Somewhere in the recent past you said yes to that friend or colleague who asked you to serve on the board of a nonprofit. After several meetings you find yourself questioning why. Here is what I recommend you consider before saying yes:
- Does the mission of the organization resonate with you? If the answer is no, keep on looking. It is very hard to honor your commitment if you don’t believe in what you are working for. For me women’s economic development and cultural organizations are the two areas I willing devote my time.
- Don’t immediately say yes. Ask to attend a meeting or two. Sometimes it’s hard not to have our heartstrings pulled and we say yes without sufficient knowledge.
- Understand why you. Meet with the board chair and executive director, independently, and have them explain. Ask them how they determine who to invite and what skills sets to recruit. It is critical this be a meeting and not a call. If you have to chase either one down to meet, I would really rethink whether you want to be involved.
- Ask to see several years of financial statements and tax returns. If you aren’t sure how to read the information, contact someone who does. You need to understand where the cash is coming from and how strong the fundraising function is. You don’t want to spend every board meeting discussing how to make-up the ever increasing cash shortfall. This gets old real fast.
- Join a committee. I consider committees the best way to test-drive the organization. It’s also a good place to learn new skills. Trained in finance and accounting I try very hard not to be assigned to the finance or audit committees. I already have those skills. If I am going to volunteer my time I’d like to learn something.
- Know what you want to get from the experience. There is nothing wrong with having expectations: knowledge, contacts, or skills. After all you are volunteering your time.
- Does the organization use term limits? This will tell you if there could be a lot of deadwood on the board. This is a deal-breaker for me. If an organization gives me the usual story about not wanting to lose vital members, I would suggest the board is likely stagnant. Most nonprofits use two terms three years in length each for a total of six years of service.
- Does the organization have Directors & Officers Insurance? Many will tell you they don’t need it. Every board member is a fiduciary, i.e. legally responsible. You can be sued. In Massachusetts there is a provision in Mass. General Law that supposedly protects nonprofit directors. Nevertheless, I still want the organization to have D&O insurance.
- When did the board last do a self-assessment? I would suggest the answer should be it is done annually. Knowing what the good and bad points of the assessment are will help you evaluate how your skills fit in and the personality of the board. If the results were overly positive, I would be suspicious.
- What is the financial commitment expected? Some boards have formal policies on how much you either donate yourself or need to raise. You need to be comfortable with both writing a check and/or asking others to support the organization financially.
- When and where are the meetings? If the meetings aren’t convenient both the time and the location it will be hard for you to attend. Remember you are still fiduciarily responsible even if you didn’t actually participate in a vote. As long as there is a quorum the whole board is responsible. Sometimes attending via conference line is possible. This should only be an option once and awhile. You really need to attend to get the full benefit of what is being discussed and who is talking.
- What’s the board chair like? I firmly believe board experience is shaped by how good the board chair is and how well the chair and the executive director work together. You might need to speak with other directors to figure this out. When you meet with the board chair and executive director, ask what their working relationship is like. If the executive director is doing everything and the board chair just shows up, I would be concerned.
- Is the executive director a voting member of the board? I come from the school of thought where the executive director should not be a voting member. There are times the board needs to meet without any staff. If the executive director is a voting member it makes it very difficult to ask her to leave.
- What do you want to contribute before you leave this board? If you know what you want to contribute it will inform how long it makes sense to serve. It’s not always necessary or a good idea to stay on the board for the maximum time allowed under term limits. Sometimes we become the deadwood.
