizations.

• 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.

3
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.
4
Holland (1998) identifies six competency areas
for board members

• Contextual. The board understands the norms and
  values that influence the organizations 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
  organizations future direction.

5
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)

6
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

7
There are different views about the boards
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.

8
Executive Directors should have the following
skills

• 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
  organizations 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).

9
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 Roberts Rules can tie up
  decision-making.

10
Not everyone uses or likes the Roberts Rules
model

• Some people are more comfortable with consensus.
• A modified form of Roberts Rules can be used
  that includes consensus building.

11
Board members may be

• Appointed
• Nominated by a Committee of the Board
• Elected

12
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 decision-making 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).
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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.

14
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.

15
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).

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Most committees or task groups elect a
chairperson, although administrators may appoint
internal committee chairs.

• 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 groups success.

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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

18
Power

• Given what weve 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?

19
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, decision-making role that meets
  infrequently

20
Techniques that can be used by the executive
director to build a diverse and empowered board

• Encourage the boards 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

21
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.