At St. Joseph Community Partnership Fund (SJCPF), we know firsthand the struggles that organizations face regarding governance. As part of our ongoing work, we want to rethink non-profit governance and how we support our partners to create a framework for deepening governance capacity, capability, and diversity by thoughtfully considering governance practices and the role of the board. Earlier this summer, we distributed a survey to 161 leaders from partner non-profit organizations. Our goal was to understand better the current makeup, top challenges, critiques, innovative practices, benefits, and top priorities of their boards.

The survey responses were insightful and informed the framework for the second event in our St. Joseph Summit Series – Let’s Talk About How to Engage Your Boards of Directors! I co-hosted this event last week with Karma Bass of Via Healthcare Consulting, where we dove deeper into the survey topics in a larger discussion and small breakout groups.

I know governance may not be the “hottest” topic or urgent thing on people's minds. However, I know that non-profit leaders are overburdened, overworked, and overwhelmed. That's why the information gathering on this subject is so critical. One role of an effective board should be to support executive leadership in successfully implementing the organization's mission.

As we are seeing, this is unfortunately not always the case. Board members are brought in because they have an essential skill set or expertise, creating role confusion and tension within leadership. The survey responses and the breakout sessions showed us that we need to help organizations educate and manage expectations for executives and board members. Organizations need assistance to move their boards from being just supportive to highly engaged without overreaching. This is a fine line, and we are motivated by what we've learned recently to help build capacity, starting with the organization’s board.

Karma talked about how she believes that good governance starts with "first do no harm." Unfortunately, many executives still see boards as a necessary evil, which is not how it should be. If we are going to respond to the challenges and opportunities in front of us, we should shift our mindset to embrace our boards. Moreover, we should strive to create equitable, community-centric boards that amplify the voices of community members.

Ultimately, we want to create boards with capacity, diversity, and equitable structures that add value. Karma asked the group, "If you didn't have a board and had to choose one, what would it look like?" Thinking outside the box, how do we create governance that isn't a burden to your already overwhelmed leadership or siloed, acting entirely independently and counter to your organization? How can we build a team owned by the community that offers an opportunity for transformation?

Image: St. Joseph Summit Series Breakout Group Questions

The answers to these questions are varied, yet every response is equally important as each one holds a unique perspective. Even though they may be difficult, these are important discussions because we have an opportunity to do better together as we work toward equity.

Consider these responses from the survey: 

Survey respondents offered several suggestions to help boards best reflect, center, and serve their communities. Suggestions included:

• Increased diversity, especially women and persons of color. (6 of 22)
• Ensuring service user representative(s) on the board. (4 of 22)
• Better mirror the demographics of our community. (3 of 22)

Survey respondents were asked to select from a drop-down list what they consider to be the top 3 priorities for boards. The following priorities were identified as being the most important:

• Building relationships within the community that help support and inform the organization’s work (separate from fundraising). (9 of 22)

In addition to what the groups discussed at the Summit, we are mining survey data and developing a strategy for future action. As SJCPF endeavors to expand our work to include assisting partners in transforming governance, I'd love to hear from you. Please share below what you believe is the most significant benefit to having a board and what you think the top priority of your board should be. And, if you're not already, follow SJCPF on LinkedIn to stay informed about this emerging initiative.