Welcome to the Board: Your Guide to Effective Participation

by Fisher Howe

Overview

In easy-to-understand language, Howe answers the most common questions and concerns of prospective board members, and details their rights, obligations, and liabilities.

Drawing on a lifetime of experience on nonprofit boards, Howe details the seven key responsibilities of a nonprofit board member—including how to go about the process of approving the mission, long-range planning, fundraising, and selecting and evaluating a chief executive. Additionally, Howe explores the leadership role each board member must assume if their organization is to excel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780787900892
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/14/1995
Series:	Jossey-Bass NonProfit Sector Series
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.32(w) x 9.15(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

FISHER HOWE is a former Foreign Service officer and a consultant for nonprofit organizations with LavAnder/Howe & Associates in Washington, D.C. He has served as assistant dean and executive director at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and director of institutional relations for Resources for the Future. Howe is the author of The Board Member's Guide to Fund Raising (Jossey-Bass, 1991).

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

The Author xix

Part I: Board Membership in Perspective 1

1 On Joining a Board 3

2 The Qualities of a Good Board Member 5

3 What You Should Know About the Law Governing Nonprofits 9

4 A Nonprofit is not a Business 13

Part II Board Member Responsibilities 21

5 Your Role as a Board Member 23

6 Attending Board Meetings 27

7 Defining the Mission and Strategic Planning 29

8 Choosing and Evaluating the Chief Executive 35

9 Assuring Financial Responsibility 41

10 Supporting and Overseeing Programs 47

11 Participating in Fundraising 51

12 Keeping the Board Effective 63

Part III: Board Members and Boards 67

13 Board Organization and Procedures 69

14 Rights, Obligations, and Liabilities of Board Members 77

15 Leadership: Every Board Member Has a Role 85

Resources 89

A A Donor Bill of Rights 91

B The Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Standards for Charitable Solicitations 93

C National Charities Information Bureau’s Standards in Philanthropy 101

References 111

Index 113