A successful and productive board of directors is one that works closely with the nonprofit’s chief executive and staff to serve the mission of the organization. However, getting to a healthy board-staff partnership is not something that happens easily or overnight. Often nonprofit executives find themselves dealing with boards that may lack focus or that spend too much time in the weeds of administrative details without giving due attention to mission and strategy. Even when a healthy partnership is achieved, the steady churn of new volunteer board members necessitates a consistent effort to maintain appropriate balance within the organization.
Our experienced panelists will discuss approaches for working with volunteers effectively by establishing a framework of clear expectations, transparent information sharing, professional respect, and rigorous standards of integrity. We also will discuss how to work with difficult boards and, more importantly, how to educate boards and develop relationships with directors to help avoid future problems.
Our panelists will use real-life case studies and provide ideas for how nonprofit staff and their volunteer leaders can enhance compliance with fiduciary and other legal duties, while furthering an organization’s core mission effectively and with minimal friction.