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Making a Strong Case for Governance of Nonprofits

Recently, a colleague and I were having lunch in Old Town when the topic of nonprofit governance came up.

Odd topic for a lunchtime conversation, but she chairs a nonprofit board and is a prominent philanthropist, while I teach at the University of San Diego and consult on the subject.

I was wondering why people have such a hard time with the concept when she said, “The word itself is boring. It ranks right up there with parliamentary procedure. Who can get excited about it?”

This is puzzling to me since so many people serve on nonprofit boards.

From Little League to surf clubs, condo associations to charitable foundations, block watches to schools, service clubs to youth organizations, churches to hospitals, board service engages thousands of us daily.

How do we reclaim the concept and make the word resonate in our hearts and minds? First, we need a more complete definition of governance.

Definition

Our current definition reads: “The use of authority to set organizational purpose and to ensure that the organization serves those purposes.” Somehow, it forgets to mention three essential elements of governance: why, for whom and how we do the work.

Substitute “an organized group of people, who, together, advance a mission for the common good, on behalf of the community.”

Now governance is about working together in an organized and passionate way to improve our mutual lives. It becomes a sacred community trust.

Second, we enlarge our framework. We recognize that governance is about leadership, not management. Leadership requires us to offer our unique values, beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and skills to advance a cause.

We offer our whole beings , our wisdom, our perspectives, our connections, not just our expertise. Now our work involves passion, trust, responsibility and the best of our human nature.

Third, we ask different questions that engage us more deeply, such as “What does this organization and the community demand of its board and what must this board do?” We then structure our work to meet these demands and we evaluate our progress.

Now our work is more conscious, meaningful and effective. We reflect, learn and grow as people, as a group and as a community.

Stop Crabbing

Finally, we stop crabbing and celebrate both the miracle of governance and the people who practice it. We need good governance to keep our community healthy and vibrant.

It is part of the deep structure of our democratic society.

It is how we get things done, give back, find friends, meet neighbors and make meaning.

It has all the elements of a good story: passion, values, dedication, drama, variety, conflict, resolution, victory, an opportunity to walk in another’s footsteps, and satisfaction.

Simply put, this kind of governance is love, the kind we live on a daily basis. How could love be boring?


Liz Shear is a faculty member in the University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Leadership and Management Master’s Program and coordinator of USD’s Annual Institute for Nonprofit Governance, which was scheduled for last week on campus.

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