It is my experience that nearly every nonprofit board member is a person of good will who is sincere in their desire to serve the organization. It is also my experience that definitions of the roles of board members is amazingly wide ranging.

Board members have ten basic responsibilities (as defined by the BoardSource). They include such items as determining the organization’s mission and purpose, ensuring adequate resources, and selecting and supporting the Executive Director/CEO.

Too often board members think they must do things like debating whether or not office supplies should be purchased from the store down the street or from the box store at the mall. This level of puttering with the details leads a board down the path of minutia and far away from their overall governance role.

Isn’t it better for the board to leave the day-to-day operations to the staff (paid or volunteer) and focus on those decisions that are critical to the future of the organization? Yes.  A friend of mine who heads up a school tells his board that their job is to make sure the school is still there for the children who will need it in 25 years.

That’s a significant best practice for every board to employ. When the focus is on the future, the organization will thrive, both today and tomorrow.

The Conference luncheon will be a celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of The Nonprofit Center. Phillips, currently Chairman of Altaira Wealth Management SA of Geneva, Switzerland, will discuss the intersection of the business and nonprofit sectors through the lens of corporate social responsibility.

Tickets for the luncheon only are available at $50 from The Nonprofit Center by calling 253-272-5844 or  by emailing Tahoma@npcenter.org. The luncheon is included for those attending the conference, and more space for this training for nonprofit board members is still available.