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it is the responsibility of the Board to ensure that the results have both the substance and the appearance of being fair and objective.

The stakeholders (these can be shareholders but may also include donors and others who provide funds or goods, government or associations that provide authority/license, individual volunteer effort, and/or anything else needed for the non-profit to operate) are generally not involved to make a financial return but because they share a common belief; that the organization is doing something they find to be worthwhile.

In a non-profit, not only are results not always additive, but in many cases it is not just the end result that is important, but how that result is achieved. Consider, for example, an organization whose goal is to prevent or reduce unwed teenage pregnancy. Most people would agree that this is the goal is worthy but it would be hard to engage stakeholders who believe the best way to do this is to teach morality (e.g. abstinence) if you ask them to provide sex education and freely available birth control. This choice also is independent of which approach is more effective in achieving the desired result.

To be successful the Board must share the beliefs of the stakeholders. The Board must be aware of and must ensure that the organization's goal and its approach will fit with the beliefs of the stakeholders.

The Board must also be keenly aware of any variations in these beliefs or it will find that introducing anything new may be acceptable to one group of stakeholders but may raise concerns or even alienate others. A good Board can never do enough to have good two-way communication with its stakeholders.

If you want to be successful on the Board of a non-profit you must personally believe in mission of the non-profit. You will need to be sure that results are fair and objective before they are presented, and you must be willing to spend the time and energy needed to understand all of the stakeholder interests.

Learn more about this author, Thomas Schipani.
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