Best Practices in Nonprofit Governance Part One CBHC Annual Conference September 29, 2012

Your Presenter Peter Brinckerhoff

Our agenda-part one Three Rules; Four Keys Best Practices in Governance Officer Roles and Responsibilities Staff Roles in Governance Barriers to Effective Governance

Our agenda-Part 2 (4:15-5:45) Reducing Board Liability Better Decision Making Getting and Keeping the Best Board What to do Now... Resources

Focus on Governance Governance is a key to good stewardship for all nonprofits More and more funders, who have focused on management or infrastructure are not focusing on governance As a result, there’s a great deal of research on best practices and trends

The Three Rules of Nonprofits 1. Mission, Mission and more Mission 2. No Money No Mission 3. The ED works for the board. All the rest of the staff work for the ED

The Four Keys to Good Governance 1. Balance 2. Sticking to policy 3. Serving as a check and balance on staff 4. Providing outside credibility

Best Practices in Nonprofit Governance Term Limits Diversity Boards NOT primarily acting as fundraisers More strategy time at meetings Conflict of Interest policies Clear board job descriptions and expectations

More Best Practices Effective Committees Regular assessment of meetings Transparency Avoiding nepotism

Trends boards are wrestling with Board members harder to recruit and retain Shorter/fewer meetings Smaller boards Electronic attendance policies Others you want to discuss?

Board Responsibilities Understands the mission and acts to implement it consistently Sets policy Acts as a check and balance on staff Works primarily with the ED/CEO Changes over time Supports the organization in public Fulfills government reporting requirements Ensures policies are up to date and followed Helps recruit new members Raises/donates funds

Officer Roles and Responsibilities President Manages the Board--and manages board meetings Works closely with the ED Connecting with the community

Vice President Usually the President in waiting.... Fills in as needed Give this person a big job to do

Treasurer Has to provide financial credibility to the board Needs to truly “get” the finances Chairs the Finance Committee Do you need a vice-treasurer?

Secretary Responsible for minutes and records of the corporation May need to sign off on some documents in some states

Committee Chairs Need to manage their committees--and their committee meetings Work closely with committee staff

Staff Roles in Governance Staff have a big role in good governance If they can’t do their job well, the quality of governance will suffer.

Staff Roles Provide accurate, timely and focused information--with recommendations Inform the board of key events Develop ongoing board orientation and education (with Board Development Committee) Participate in Board Recruitment Support Board Committees

Barriers to Effective Governance Board committees are ineffective The board violates the Third Rule Board members don’t know about all the the organization’s programs The board regularly lacks a quorum Meetings are poorly managed Information doesn’t get to the board on time

More barriers The board slides into management The board does not keep board discussions private The board is not given anything meaningful to do Staff lacks the skills to support the board

In Part Two..... Reducing Board Liability Better Decision Making Getting and Keeping the Best Board What to do Now... Resources

Thanks for coming I hope to see you back here in 15 minutes! If not, have a great rest of your conference.