Project Plant, Inc.
Project Plant, Inc.

Governance

The primary governing body for nonprofit organizations is the Board of Directors. For very small nonprofits without paid staff, this group may be involved in day-to-day management issues. For most nonprofits, however, this group focuses on:

  • Ensuring the agency remains mission-focused
  • Setting a strategic course
  • Obtaining adequate resources, including money, volunteers, public support, etc.
  • Safeguarding assets by managing budgets, approving major financial transactions and ensuring periodic audits
  • Selecting and evaluating the executive director.

 

Sources of Additional Information

The Ohio Attorney General publishes a brochure detailing the legal and financial responsibilities of nonprofit board members.

BoardSource, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting good governance and effective boards, provides a free 20-page guide for board members of all-volunteer organizations, including an excellent overview of their 10 basic responsibilities.

 

Board Café is a monthly column on board-related issues in Blue Avocado, a free electronic magazine for the nonprofit community. Past topics include “10 Quick Ways to Improve Board Meetings”, “Should Boards have Committees and If So, Which Ones?”, and “Checklist for Success as a Board Chair”. You can read the current issue of Blue Avocado or review past articles at Compass Point.

 

Consent agendas provide a strategy for ensuring that the majority of board members’ time is focused on important issues facing your organization, not on lengthy discussions of minor details. BoardSource provides a description of how to create consent agendas and when to use them in a 9-page article available for download.

 

The Regional Nonprofit Alliance has many useful governance guides in its library. Stop by to borrow a book or, if you aren’t close by, send us an email (RNA@ohio.edu) with the type of information you are looking for, and we’ll send you a packet of information electronically. 

 

 

Books in our library include:

 

  • The Nonprofit Board Answer Book: A Practical Guide for Board Members and Chief Executives by BoardSource
  • The Nonprofit Policy Sampler by Barbara Lawrence and Outi Flynn
  • Taming the Troublesome Board Member by Katha Kissman
  • Understanding Nonprofit Financial Statements by Steven Berger
  • Chief Executive Transitions: How to Hire and Support a Nonprofit CEO by Don Tebbe
  • Nonprofit Risk Management & Contingency Planning by Peggy Jackson
  • Generating Buzz: Strategic Communications for Nonprofit Boards by Sally Patterson

 
 

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