The board member helping to elevate a nonprofit’s technology needs has a keen sense of technology trends such as big data, cloud computing, mobility and social media. The board member will guide a nonprofit’s critical performance in these and other technology areas while helping to set equipment and resource deployment priorities.
The board member responsible for human resources provides oversight to the organization’s leadership in six main areas: hiring, workplace policies, compensation, evaluation, grievances/whistleblowing and layoffs. The key aspect of the role is around human-resource governance, while implementation is the responsibility of the organization’s leaders.
The board member responsible for volunteers and outreach is as important to the organization as its fundraising board leadership and personnel. This board member will advocate for the volunteer, and will help create policies and procedures that help engage volunteers to their highest levels of contribution.
The board member responsible for program has the duty to understand and guide an organization’s programs, needs and abilities to deliver on the organization’s mission and vision. The board member has a broad range of experiences that will help provide guidance to the organization’s service delivery model.
The board member responsible for governance creates best practices in board recruitment, engagement and continuous improvement. Both a visionary and strategic, this board position requires a broad background of experiences, is willing question present practices and is experienced in group performance dynamics.
The board member responsible for fundraising oversees the organization’s fundraising plan and engages all board members in fundraising activities. The board member has strong community connections and networks, access and knowledge about individual, corporate and foundation resources, good people skills and an engaging personality and is comfortable talking about money and finances.
The board member responsible for marketing and events brings to the organization deep and broad experience in the oversight of marketing and events that produce immediate and direct results for an organization’s bottom line. This board member should both be able to roll up their sleeves, but also is able to see the big picture…
The board member responsible for finance should have experience in budgeting, real estate, investments, operating a business, banking, accounting (specific knowledge of nonprofit accounting and generally accepting accounting practices) in order to provide overall guidance in the area of financial planning and resource utilization.
Board members are the fiduciaries who steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure the nonprofit has adequate resources to advance its mission.