How to Start a Nonprofit Board
Did you know that US nonprofits employ more than 12 million people? That’s about 8% of the workforce or one in every 12 people you know that work for a nonprofit. That number doesn’t include the large amounts of people that donate to nonprofits and serve as board members. Nonprofits not only serve the most vulnerable in our communities, but they also contribute a significant amount to our economy.
Nonprofits are governed by boards, follow IRS regulations, and adhere to federal and state laws for employment, occupational health and safety, and immigration, among others. Managing a board can be a full-time job for a nonprofit director. Board meetings require large amounts of preparation and planning. The board members may rotate every year, so a nonprofit director is constantly bringing on new people. Plus, nonprofit boards are volunteer positions, which means that board member engagement can wane in busy times. On top of all this, boards are a group of supervisors for the nonprofit director. Imagine having 15 different bosses every 1-2 years. It’s an interesting set-up.
Potential clients frequently ask me about board recruitment and development. How do I recruit board members? How do I retain board members? You can read my answers in this blog post. Today I am answering the question – how do I start a nonprofit board? If you are asking this question, then I am assuming that you’ve already filed your paperwork to become one of the 1.5 million nonprofits registered in the US. (If not, then please start here.)
Step #1 – Recruit Board Members
You may already have some people in mind for your board. Typically, these are friends, colleagues, and/or family members who have helped you along the way. However, you will also need people who are willing to make sound financial decisions and act as a legal fiduciary for the nonprofit. Board members with experience in fundraising, storytelling, law, human resources, real estate, and finance are also valuable. I encourage you to create a one-page document that provides a short description of the organization, what kind of board members you need, and an estimated time commitment. You can use this one-pager in your recruitment discussions and as a follow-up.
Step #2 – Develop Your By-Laws
Nonprofit bylaws become the organization’s handbook for the board and leadership team. Bylaws include general governing policies, board makeup requirements, board roles and responsibilities, meeting guidelines, conflicts of interest, and recordkeeping. The bylaws are different than your Articles of Incorporation. I encourage you to ask nonprofit peers for copies of their bylaws to help in creating your specific set. You can also search for examples on the internet. (I like this resource.) This is also a good place to ask a legal expert to review the document before voting on it.
Step #3 – Discuss Potential Board Officers
Board officer roles are typically outlined in the bylaws. These include Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Chair is responsible for the Board and most often works with the nonprofit director. The Vice Chair is the back up for the Chair. The Secretary keeps record of meetings and minutes. The Treasurer is responsible for the finance leadership from the board and most often works with the director of finance. BoardSource provides a strong list of characteristics and responsibilities for these officers here. The bylaws should also offer term limits for these officer roles.
Step #4 – Plan Your First Board Meeting
Your first board meeting will involve some important business, such as establishing the legal name and address for regulatory documents, electing officers, authorizing signatures for legal documents, adopting the by-laws, and providing next steps. This is also a good time to work on team building and designing a set of working agreements for your future work together. I offer some design advice in this blog post. A word of caution – it’s easy to overload an agenda in the beginning. Start slow. Allow time for connection and discernment. This will help your board grow over time and opt into engagement in their own time.
Step #5 – Recap and Reflect with Consistency
Every gathering is an opportunity to connect and reflect. I am a big believer in recap emails after each meeting. Recap emails are summaries of the meeting and any key action items coming in the next 30 days. I encourage sending these within 48 hours of your meeting. For boards, they will receive the meeting minutes at some point, but a recap email compiles the key information into one place. I also encourage nonprofit directors and board chairs to reflect on the board meetings together. Reflection aids in opening our minds to hidden thoughts and unconscious biases. You can read more about reflection here.
Good luck in starting a new board. Loftis Partners can help with all elements of board recruitment and development, from reviewing your current board structure to building materials for recruitment to creating an onboarding process for new board members. I’m also including some resources for your reference. These are the places I go when I have questions.
National Council of Nonprofits |
BoardSource - Empowering Boards & Inspiring Leadership
State nonprofit associations, such as Home | North Carolina Center for Nonprofits (ncnonprofits.org)
Next in our “how to” series – How to Start a Strategic Planning Process.