Berkeley Board Fellows Kick Off Meeting 10/21/2011

Kick-off October 20, 2011

Haas School of BusinessUC Berkeley

Agenda

• 4:00 – 4:20 Welcome

Berkeley Board Fellows

Program

• 4:20 – 4:35 Board Governance

• 4:35 – 4:50 Panel

• 4:50 – 5:00 Matching Mentors & Fellows

• 5:00 – 5:10 Group Photo

• 5:10 – 5:30 Mentors & Fellows Discussions

2

Welcome

Nora Silver• Director and Adjunct Professor, Center for Nonprofit and

Public Leadership• Co-founder and first board chair, Board Match Plus• Author, Telling the Whole Story: Voices of Ethnic

Volunteers in America

Paul Jansen• Adjunct Professor, Center for Nonprofit and Public

Leadership; Director Emeritus, McKinsey & Company• Board member, CARE USA• Author, The Dynamic Board: Lessons from High-Performing

Nonprofits, McKinsey & Company

3

(Some) Board Fellow Organizations

4

5

Center MissionEmpowering future leaders to achieve

social impact across sectors

Berkeley Board Fellows Preparing the next generation of board

leaders

Center for Nonprofit & Public Leadership

Berkeley Board Fellows Growth

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

8 10

4956 55

6659

68

95

# Fellows

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Benefits

Fellows

• Work at the highest level of an organization with dynamic and experienced board members

• Understand governance and develop valuable leadership skills

• Gain an understanding of the intersection of the business and nonprofit sector

• Make an impact on your local communityOrganizations

• Gain a fresh perspective• Leverage Haas MBA/graduate student skills• Develop skills in recruiting and working with

young professional board members• Mentor future social sector leaders

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Fellow Commitment

8

• Fellow actively participates as a non-voting board member

Board Service

• Fellow serves on a board committee or task force, usually based on the content of the project

Board Committee Participation

• Fellow completes a project on a critical board need (working in pairs when matched)

Board-Level Project

8-10 Hours per Month

Sample of Past Projects

STRATEGY• Strategic plan for leveraging social networking technology• Feasibility study of a new service• Development plan for recruiting next generation board members

FINANCE• Financial analysis of underperforming programs• Financial sustainability model to determine fundraising needs• Financial reporting development

MARKETING• Brand audit • Market research • Analysis of the organization’s

value to clients

OTHER• Program evaluation • Implementation plan for an alumni association• New online fundraising tool• Progress reporting tools to inform the board on a major organizational overhaul

9

Mentor Commitment

CoachGuide and coach

the fellow

IntroduceProvide a formal

introduction to the organization, the

board, and its work

IntegrateInclude the fellow in all board meetings

and connect with key board/staff/stakehold

ers

EncourageEncourage the

fellow to actively contribute his/her

perspective

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Program Year (October – May)

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Regular attendance at board and committee meetings

Kick-off Session

(October)

Coaching sessions

(November)

Deliverable: Update

(December)

Fellows Workshops (February)

Final deliverable (Mid-May)

Introduction to Governance – Why do Boards Exist?

• Hold organization “in trust” for the community– Protect donors– Prevent nonprofit executive abuse– Substitute for shareholders, customers,

competition

• Legal duties of trustees– Care (prudent person)– Loyalty (put organization first)– Obedience (faithful to mission)

12

9 Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards

Sha

pe m

issi

on a

nd

stra

tegi

c di

rect

ion

Monitor and improve performance

Ensure leadership and resources

• Select, evaluate and develop CEO

• Ensure adequate financial resources

• Lend expertise; provide access to people

• Enhance reputation of organization• Oversee financial management, ensure

appropriate risk management• Monitor performance, ensure

accountability• Improve board performance

• Shape, clarify mission and vision

• Engage actively in strategic decision making and policy decisions

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Lessons from our Research

– There are 9 clearly defined roles of a nonprofit board, with a gold standard of performance for each

– Lots of ways boards, as entities and individuals, can help. Pick your spots carefully to allot valuable time where needed most

– Recognize performance management as one of the nonprofit board's core roles

– Good governance is execution, so sweat the little things: good meeting agendas/materials, open communication, having fun.

– Invest significant time in board evaluation and continuous improvement 14

Types of Boards

Organizing Board– small, homogeneous, informal – committed to purpose

Governing Board– larger and more diverse board– committees become important– shared authority between board and staff: board chair

and executive director are principal leaders– transition to governing board takes at least 3 years and

a lot of staff time

Institutional Board– very large (35-60 or more)– prestigious -- includes large donors or those with access

to funders– accepts the responsibility of fundraising– delegates some governance to executive committee

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Resources

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• People• Nora Silver• Paul Jansen• Jay Espovich

• Frameworks based on type of project

• Nonprofit Boards Class – Spring, 2 Wkd Days (Students)

• Subscriptions available for• Guidestar.org• Boardsource• Foundation Center• Chronicle of

Philanthropy

• BBF Student and Org Guides

• Other Online resources• www.boardcafe.org • www.boardsource.org• www.bridgespan.org • www.compasspoint.or

g/boardbasics

• On-going communications

• Monthly check-ins• Mid-term and year-

end evaluations• All info available at

http://bit.ly/boardfellows

Panel

• David Reimer, Haas Executive in Residence– Board Mentor, Destiny Arts Center

• Sedora Tantraphol, MPP 2012– Board Fellow, Contra Costa Crisis Center

• Jenni Tonti, MBA 2012– Board Fellow, Children’s Council of San

Francisco

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Lessons Learned

• What worked well for you?

• What would you do differently to make the fellowship more valuable for the Fellow and the Board?

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Find your Match

• Each organization has been assigned a number 1-50

• Find your match by going to the assigned number (Southwest Airlines boarding approach) along the east or west wall of the room

• Proceed to the courtyard for a group picture

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Mentor-Fellow Discussion

• Personal introductions• Project Scope (due November 10)

– Problem to be solved– What information/analysis is needed– Deliverables– Timing– Process for working with mentor/organization

• Integrating fellow into the board– What kind of board is it? Members? Style?– Getting engaged- introduction, committee– Meeting dates

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