How does an NGO board function? What does it do?
It, first of all, sets policies and strategies for the NGO, in line with the agreed purposes, principles and scope of the NGO. It also sets operational guidelines, work plans and budgets for the NGO and policy and program support. Many times, it is also called on to make funding decisions. It assists the internal workings of the NGOs to reduce the extra charge of 80g registration by setting criteria for membership of, and appointing, review panels and/or support groups. It may also establish a framework for monitoring and periodic independent evaluation of performance and financial accountability of activities supported by the NGO. One of its main roles is the representation of the NGO in the larger community. It represents views of the NGO in various constituencies, or within the NGO community in relation to outside Constituting an NGO Board organizations. It is frequently asked to coordinate with outside agencies, as well as advocate for the NGO, and mobilize resources.
Often, the Board is the first contact that a target audience has, and in some cases, it is the first contact where peoples’ concerns are actually heard – due to the high standing of Board members in the community.
how does ngo board function
The Board’s presence in the field sometimes forces decision-makers to listen to affected peoples’ concerns and can help to open up alternative solutions.
Within the board set-up itself, a board selects and appoints chairpersons for the Board, and also participates on committees and working groups of the NGO or ngo registration.
The functions, roles, and responsibilities of board members of non-profit corporations are simultaneously simple and complex. The best way for us to understand these ideas is to look at them in simple terms, and then add more information—layers of complexity—as we go along. A Board of Directors of a non-profit corporation are usually unpaid volunteers who are trustees of the corporation (agency) who represent and are responsible to the agency’s clients, to the community, to funders, to the government, and to taxpayers as a whole. The Board of Directors is responsible for seeing that the agency keeps the promises described in the agency’s mission and values statements, and for assuring that the agency is accountable for acting within the laws governing the operations of non-profit corporations. There are many of these laws and they represent the interests of local, state, and the federal government. Boards of Directors act only as a group. Individuals on Boards should have no power except that which is expressed by a majority vote of the Board as a whole. Boards of Directors are responsible for creating the organization’s mission— which is the purpose for which it was formed—and values statements, for writing and monitoring the agency’s strategic plan to accomplish its mission, hiring, evaluating, supporting, and sometimes firing the executive director, ensuring the fiscal integrity of the agency’s operations and records, representing the ideas, culture, needs, and desires of the community it serves, and developing policies and procedures that assure that employees are treated fairly and within the law.
