As nonprofit professionals plan their career growth, I often recommend they join a nonprofit board. The ability to understand nonprofit governance and work effectively with board members is key for anyone in a senior level nonprofit role. For professionals working in smaller nonprofits, board interaction is common for all staff members, regardless of their role or seniority.
Board service fosters a deeper understanding of board members’ perspectives and experiences. As a board member, the organization you serve will benefit from your viewpoint as a nonprofit professional and the specific skills you’ll bring, and you’ll benefit greatly from what you learn.
Why Serve on a Board?
Develop Strategic Skills. Being inside an organization but not engaged in the daily work brings new perspectives. It helps you distinguish between strategic and operational thinking. Being able to toggle between those modes of thinking is important as you move into leadership roles.
Strengthen Communication Skills & Appreciate Challenges. Being on the receiving end of board communications makes you appreciate effective communication techniques. Serving as a board member can illuminate how the staff often has significantly more context on the organization’s work than the board does. This can help you decide what needs to be communicated to your board to get meaningful input from them, as well as to understand their frustration when they feel they don’t have enough information to provide feedback or to make a decision. Additionally, I realized I’d forget details between board meetings since, unlike staff, I was not thinking about these topics every day. This reinforced that, as a professional, I need to continually contextualize and reshare information with my board.
Increase your Financial & Fundraising Knowledge. Since the entire board has a responsibility for the financial viability of the organization, as a board member you will gain experience reviewing the organization’s budget, expenses, and fundraising. If your employer permits you to serve on another organization’s Development or Finance Committee (for some organizations it can pose a conflict of interest), joining these committees will further your understanding of and comfort with these key functions.
Strengthen Your Business Acumen. On most boards, the members are not all nonprofit professionals. Serving alongside people who work in other fields exposes you to ideas from business and other sectors that you can bring into your work.
Expand your Network. Serving with others is a great way to get to know people on a deeper level and build trusting relationships. Friendships and professional opportunities often grow from shared board service.
There are numerous factors that make it a good (or not good) time for you to serve on a board. But I’d like to offer perspective on some common misconceptions professionals have about why they shouldn’t pursue board service.
I’m too (Insert Here) to join a board:
Inexperienced. Start by volunteering for an organization you care about and see what other opportunities arise. If you have skills from your professional work, the nonprofit will likely have opportunities to utilize your professional skills. Volunteering is a great precursor to board service.
Busy. You can start small, by volunteering for a limited time initiative (an event, a program) or something with limited scope (a committee). This helps you understand the organization and often, if it’s something you find invigorating, you may find you can make the time. If not, being involved in a less intensive way prepares you for when you, and your schedule, are ready for a more time-intensive commitment.
Financially Constrained. Many boards, especially smaller organizations, have modest or flexible requirements for how much they expect their board to give. Every board member should contribute an amount that’s significant for them, but those amounts can differ greatly. Junior boards of larger organizations can also provide good opportunities for younger professionals to learn while contributing to the organization (though you won’t have some of the fiduciary responsibilities of board members). Organizations with smaller budgets often have lower contribution requirements; while larger organizations often are consciously trying to diversify their boards and may have a financial contribution policy that reflects that not all their members have the same resources.
Board service has been a great way to further my understanding as a nonprofit professional of how to steward an effective board. My board colleagues have introduced me to effective ideas and practices that I’ve used to strengthen other organizations. The nonprofit sector needs a diversity of board members, and many organizations would benefit from your service, so I encourage you to consider where and how you might want to serve.
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