Essay Sample on Nonprofit Boards: Responsibilities & Meetings

Introduction

In nonprofit organizations, there exist nonprofit boards that control and directs the operation of different departments as well as workers. In most cases, individuals who sit in nonprofit boards have the responsibility of overseeing most activities in the organization. At least, there must always be the annual meeting in the presence of board members. Additionally, other meetings are supposed to take place throughout or at sometimes during the year, so there can be discussions that could enhance important decisions. Non-profit board members do not always operate permanently; in other words, different organizations often have terms set up or formulated by the board members, which usually fall between two and five years. Improving the governance of the non-profit organizations requires establishing ventures that span beyond the traditional ideals of raising funds, selecting high-level policies as well as selecting appropriate CEO's.

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The strong non-profit boards should provide or enhance professional expertise, represent the interests of their services to the communities as well as recruit new talents to the organization. Also, non-profit boards need to recruit new talents as well as facilitate the provision of more rigorous management as well as the performance oversight that funders are often in need of. The non-profit boards usually engage in the tasks that they can do best through carefully avoiding the micromanagement that is likely to demoralize full-time staff members. In the non-profit organizations, good boards understand that they need to tackle different responsibilities at once, and this may enable them adapt through the devotion of extra energy to the single task including capital campaign, before engaging in the next challenge.

A strong non-profit board consists of a board development committee or the designated governance that undertakes various activities or make a critical decision. The board development committees usually undertake various roles that aim at strengthening the operation of a non-profit organization. In most cases, these committees represent the interest of the entire board or an organization and work towards enhancing or implementing critical policies or plans of an organization. With a working and able development committees, non-profit organizations are assured of the elaborate and strong non-profit boards (Northrop, 2018). The strong non-profit boards have got leaders who can lead with intent. These leaders can identify and spur developments to the benefit of the entire organization. Leading with intent involves incorporating ideas as well as the standards of management that can influence the communities to which the organization is supposed to benefit.

A strong non-profit boards need to be assessed so that members understand the changing systems that are capable of making differences. Which the changing dynamics in the work environments as well as in the entire community, the non-profit boards need to be updated or assessed so that they conform to the ever-changing ideals of the society. Assessment is, therefore, an important step that will ensure that all the non-profit board members are updated on the requirements in the management process (Northrop, 2018). Finally, the strong non-profit boards have the mission and purposes. In most cases, the strong boards have well-defined goals or objectives that enable them to work towards achieving the mission of the non-profit organization. The non-profit boards need to have elaborate and stipulated purposes or missions so that they can better serve the communities (Northrop, 2018).

Volunteers are an essential part of an organization for they facilitate the work processes and also encourage the development of new talents that may become beneficial to the future management of the non-profit organization. However, just like any other workers, before engaging volunteers to the organization, the management need to be assured that they can comfortably make them part of an organization. Even though some volunteers may not become automatically integrated into the organizational system, there is the need to establish systems or mechanisms that can enable them to become fully part of the system. Some of these mechanisms include orientation programs that may enhance the volunteer's understanding of the system, including all the processes involved. In most cases, volunteers have the organization at heart, and that is why they are always willing to work without pay or little pay (Northrop, 2018).

There are some organizations that usually, do not feel comfortable working with volunteers, perhaps because of the nature of work as well as the level of experience required. Therefore, before engaging the volunteers, there is a need for the board or the management to ensure that they can actually work with them or comfortably incorporate them into the organization. Volunteers can sometimes prove to be of great benefit to the organization because they can enhance the general work process in case they are well trained and taught the ideals of the organization where they are supposed to work (Northrop, 2018). The organization should, therefore, provide an elaborate mechanism on how to incorporate the newly recruited volunteers into the system or an organization. These mechanisms can help in enhancing the attitude of the volunteers towards the work processes.

Reference

Northrop, G. (2018). Building a Strong Nonprofit Board Goes Beyond Best Practices. Generations, 42(1), 56-60. Retrieved from: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/asag/gen/2018/00000042/00000001/art00012