A nonprofit board is an essential group of people who can help your organization achieve its mission. But, new members have to be informed about their responsibilities and roles prior to when they join in order that they can participate fully.

The first thing to stress to new board members that they are not in charge of the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit. The executive director, paid staff, and volunteers are responsible for those tasks. The role of the nonprofit board board is to oversee and provide direction.

In order to do this they must be aware of the organization’s finances and operations. They need to know what their legal and fiduciary obligations are, as well as how to evaluate the executive director, and the policies of the organization’s governance.

Board members who are new also require the ability to effectively monitor and manage fundraising initiatives. Some nonprofits require all board members to make a financial contribution and others encourage donations but do not require them. The most successful fundraisers are the ones who are able to help the board decide on the best strategy for generating revenue and support the board in implementing it.

To help them accomplish this, the organization must give board members a clear description of their job as well as regular communication channels in person as well as remotely using tools like MemberClicks association management software, to keep them up-to-date on what is happening. The organization should make it easy for the board members to locate information by creating a section on their website that allows them to access agendas, documents and minutes of meetings.