Who Is On Your Board?

10/22/2007

In a real sense all life is inter-related…Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be…This is the inter-related structure of reality.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

A classic Exchange article “Why Boards Don’t Work — How They Should Work” explores what goes wrong with boards and what can go right. One issue it explores is the role of the board as developer. Here is what the article observed...

“Some organizations recruit people to be on their boards with the expectation that they will make significant donations. This may work well in the short term, but it comes with potential downsides.

“Sometimes centers pay a steep price for the involvement of wealthy patrons they recruit to be on their boards. These donors, aware of their value, can take advantage of this by exercising veto power over center decisions and pursuing their own agendas. On balance, it may be more valuable to recruit people to serve on a board who may not be wealthy themselves, but know how to connect with the funding sources in the community.

“An organization should take advantage of the board in promoting their program in the community. At the beginning of each year the board should conduct a networking audit of its members. Spell out whom on the board has connections with which important sectors in the community. Who can open doors and state the case for the organization with bankers, the media, regulators, legislators, public officials, employers? Having done this audit, the board should be proactive in promoting the organization in any way it can.”

The entire article, “Why Boards Don’t Work”, can be viewed in the “Exchange Ideas for You – FREE” section of the Exchange web site.

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