Top 5 Mistakes of Boards
By Charitable Allies
It’s no surprise that having an ineffective board can hurt a nonprofit’s efforts to achieve their mission. Whether it’s a board member who never invests time and effort into the organization or someone who causes a lot of conflict within the board, no nonprofit leader strives to have a “bad board.” But while the instinct can be to just “play nice” and not fix the problems on the board for fear of rocking the boat, this can have devastating consequences. Nonprofit board mistakes and mishaps can cause a domino effect of problems, even leading to the closure of the organization and the board members being held personally liable. Even worse, many of the most damaging mistakes are the least well-known.
Therefore, this article is not going to round up the “usual suspects” that many nonprofit leaders already know about– fiduciary responsibility and keeping good records. Instead, here are the “sleeper” mistakes— the top 5 mistakes of boards that, in practice, often create more damage than the obvious oversights and might not be on your radar.
Top Nonprofit Board Mistakes