Stanford GSB 1980 classmate Beth Sawi shares her thoughts on questions to consider before joining a non-profit board of directors.
Beth was an executive with the brokerage firm Charles Schwab from 1982 until her retirement in 2002. She has served on a wide variety of for profit and non-profit boards including Alameda County Community Food Bank, Credo Mobile, Freight & Salvage (Society for the Preservation of Historical Music), Ms. Foundation for Women, Oakland Museum of California, Project Redwood, Schwab Fund for Charitable Giving, and Saint James Church of Florence, Italy. She also is author of “Coming Up for Air: How to Build a Balanced Life in a Workaholic World” (Hyperion, 2000). She now spends her days hanging out with her family, traveling, and fly fishing.
If you even casually mention that you’d consider joining a particular non-profit board, I predict that you’ll soon be inundated with flowery compliments from members of that board. Like many non-profits, that board is probably short on candidates that can handle committee work, make generous donations, and show up for meetings. If other board members think you’ll fill even two out of three of those requirements, you’ll soon be the large bull’s eye on their recruiting target.
Don’t let their praise and enthusiasm muddy your judgment! Even if you have been a long-time donor, signing up for the board will expose you to a different side of the organization. Finding answers to the following questions can save you from uncomfortable situations.
How much do you care about this organization?
Joining a board is frequently a decade-long commitment. The board may meet quarterly but add in time for committee meetings, task forces, board retreats, fund-raisers, and many other time sinks. Plus, your commitments will tend to grow over time as you become more involved. Is this the organization where you want to dedicate all those hours? If your answer is yes, then what do you do now that you are willing to quit in order to have time for your new board?
Why you, other than your massive intellect?
Does the non-profit have an unsustainable business model and is in need of a miracle worker? Are you seen as an “open sesame” that will unlock the treasure chests that lay within the walls of your company or your social set? Is your friend on the board looking for a golf partner on the annual retreat? There are probably lots of reasons you are wanted on their board…you just have to be comfortable with what those reasons are.
Has your reputation for generosity been exaggerated?
Unless you are joining the board of a foundation, you will be asked to make a donation. There may or may not be a match between what you want to give and what they expect. Find this out early. Ask about the size and frequency of the gifts of other board members. Is a massive capital or building campaign just around the corner (probably)? When the size of your donation is printed in the annual newsletter next to those from your fellow board members, how are you going to feel?
Are you a good fit with the culture of the board?
Ask if you can sit in on a meeting. Then pay attention. What are the discussions like? Does anyone ever disagree or give alternative suggestions? Is the board meeting process-heavy? Are you in a meeting that swerves away from its agenda? None of this is necessarily bad, but is this the kind of meeting that you want to be in over the next many years?
Who is asking you to join?
If the Executive Director (ED) is driving the process, where is the board? If it is other board members who are recruiting you, find out what they think of their ED. Put your antennae up if no one is eager to get you and the ED together. Conversely, is the ED subtly inhibiting you from meeting one-on-one with board members? One of my friends was recruited onto a board by her buddy who was the Executive Director of the organization. In my friend’s first meeting, the board went to executive session to discuss—you guessed it—terminating her buddy.
Is there a job description for board members?
If there is, are you a good fit? Show it to your spouse or a good friend. Do they think you are a good fit? Find out how closely the other board members are fulfilling the requirements in the written description. The answers are apt to be revealing.
Are there term limits for board members?
Non-profit organizations need to grow and change. Most board allow their members a maximum tenure of 8-10 years—long enough. I won’t join a board that doesn’t have term limits. Long tenured board members tend to place exaggerated value on practices which may no longer be relevant. Find a board where the people are working to solve the problems of the future, not clinging to memories of past good deeds.
What isn’t the organization telling you?
Most organizations have their secrets—learn them before you join. Digging into the organization’s 990 tax forms is an excellent way to start your investigation. The 990s are much richer than the polished annual reports as they not only give you recent financial history, but also the highest paid employees, what percs are given to the executive director, and how non-cash expenses might be warping the bottom line. The 990s of most non-profits are available online but also should be easily available to a potential board member. In addition to the 990s, close questioning can serve you well. A board chair once confessed to me that his non-profit used a grant for capital spending on monthly operating costs. He hoped the grantor would never ask what happened to the money. To me, hope is a poor contingency plan; I decided not to join the board.
As you find answers to these questions, you’ll gather other key information. Are the ED and board president individuals you admire and want to work with? Do you like and trust the other people you’ve met? Joining a board is like accepting a job. If you have an affinity for the organization, a passion for their mission, an informed sense of what the “work” of the board will be for you, and you like the people, being part of a non-profit board can reward you in ways you may not imagine. If not, why waste your time?