Board Member Responsibility
Your Board Members joined your organization and accepted the responsibility of their role on the Board. Board Members need to clearly understand those responsibilities and the expectations for their commitments and contributions. You will want to make sure that all board members know how many events and meetings they should expect to attend. They should also know whether or not a personal commitment is expected.
Here are some tips and tools from the Council of Nonprofits:
- Share a sample board member agreement with the prospective board member during the cultivation process.
- Share this handout on How to Be a Great Board Member.
- Sample board meeting work plan
- Assign each new board member a veteran board member to serve as his/her mentor.
- After the first few months of a board member’s service, ask him/her to complete a confidential mini-self-evaluation to help shape a conversation with the Board Chair (or chair of the board development/governance committee) about how the new board member is adjusting to his or her board service. Use this sample Individual Board Member Self-Evaluation questionnaire.
- Resources, including tips and job descriptions for volunteer treasurers and finance committee members, are available from the National Council’s resources on Financial Management.
- What should be included in minutes of board meetings? Helpful guidance from the Nonprofit Law Blog.
- Review the resources in the Free Management Library’s Toolkit for Boards on Board Roles and Responsibilities.
- Share a few of these questions and answers prepared by BoardSource to kick off a short discussion about board roles and responsibilities at every meeting.
- Download sample documents, such as a sample board of directors’ manual, from the online library compiled by Governance Matters.
- Get the Leap of Reason board package for information on strategy, self-assessment, and other topics to keep your board well informed and effective.
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