How to Build an Effective Nonprofit Board

Serving on the board of a nonprofit can be a fulfilling experience, especially if the organization supports a cause dear to you. But anyone who’s served on nonprofit boards knows that some are better-run than others. It’s a great experience serving on an effective board when you know you’re making a difference for the organization and for the mission the non-profit supports.

If you find yourself on a board that has some opportunity to improve, here’s a rundown of some steps you could take to help improve its effectiveness.

• What does the organization need from the board? Some nonprofits desperately need their boards to drive fundraising, while others need strategic oversight and still others need operational help. Being open honest about the most valuable role your board will play can go a long way to building it for effectiveness. 
• Know the skills and capabilities you need and recruit intentionally. Having the right mix of professional skills represented on your board allows you to tackle a broad range of issues. The obvious valuable backgrounds are HR, legal, finance, marketing, operations…and education is another that always helps even if it isn’t as obvious. It’s also helpful to have a community leaders, like a pastor, economic development staffer, realtor or developer. They can provide a different level of understanding of the local market that can be truly helpful.
• Set clear expectations. Boards are teams, and the best teams have clearly articulated expectations that cover all aspects of their relationships with teammates and management. Expectations should support the primary role the board plays, but can also relate to operational expectations, such as attendance at meetings and events, participation on operating committees, financial support, even code of conduct at meetings and events.
• Use committees. Committees are a great way to tackle specific issues with more intensity. Most nonprofits have separate committees for finance, development, marketing or promotion, and HR. Just like the board, committees need clear expectations set for their responsibilities, cadence, and composition. You can also expand your volunteer pool by recruiting non-board members to committees, so you have more horsepower in the specific areas, reducing the burden on board members while allowing you to begin grooming future board members.
•  Disciplined communication. Establishing regular communication matters, as does the form communication takes. Don’t make it hard for board members to keep up with what’s happening, so providing executive summaries can be effective. Don’t overdo it either, since most board members have full-time jobs and don’t want to work too hard at staying informed.
•  Planning pays. For starters, putting out an annual meetings calendar at the beginning of the year will improve attendance and engagement. Letting people know far in advance for special events or special meeting requirements does the same. Also, giving people simple homework in preparation for things like strategic planning or annual budget discussions makes them more effective, helps meetings run smoother, and leads to stronger feelings of satisfaction with the boards’ performance.
• Have a short list of future board members. Progress can sometimes get stopped if a key member leaves the board with little notice. To minimize this impact, have a list of future desired board members ready at all times. You never know when someone moves due to family, a spouse, a promotion or they take a new role.

I encourage anyone with the time and desire to get involved with a favorite cause by serving on a volunteer board. And if you do, be ready to take steps to help that board be as effective as it can be so you and the rest of the board can have the most satisfying experience possible!