Non-Profit Boards – Nine Key Functions

By Dean Darnell MSW

The Presenting Problem

When I got the call from the Board President a great deal of what he told me sounded very familiar. It seems the Board had lost its focus lately. There had been significant turnover in Board members and as a result there were just a few who seemed to be doing all the work while the rest coasted through the Board meetings and had little to contribute or volunteer in the way of ideas and suggestions, let alone provide some leadership.

I asked him about the organization and he described an established not-for-profit organization serving a small town in the province. They had nine Board members overseeing a chief executive officer with over 30 staff and a budget of under 5 million dollars, providing a range of mental health services including counselling, advocacy, a drop-in centre and a peer-support program.

The challenge was to assist him to get all the Board members involved. A run down of the Board’s nine members revealed that four were new to the Board this year; two had been with the organization for one year and the other three were veterans who had been on the Board for over eight years.

Diagnosing the Situation

In attempting to get a clearer understanding of the circumstances surrounding his call to my office, I asked him series of questions which I find help to get to heart of the matter.

Are the Board members clear about their role in governing the agency?

This question goes to the centre of many Board problems. The Board president’s answer told me a great deal. He said he wasn’t sure they knew what they were supposed to be doing. I followed up with a question around the degree of conflict that existed among the Board members and he confirmed that there was considerable disagreement especially among the veterans of the Board.

Do the meetings run on for hours on end?

This is another way of asking about role clarity. If the meetings run on for hours it can often mean that the Board is unsure of their governing function and the role that they play as guardians of the public trust. As a result of this uncertainty they cover all bases “just in case!”

What kind of committees do you have?

The answer to this question reveals a great deal. Usually they will tell me Executive, Finance, Personnel and Program Committees are in operation. Those last two committees say a lot about why there may be role confusion. Both Committees are the breeding ground for confusion between the executive functions of CEO and the governance functions of the Board.

What is your vision for this organization?

Another way of asking this is, “Where do you see the organization going?” For that is what a vision is – an educated look into the future. Hesitation and confusion in the answer tells me that the Board may be focusing on the wrong things.

Do you have a Strategic Plan?

Is there a section in that plan that pertains to the Board? Often the answer is “we have a plan around here somewhere.” Boards are the overseers of the Strategic Plan and in this role they have the responsibility to ensure that the plan is relevant, on target and getting the intended results.

Do you have Board Governance Policies?

This is not referring to agency policies on personnel and finance, but policies that relate to how you govern the organization. Do you have policies that relate to the key functions of the Board not the administration? Often I find Boards are all caught up in how the organization should operate. They are concerned about the things that they hired the executive director to do like manage hire and fire staff, prepare the budget and monitor expenditures and income.

The Key Functions of a Board

So what are those key governance functions that a Board must focus on to ensure they are carry out their duties entrusted to them? We have identified nine:

1. The Mission Vision and Values

Confusion often exists in Boards about the difference in these concepts especially Mission and Vision. Put simply the Mission of the organization states what business you are in. What are you hoping to achieve right now? The Mission needs to be clear, concise and something that everyone associated with your organization can understand.

The Vision on the other hand says where are you going in the future? This is why we tell Boards you cannot have a clear vision without a Strategic Plan. A Vision needs to be a practical clear statement of what you intend to achieve in your services, your programs and how you run the organization.

The Values relate to the Vision and Mission. They say why you are doing what you are doing. What you believe in and what motivates the organization and everyone associated with it to be there and deliver the services.

2. Policy Development

Policy development relates to the governance of the organization and those nine key functions we are talking about. It is vital that a Board consider the difference between those policies that guide how the agency is run, administrative policies like finance and human resources and those policies that guide how the Board is run like planning, funding, assessing if there is value for public funds. The latter policies are the heart of the Board’s work.

3. Resource Management

When it come to resources there are three major areas for Board attention – finances, human resources and administration. The Board’s job is to ensure there are enough resources to do the agency’s job. How do they do that? It starts by first by ensuring that administrative policies are in place. You will notice that I did not say develop the policies.

Secondly the Board must ensure that the policies are practiced and that the procedures related to those policies are followed. How do they do that? By defining to their executive what reports, documentation and audits they want to see and when and by defining what financial, human resource and administrative information is for their eyes and ears and what remains with the executive. By doing this they separate the lines of responsibility clearly between governance and administration that greatly reduces Board meeting time and the potential for role conflict.

4. Program Assessment

You will notice that this function of the Board is not program evaluation. The Board needs to know something different about the programs. Are the programs meeting their goals and thereby providing value for public dollars being spent on these programs is what the Board wants to know. Are there more effective ways to deliver the programs to more clients with better results is another thing the Board wants to know. The bottom line is value for public dollars for it is those public dollars that the Board is entrusted with to ensure services are delivered in accordance with the mission.

The Board will need to develop protocols for annual assessment of programs to get the answer to the question of value for money.

5. Management of the Executive Director

This is the one human resource function that the Board is entrusted with and often the one where they drop the ball. Managing the executive function of their organization means that the person they have hired and paid to carry out the administrative and program duties are actually doing that job. This means clear and up-to-date job descriptions, regular performance goal setting and reviews, ongoing training and holding the executive accountable through defined reports and requirements.

6. Community Relations

The Board may not think that they have a community relation’s function and to be sure it is a function that they share with the Executive Director. Within the organization’s community it is important that links be developed and maintained to ensure that the work of the agency is know, understood, appreciated and supported. This may include funders, professional associations, advocacy, public relations with the media, speaking engagements and fundraising. All these functions help to ensure the community knows of your existence and help to ensure that you continue to exist.

7. Board Recruitment

The goal of recruitment is to find Board members who will work toward carrying out the mission of the organization and act in the best interest of the organization.

Your Board needs people who understand and are committed to your cause and who will work hard to make sure if grows and thrives. Your Board also needs people with a mix of skills and backgrounds and experiences to fairly represent the community.

The Board needs to develop a recruitment process that searches on an ongoing basis for dedicated resources to serve your organization.

Recruitment is not something you do four weeks before your annual general meeting but is rather and ongoing continuous process. Bringing potential board members on to Board committees is one way, for example, for you to see what kind of a match you and that committee member might make should they be considered for the Board at a future date.

8. Board Evaluation

This is a function that is often overlooked and we strongly encourage Boards to give some thought to. We suggest an annual written Board evaluation the month before the Annual General Meeting. This gives you some idea of what needs to change and be improved and what you are doing well. It may also bring out standing grievances that would not otherwise surface.

9. Long-Range Planning

This too is a shared function with the executive and often senior staff as well. Long-range planning needs to set out the coming priorities over a specified period of time. It needs to set the goals related to those priorities and the strategies needed to meet those goals. Finally it needs to spell out what is the Board’s responsibility and what are the staff responsibilities in implementing the plan.

The Board will also want to ensure that the Executive Director reports to them on a regular basis on the progress of the plan.

Finally, it is from the plan that the Vision for the organization is developed.

Conclusion

This article has outlined the key governance functions of a Board of Directors of a non-profit organization. It should be noted that Board training is an area of expertise that Darnell Consulting Inc. provides including assessment of Boards, Board training, problem solving and ongoing support.

If you have a particular concern about your Board please let us know and we would be pleased to address those concerns with you. Send us an email or call us.

Dean Darnell

Dean can be reached toll free at 1 800 756-4554 or by email at:

Link to Darnell Consulting - Board Development http://www.darnellconsulting.org