Governing Boards In Nonprofit Organizations

For individuals that are interested in starting their own nonprofit should be aware that they will not be in full control of the organization. It is not like starting a business where the founder would be in control of everything. In the nonprofit sector the board will be handling majority of the decisions and strategic planning for the organization. In addition, there are several types of boards that are used in the nonprofit sector. For instance, one type of board is the advisory board. However, the advisory board does not have too much authority in the organization. But, the advisory does serve for a few purposes in the organization. The advisory board allows former board members or prospective bard members to participate in the organization.
If the governing board does not perform well, then they will be held responsible. Thus, it can be hard for a nonprofit organization to represent the community due to the lack of guiding forces. Additionally, the customers are in a competitive environment and the dual bottom line. Therefore, the nonprofit board has responsibilities that they must follow. The governing board is expected to follow legal responsibility of the duty of care, loyalty, and obedience. The board is held to the highest responsibility as at the board level is where the funding will stop; the staff does not stop the
A large numbers of board members can make it harder to discuss the needs of the organization. This can also cause the large board to create a smaller board within the board. In addition, depending on the organization there can be clients on the board and the board can try to have some type of diversity on the board. As well it is important for the board and staff to understand where each stand in the organization. The staff does now a lot when it comes to the operations of the organization. Then the board represent the need of the community. Further, the operating board performs operating and the governing functions too. This happens when the operating board is faced with limited staff; doing this can have the organization to develop some blurred lines. Therefore, the operating board must determine what the organization really needs. Over time the needs of the organization needs should evolve and the board to be careful to not cause too much