Читать книгу Nonprofit Kit For Dummies - Stan Hutton, Beverly A. Browning - Страница 65

Some organizations form advisory boards, which have no governance responsibilities. Advisory boards are optional, and how they operate and relate to the governing board of directors varies widely among different nonprofit organizations. Generally, their role falls into one of the following two categories:

 Members provide advice and guidance because of their professional expertise.

 Prominent names are be listed on the organization’s letterhead.

We favor advisory boards that actually give advice (which generally means you have to ask for it) — even if they do so only once a year. Some organizations also use advisory board appointments as a way of getting to know potential board members.

Many people join boards because they care about and understand the nature of the service that the organization provides, but they may not be trained in bookkeeping and accounting. These board members must try not to let their eyes glaze over when the financial report is reviewed at the board meeting, because part of a board member’s job is to understand finances. If members don’t understand the financial fine points, they need to ask questions of staff and other board members until they do understand them. Of course, they also can study Chapter 12 on nonprofit budgets and financial statements.

Sometimes the problem is more than a lack of comprehension. For instance, the financial information may need to be presented more clearly. If one board member doesn’t understand the financial reports, chances are good that other board members don’t understand them, either. If your organization uses an outside accountant or bookkeeper to keep track of finances, ask for a brief meeting with that person to explain how they have presented the information. Many nonprofit service organizations offer affordable workshops on nonprofit finances and recordkeeping to assist board and staff members; others have programs that place volunteers from businesses into nonprofits.