We’ve put together an FAQ to address frequently-asked questions we have heard from board members, staff, and volunteers at small- and medium-sized nonprofits.
How do I…
How do I recruit members for my nonprofit board?
It’s important to find members who are connected to your cause and the purpose of your organization. We offer a Recruiting Toolkit that can help you walk through the steps to find and recruit engaged and enthusiastic board members.
I’ve been asked to join a nonprofit board. What do I need to know before I say “yes”?
We always recommend “dating before you get married.” Learn about the organization, its purpose, and its culture. Find out ahead of time what will be required in your new role, especially in regards to compliance, liability, and finance.
To go deeper: Take the first module of the Nonprofit Board Certificate Course for free. Or sign up for the entire Nonprofit Board Certificate Course in English or Spanish.
I’m a nonprofit board member. Does that mean I have to give money or do fundraising?
Every board has different expectations, but you should know that there are a variety of ways to support an organization. We recommend you start with an understanding of the three steps to fundraising: Cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. The work involved in the three steps is not equal! Probably 60% of the work is cultivation, or building relationships with people who are interested. 10% is asking them for support – solicitation. The remainder is stewardship, which is keeping those people engaged and connected to the work.
Take a look at the Board Engagement Stewardship Worksheet, an exercise to help your board members engage in stewardship without asking for money.
To go deeper: Take How to Raise Money for Your Organization, which includes videos and a workbook that will give you clear fundraising steps to move forward.
How do I read a nonprofit financial statement?
There are four statements to understand: a balance sheet (a snapshot in time), an income statement (how the money flows over time), a cash flow statement (what you have available to use), and a budget (the planned-for income and expenses).
The numbers in each statement are linked to each other, and that shows you the true financial health of your nonprofit. To understand each statement, plus the relationship between them, we recommend that you take our online course, Let’s Talk Money. It’s an introduction to basic nonprofit finance that includes a workbook with examples of the financial statements and videos to walk you through them.
If you already know how to read a financial statement, but the rest of your board seems confused when you talk about it, consider this: By taking the Let’s Talk Money course, you will learn new, easier ways to explain these concepts to others.
FAQ: Board and staff decision-making
How do we figure out whether a decision belongs to the board or to staff?
Instead of asking “who owns this,” ask what kind of decision it is by checking it against four areas: Mission (does it affect purpose or direction?), Risk (legal, financial, reputational, or safety concerns?), Resources (a significant commitment of money, people, or capacity?), and Accountability (who’s ultimately responsible for the outcome?). The more a decision touches these four areas, the more the board should be involved.
What happens if a decision doesn’t clearly belong to either the board or staff?
Many decisions fall into a gray zone — program changes tied to strategy, budget adjustments, risk calls, new opportunities. These usually call for collaboration rather than one group owning the decision outright.
How do we know if our nonprofit board of directors is spending its time well?
Look at your meeting agendas. If most of the time goes to operational updates and routine approvals, the board is likely doing management work, not governance. If time goes to mission, risk, sustainability, and the organization’s future, the board is functioning as a governing body.
Our nonprofit is getting bigger and having trouble making decisions. What should we do?
Where are you in your growth cycle? A startup with a working board makes decisions differently than a mature organization with staff.
Early on, a working board does almost everything. As staff are hired, responsibilities shift toward them. As the organization matures, the board typically moves toward focusing on strategy, oversight, and sustainability rather than operations.
If you’re experiencing micromanagement, staff hesitation to act, board rubber-stamping decisions without real discussion, slow decision-making, and frustration over who has authority, you may have outgrown your structure. Read the FAQ item, “How do we figure out whether a decision belongs to the board or to staff?”
Who should set policies and procedures – the board or the staff of a nonprofit?
First, you need to know the difference between policies, procedures, and practices. Policies set direction, guardrails, and expectations. Procedures describe how work actually gets done. Practices are the everyday habits and approaches people develop through experience.
When you look at it this way, you’ll see how boards establish policies, staff develop procedures, and practices evolve naturally through experience.
I’m a board member who also volunteers or serves on a committee. Are there any issues around that?
You will need to keep your roles straight. First, name which “hat” you’re wearing. A board hat means governance, direction, and oversight. A volunteer hat means doing the work. A committee hat means researching and preparing recommendations. Confusion happens when information you gained from one role starts driving decisions that belong to another role.
What’s the role of a nonprofit board committee?
Committees work best when their job is limited to exploring issues, gathering information, and developing recommendations – not making final decisions. The committee gives the board the information they need to make decisions, and the board doesn’t have to spend the time on research.
What does “authority” mean in a governance context?
Authority isn’t about who holds the most power – it’s about who is the recognized, appropriate source for a given decision. Boards hold authority over mission, accountability, and long-term direction; staff hold authority over implementation, because they’re closest to the work.
What questions should a board ask before diving into an issue?
Ask four questions: Is this about mission? Is this about risk? Is this about resources? Is this about accountability?
These filter questions help the board stay focused on governance instead of getting pulled into operational details.
To learn more about board decision-making, we recommend the Nonprofit Board Certificate Course.