Effective Nonprofit Governance Requires an Engaged, Involved Board
By Sarah Ford on January 21, 2015
Source: BBB Wise Giving Alliance

By H. Art Taylor
The board of directors is pivotal in providing guidance and oversight to a charity and ensuring it is fulfilling its mission. Holding regular meetings to review and discuss important organization decisions, such as budgets, program updates and fundraising efforts, is a process that increases the likelihood that this guidance occurs. That is why – in order to be a BBB Accredited Charity (i.e., meeting all 20 standards) – the third standard in the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability addresses this issue. We ask a charity to bring together its board of directors at least three times a year with at least 50% average attendance for the meetings held.
The buck stops with the governing board — and in some the ways the board serves as the “stand-in” for donors by ensuring that the organization is appropriately carrying out its announced mission in the best way possible. This can’t be done without regularly scheduled meetings throughout the year.