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much like a startup, the key thing to understand about non-profit boards is that the board members' primary job is to fundraise (directly or indirectly) and sec

much like a startup, the key thing to understand about non-profit boards is that the board members' primary job is to fundraise (directly or indirectly) and secondarily to make productive introductions (donors, partners, 'customers', funding organizations, etc.). a distant (but not insignificant) third is strategic direction, which is often what we imagine board members do, but that's a relatively minor part of the role. some board members might have some operational input, but that's usually not expected for any but the smallest non-profits.

TigeriusKirk 4y ago
This matches my experience on a small arts non-profit. People were added to the board rather explicitly for their fundraising contacts. I was there partially for my arts contacts, but mostly because I was shameless about hitting up local politicians for grants and such. The executive director was in charge strategy-wise, the rest of us were along for the ride. Because of my particular role, I had considerable say over which artists were involved, but almost no input on overall direction. Because of the fundraising focus, it could be stressful at times (there's never, ever enough money), but working the government systems was very educational and I'm very happy about the time I spent doing it.
compiler-guy 4y ago
"that the board members' primary job is to fundraise ... and secondarily to make productive introductions...." Although this is a common structure and plan, there are plenty of nonprofits structured differently than this--especially if the nonprofit is small and has only one or two employees, or maybe none at all. In which case the board does work on the ground.
- clairity 4y ago
  right, that's the "operational input", in case that wasn't clear.
  - compiler-guy 4y ago
    You have that as a distant second though. There are boards where operational work (not just input) is the first priority for certain board members.

TigeriusKirk 4y ago

This matches my experience on a small arts non-profit. People were added to the board rather explicitly for their fundraising contacts. I was there partially for my arts contacts, but mostly because I was shameless about hitting up local politicians for grants and such. The executive director was in charge strategy-wise, the rest of us were along for the ride. Because of my particular role, I had considerable say over which artists were involved, but almost no input on overall direction. Because of the fundraising focus, it could be stressful at times (there's never, ever enough money), but working the government systems was very educational and I'm very happy about the time I spent doing it.

compiler-guy 4y ago

"that the board members' primary job is to fundraise ... and secondarily to make productive introductions...." Although this is a common structure and plan, there are plenty of nonprofits structured differently than this--especially if the nonprofit is small and has only one or two employees, or maybe none at all. In which case the board does work on the ground.

clairity 4y ago
right, that's the "operational input", in case that wasn't clear.
- compiler-guy 4y ago
  You have that as a distant second though. There are boards where operational work (not just input) is the first priority for certain board members.