Governance is the process of providing strategic leadership to a nonprofit organization. It entails the functions of setting direction, making policy and strategy decisions, overseeing and monitoring organizational performance, and ensuring overall accountability. Nonprofit governance is a political and organizational process involving multiple functions and engaging multiple stakeholders.
Providing Strategic Leadership
Resources
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Roles and Responsibilities of the Board
A basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the board is a good place to start in any recruitment and orientation activities
Sample Work-plan Calendar
Having a year-at-a-glance document that outlines key activities for your organization can help keep things on track.
Board Committees
Much of the work of the board is accomplished by standing committees or ad hoc work groups. This document describes several types of committees.
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Board Support Chart - Individual Self-Assessment
Shared by the Friendship Centers of Sarasota Florida, this chart gives board members an opportunity to look back at how they have supported (or not) your organization over the past year.
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Four Realms of Board Responsibilities
In this document, Lee Bruder offers a different way of looking at board responsibilities.
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Functions of the Board and Chief Executive
Who's responsible for that? Outline the responsibilities of the Chief Executive and the Board.
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Governance as Leadership - Summary of Board Behaviors
This resource briefly summarizes some of the key differences between Fiduciary, Strategic and Generative thinking in the boardroom.
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Influence of the Lifecycle on the Role of the Board
The lifecycle stage of an organization often determines where the board is focused. This chart depicts the typical focus of the board during the various lifecycle stages of a nonprofit.
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Ten Responsibilities of Board Members
Share this document in your board orientation to make sure that all of your board members know these responsibilities.
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The Five Phases of Board Development
Boards of directors and boards of trustees are similar to other groups in that they go through various stages or phases of change. Certain aspects of each phase are critical to the successful development of the board and, therefore, the organization. Lee Bruder explores these phases and the key tasks of the board during each phase.
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Three Legal Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards
Lee Bruder shared with us this document on the legal duties of the board.
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