Volunteer your expertise as a board member
This year, with Mandela Day in mind, Badisa would like to celebrate the 1 000+ volunteers serving on the 108 governing boards of our organisation. In April this year, Badisa appointed board members for the next three-year term. We know that a strong board with well-recruited and involved board members are crucial for the success of our programmes.
It has been a challenge to find committed, talented and willing volunteers to take up this leadership responsibility. We are there for very grateful to our board members who have commit themselves to serve and give their time and expertise.
Badisa is governed by a Management Board, elected by the Members’ Meeting. The Management Board appoints Governing Boards for all the Badisa Programmes and delegates management powers to these boards. All governing board members serve as representatives from local communities and congregations.
The responsibilities of the boards are mainly to ensure good governance and to support the manager and staff of the Programme. Board members must have professional skills and experience that are valuable to the organisation. They should be willing to use their influence and connections to advocate on behalf of the organisation and its beneficiaries and boost donor confidence and increase the opportunities to attract resources.
Badisa relies strongly on the efficient functioning and accountability practices of its governing boards. This model supports ownership on local level while it also offers stability and a uniform approach to strategy, policy, processes and systems within a shared identity. To be effective, board members must have good judgment, ability to think strategically and work together as a team.
Badisa is responsible to recruit and appoint new board members and provide training. Board members have a better chance of being effective if they quickly become familiar with the organisation and to know what are their responsibilities.
We also would like to thank all our board members whose term ended in March and we do hope you keep in contact and continue to be ambassadors of the organisation.
According to Feryal Domingo, operations director of Inyathelo, the process of identifying new board members can be time-consuming. Even when there may be no apparent reason to recruit new members, it is still important to use this time to build up relationships with potential future recruits. Potential board members need to embrace the same values as the NPO and identify with its vision and objectives. The more structured the recruitment process, the better the chances of recruiting an effective board member.
Every NPO should develop a list of the skills, experience and background required for its ideal board. Once the board has identified where it currently falls short, it can establish priority areas that need to be addressed when recruiting new members. The board should ideally have expertise in subjects such as governance, financial management, law, marketing, fundraising, administration and human resources.
Incoming board members should receive an overview of the NPO’s past and present activities; information on current funders and the funding position; financial statements and operational policies; an overview of the NPO’s legal status; an overview of the board’s governance responsibilities; and a tour of the NPO workplace and facilities.
Source: BizCommunity
