Blog

What Does a Board Do?

Covid-19 and the shutdown have put the role of nonprofit boards in sharp focus. It’s a good time to reexamine your understandings and expectations of your organization’s board. What is it that boards actually do for a nonprofit? A good way to think about it is to remember the “required and elective” scheme.

Impact! United American Indian Involvement

United American Indian Involvement (UAII) got its start on Los Angeles’ Skid Row almost 40 years ago. Now it’s the largest urban Native American nonprofit in the United States, bringing medical care, mental health treatment, youth services and education to thousands of Native Americans in Southern and Central California.

Proposal Writing Builds Better Programs

The temptation is to plunge into a proposal writing frenzy, cranking out thousands of words that seem likely to impress a foundation. Surely if you write a spellbinding proposal you’ll snag that grant! Here’s a modest suggestion: put that cart back behind the horse where it belongs.

Where Can You Find Board Members?

Your nonprofit has done an assessment of board membership and determined that you need a few new members to fill particular roles and responsibilities. Instead of simply asking friends if they want to join, consider doing a search as if you were hiring a senior executive.

Who’s On Your Board?

The question always comes up: “Who’s on your board and why did they join?” Some of the worst answers are often the most common: “They’re a few friends of the founder. . . the executive director just went out and appointed some people. . . they joined years ago, nobody knows what motivated them.” Nonprofit boards are too important to be left to this kind of random “personal roundup.”

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