Leading with Intent:
BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices

1. Boards are disconnected from the communities and people they serve.

Almost half (49%) 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.”

2. Boards that prioritize fundraising above all else when it comes to the board’s role do so at the expense of organizational strategy, relevance, and impact.

Executives that reported placing the highest level of importance on fundraising have lower ratings in several key areas of performance as compared to those that do not place such high importance on fundraising.

3. Boards and executives should reflect on what is prioritized in terms of board expectations and how time is spent.

When asked to rate how much time is spent on each board area, executives reported that not enough time was spent on building a diverse and inclusive board with a commitment to equity, understanding the context in which the organization is working, building relationships within the community that help support and inform the organization’s work (Separate From Fundraising).

But, when asked about how important these areas are, executives placed them very low on the list in terms of their expectations for the board.

4. The board chair’s leadership in ensuring that there are clear expectations of board service seems to matter most when it comes to the board’s overall culture.

When executives rated their chairs higher in terms of the board chair’s performance in all categories, but especially in ensuring clear expectations, the executive was more likely to rate the board higher than the average across all areas of board culture.

While we cannot determine causation or even directionality, it may be helpful for boards that are having culture challenges to consider the ways in which changes in board chair engagement could make a difference.

Leading with Intent: BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices

How does your board compare to your peers in its composition, culture, and practices? Who serves on your board? What matters most when it comes to your board’s roles and responsibilities?  What impact are you having on organizational performance? How does your board conduct its work? Explore trends and insights about today’s nonprofit boards in Leading with Intent: BoardSource Index of Nonprofit Board Practices. And use the data to start a conversation with your board.

Leading with Intent: Reviewing the State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Nonprofit Boards

In Leading with Intent: Reviewing the Current State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Nonprofit Boards, we explore how boards are or are not reflective of the communities they are seeking to serve, how boards are thinking about racial inequity in relation to the organization’s mission and programmatic outcomes, and current board practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Learn More.

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