Basic Training for Your Nonprofit Board of Directors
What you'll learn
- Legal responsibilities of Board members
- Roles and duties of the Board officers
- Roles and duties of staff in relation to the Board
- What to expect at the Board meeting
- The role of Board committees
- The Board’s responsibilities in fundraising
- Board recruitment, orientation, and evaluation procedures
Requirements
- No prerequisites
- Course designed for 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organizations in the United States
Description
You’ve been asked to serve on a Nonprofit Board of Directors (or to work closely with the Board as a staff member). Congratulations! Now what? This course walks you through the Board’s legal obligations, and why the IRS requires 501(c)(3) public charities to have a Board of Directors.
The roles and responsibilities of each member, including the Board Officers (Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary) and Executive Leadership will be addressed in detail, as well as the leadership balance between Board and Staff, along with the difference between governance and management.
We’ll also cover what makes for an engaging Board meeting, including setting the agenda, Robert’s Rules of Order, and what goes into the meeting minutes. The purpose and roles of Board Committees and Advisory Councils is covered as well.
The Board’s role in fundraising, and why it is a requirement for most nonprofit boards is covered, along with hints to make the giving and getting process easier and pain free.
The final section includes tips for evaluating your Board’s performance, and recruiting and on-boarding new members to keep your Board going and growing.
This course is based on my many years of work as a nonprofit executive, as a board member, and as a consultant to nonprofit Boards of Directors, including delivering training in each of these areas.
Who this course is for:
- Board members or trustees of 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organizations
- Nonprofit executives and others who work closely with Boards
- Those new to the nonprofit sector
- Founders starting a new nonprofit and Board
- Board officers (chair, treasurer, secretary) who are new to their position
Instructor
Ken Goldstein has been working in nonprofits and local government agencies since 1989. Since founding Goldstein Consulting in December of 2003, Ken has served half-a-dozen organizations as an Interim Executive Director, managing nonprofits through transitions, mergers, and turn-arounds. Ken has also facilitated strategic planning processes, taught fundraising and nonprofit management workshops, raised several million dollars in grants, and performed other contract consulting work.
His many years of senior management experience include being the first Executive Director of Recovery Cafe San Jose and Sustainable San Mateo County, Silicon Valley Director of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services, and Bay Area Director for Benevolent. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of Future Families, Habitat for Humanity Santa Cruz County, and Recovery Cafe Santa Cruz. Ken holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from CSU Sacramento and a BA in Politics from UC Santa Cruz.