As a board member of your association or nonprofit organization, it can be fun and very gratifying to be able to lend you volunteer time and talents. Awesome. It broadens your personal and business relationship base, and can give positive visibility for you and the company you work for. But, do you really know what you’ve gotten yourself into? There are a lot of questions you should be asking. Unbelievably, we’ve seen seasoned board members with years leading, who were clueless on key subjects.
Few board members are brought into their seat at the table with much more than earnest thanks and a new business card. Okay, maybe just the thanks. But, you’ve now joined the management of an entirely different business from your day job – the business of supporting and promoting a large number of people in your field of interest. You are very much taking on the fiscal responsibility of funds raised from dues, sales, fundraisers, and donors. Don’t you think your rank and file members deserve a well-advised board?
Because we’ve worked for a wide assortment of nonprofits; theater, medical, music, education, manufacturing, cities, charities, children’s organizations, and so many more, we’ve seen boards operating at all levels of success. That’s why we developed our own board training we give to those interested in being professional in their term on the board.
It just stands to reason that your group’s goals will be best reached when you, their leader, are well versed in what it takes to do your job well.
