According to BoardSource’s Leading with Intent, it’s most recent study of more than 800 public charity CEOs and Board chairs, non-profit Boards in the USA are currently:
1. Preoccupied with fundraising above all else
When asked how important the Board’s performance is, across 18 areas of Board responsibility, 70% of chief executives rated fundraising as ‘very important’ – above most other categories of Board performance including thinking strategically as a Board, setting the strategic direction of the organisation, knowledge of organisational programs, and understanding the context in which the organisation is working.
2. Disconnected from the communities and people they serve
Fifty per cent of all chief executives said that they did not have the right Board members to ‘establish trust with the communities they serve’. Only a third of Boards (32%) place a high priority on ‘knowledge of the community served’, and even fewer (28%) place a high priority on ‘membership within the community served’.
3. Ill-informed about the contexts in which their organisation is operating
Only 25% of Boards say that ‘knowledge of the organisation’s work or field’ is a high priority in Board recruitment, and only 11% place a high priority on ‘prior or current experience with a similar organisation/mission area’.
4. Lacking in racial and ethnic diversity
Not only are Boards overwhelmingly white (78% of Board members are white and 19% of Boards are all white), but Boards lacking in racial/ethnic diversity self-report that their Boards’ racial/ethnic makeup negatively impacts their ability to:
What then can be done? To address these issues, purpose-driven Boards should ask the following questions to reverse the four gaps highlighted above:
(Source: The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership)
Activity 4.3 The principles of a purpose-driven Board The article, Leading with Intent, defines the four principles of a purpose-driven Board as: Purpose before organization: prioritizing the organization's purpose, versus the organization itself. Respect for ecosystem: acknowledging that the organization's actions can positively or negatively impact its surrounding ecosystem, and a commitment to being a respectful and responsible ecosystem player. Equity mindset: committing to advancing equitable outcomes, and interrogating and avoiding the ways in which the organization's strategies and work may reinforce systemic inequities. Authorized voice and power: recognizing that organizational power and voice must be authorized by those impacted by the organization's work. How can a purpose-driven Board strengthen organisational safeguarding culture and practice? |