Anne Donworth is Lexington Public Library’s director of development, managing the nonprofit Library Foundation, which enriches our libraries through advocacy, private funding and strategic partnerships. Here she shares advice on how best to represent and help guide a nonprofit entity as a member of its board.
You have worked hard to build your network, career, wealth and family. It’s likely that the same skills that have helped you reach your personal goals would benefit one of Kentucky’s 19,000 nonprofit organizations, or NPOs for short. If you’d like to get involved and help build your local community, here are some tips to get you started.
Find a passion
Pick an NPO that you can really get behind—financially speaking. Your first responsibility will be to donate to the organization yourself. Ideally, you will actively fundraise on behalf of the NPO, but at the least, be prepared to advocate for its good work. Even if you don’t have vast financial resources, most organizations require board members to make an annual donation that is meaningful to them. It’s hard to convince others to support an organization if its leadership doesn’t personally invest in the mission.
Learn about the organization
Listen to staff, read reports, review materials and familiarize yourself with the services and programs offered by the nonprofit. You may also want to review the Form 990, the federal tax return for nonprofits, publicly available through GoodGiving.net. Not only will you save everyone time by being prepared for board meetings, but you will better understand how you can help the organization succeed.
Communicate with leadership
What does the organization need? Beyond funding, which all nonprofits desperately need, most NPOs need help with governance issues (think policies and bylaws), financial expertise and community relations. Community relations could include marketing assistance, setting up a meeting or thanking a donor.
As a board member, you recognize where the organization wants to go and strive to get them there. Be upfront with leadership about what you can or can’t do. Share any real or potential conflicts of interest and be realistic about what you are actually prepared to do for the organization. If you can’t do something, that’s fine! Just tell the staff so they can find someone else to do it instead.
Provide oversight
A board of directors governs the organization, including the hiring (and sometimes firing) of an executive director. The executive director implements the policies and strategic plan developed by the board, hires other staff members and conducts the day-to-day operations of the organization. The director shares timely reports, updates and financial statements with the board. Your responsibility is to understand them and ensure that nothing is out of place—financially or otherwise.
Share within your network
Board members not only support their NPO, but enlist their friends and businesses to do so as well. The best board members open doors for their organizations but never make any promises without first consulting staff leadership. Be an ambassador for the organization—which should be easy to do if you have already picked a mission that you support and have a strong understanding of how the organization fulfills a need within our community.
Be respectful of staff
Nonprofit work is challenging. Like you, they are there because they believe in the mission; however, unlike you, they are on the front lines delivering services every day—usually on a shoestring budget, with little pay and few benefits. They are doing their job because they love it, so look for ways to say “thank you.” Don’t expect special treatment or favors because you serve on the board. Your personal fulfillment should come from your work to build a better community, not from what you might get as a result of your good deeds.
Thank you
You are helping to build a brighter future for our entire community, and we are all better for your service.