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V O L . X X N O. X X G i V i N G G u i d e 2 0 1 4 – 2 0 1 5 10 MARy ellen jACKSon Executive Director New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits F ew constructs are more American or more ancient than the board model. e Massachusetts Bay Co. was the first American board. Established in 1620, its charter called for the appointment of 13 men, to be cho- sen for their "honesty, expertise and wisdom" to be entrusted with managing the colonial government. Appointing elders, deacons and overseers to oversee organizations focused on the common good dates back to the early settlers' time but that was almost 400 years ago and today many in the non- profit sector believe it is high time we take a hard look at the model. Currently nonprofits must have a board of at least five unrelated independent community members who assume the ultimate responsibly for the health and well-being of the organization. In addition, non- profits that contract with government to provide spe- cific services for vulnerable populations are mandated to have a certain percentage of consumers on their board. ese volunteers are mandated to provide fiduciary, governance and strategic oversight. is is just the tip of the iceberg, as many board members are also stepping to the plate to execute sophisticated fundraising strategies, recruit and retain talented executive directors, oversee complex financial audits, and articulate and oversee highly competitive business plans. Today's nonprofit boards are governing organi- zations that are facing sweeping fundraising chal- lenges as government partnership dollars shrink, competition increases for private funding and the need for services grows. In addition, boards must recruit, prepare and retain future volunteers from a younger population of civic leaders who have vastly diverse interests and often little time for community volunteerism. As a result, an entire industry has emerged for the purposes of consulting and teaching board governance and numerous approaches to board governance have emerged. Yet an abundance of research indicates that while nonprofit board members are usually intelligent individuals with significant expertise, nonprofit boards as a whole are low performing. e concept behind the nonprofit board is noble, but the actual implementation of this governing model is fraught with challenges and perhaps not up to the complexities facing today's nonprofits. Boards must practice what the law calls the "duties of care, obedience and loyalty" which demand that boards operate transparently, honor and work in accordance of the approved bylaws and charters and that individual trustees disclose all conflicts of interest and not take part in an activity or vote if a conflict of interest exists. ese laws create a broad and sweeping net regarding what the board can and cannot do, but how to do their work as a board is the real chal- lenge. But is it realistic to ask 12-18 people to come around a table 6-10 times a year and know the organization well enough to be able to make critical financial, strategic and governing decisions? Jackson will help the Maine Association of Nonprofits (MANP) kick off the Executive Leadership Forum, a new series to provide the opportunity for Maine nonprofit Executive Directors and Board Chairs to explore important and provocative subjects facing the sector. e session is sponsored by the Davenport Trust and will take place on Nov. 20 at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. e forum is one of a slate of a diverse range of man- agement training and leadership development programs offered by MANP, a statewide membership organiza- tion with over 800 nonprofit members and 150 corpo- rate supporters. MANP also provides a broad range of capacity building and advocacy resources and services that assist Maine nonprofit leaders in enhancing the community mission impact of their organizations. the nonprofit board WinterKids Cooper Campbell Day at Shawnee Peak. is the time-honored model still effective? "The concept behind the nonprofit board is noble, but the actual implementation of this governing model is fraught with challenges and perhaps not up to the complexities facing today's nonprofits."

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