The role of a nonprofit board chair is often undervalued and overlooked. As a result, many new board chairs find themselves stepping into a leadership role that is not clearly defined and having had very little preparation.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Working with hundreds of nonprofit clients, we’ve seen firsthand how investing in education, preparation, and clarity can be transformative for boards.
In this article, we’re providing a crash course on what it means to be a nonprofit board chair. We’ll define the roles, responsibilities, and job description of a nonprofit board chair. Whether you’re a board member considering taking on the role or a nonprofit executive director eager to prepare your new board chair to succeed, this article is for you.
What Does a Nonprofit Board Chair Do?
A nonprofit board chair is the top leadership position on the board of directors. The four essential duties of a nonprofit board chair are to:
- Lead the board
- Facilitate board meetings
- Ensure accountability
- Support the organization’s executive director
These duties, which we’ll dig into more below, apply to nonprofit organizations of any size. To successfully carry out these duties, board chairs need professional and interpersonal skills to unify and mobilize the board and staff.
The Role of the Board Chair in Nonprofit Leadership
Not all organizations opt to use the title “board chair.” Common equivalent board titles include Board President, Chairperson, or even Chief Executive Board Member.
Regardless of the title, the individual spearheading a nonprofit board is uniquely positioned to create impact or incite chaos within the organization’s leadership culture. Because the board chair is paramount to an organization’s viability, the role should be defined and stewarded accordingly.
Yet research shows that 51% of board chairs report no specific training or preparation before taking on their role.
If you are a board member, board chair, or executive director struggling with your board’s role and leadership, you are not alone.
Getting Detailed: The Essential Duties of a Nonprofit Board Chair
While there may be small variations across organizations, nonprofit board chairs typically fulfill the following four essential duties:
1) Lead the Board
A nonprofit board chair is responsible for leading by example. They should not only understand the legal and ethical roles and responsibilities of the board of directors (you can learn more about nonprofit governance here), but model them at all times.
Board chairs should proactively seek ways to stay informed, keep the board informed, and take timely action in the mission’s best interest. To ensure internal cohesion, identity, and direction for the organization, we recommend that board chairs:
- Lead regular reviews of the organization’s vision and mission.
- Propose policies and procedures to ensure sustainability and ongoing success for the nonprofit.
- Ensure structures and procedures are in place for effective recruitment and onboarding of new board members.
- Engage the board, staff, and stakeholders in strategic planning processes.
Board chairs may also be responsible for:
- Supporting board committees, such as coordinating committee reporting schedules, identifying problems, assisting the committee chairperson with problem-solving, and, if necessary, bringing issues to the attention of the board as a whole.
- Representing the organization in public forums or partnerships.
- Speaking to the media as a representative of the organization.
Finally, the board chair has additional legal responsibilities, above and beyond those of a regular board member. As the governing board’s chief officer, the board chair is generally one of the authorized signers of legal documents for the nonprofit organization. In this capacity, they may be authorized or required to sign or countersign checks, correspondence, applications, reports, contracts, or other documents on behalf of the organization.
2) Facilitate Board Meetings
Board chairs should partner with the Executive Director and the executive committee to create board meeting agendas. While an Executive Director or other board members may play an essential role in drafting or reporting at regular board meetings, the board chair should have the communication and time-management skills needed to drive strategic conversations and action.
3) Ensure Accountability
A nonprofit board chair may delegate specific duties to the Executive Director, board members and/or committees as appropriate. However, the accountability for the work and outcomes remains with the chair.
As such, board chairs should ensure accountability reviews and processes are in place. This includes:
- Regular board performance reviews.
- Regular performance reviews of the Executive Director.
- Oversight reviews to ensure the organization is adhering to all approved policies and procedures and legal requirements.
- Resource audits to ensure the organization has the financial, human, and material resources needed to fulfill its mission.
Based on the results of each assessment, the chair must ensure that board and staff leadership work together to address failures and build on strengths.
4) Support and Supervise the Executive Director
A nonprofit’s board chair and the Executive Director essentially serve as “co-captains” of the organization.
The relationship between the board chair and Executive Director is where governance and management meet. One is responsible for motivating and managing the staff and the other for motivating and managing the board. The relationship should be symbiotic and should focus on how each leader can best leverage resources to fulfill the organization’s vision and mission.
As part of cultivating this relationship, the board chair should:
- Meet regularly with the Executive Director.
- Ensure clarity of job expectations for the Executive Director.
- Lead Executive Director performance reviews.
- Serve as a sounding board and support system for the Executive Director.
- Request feedback from the Executive Director regarding board engagement.
- Develop succession plans at both the board and staff levels.
To make the relationship work, board chairs should also take the time to establish communication norms with the Executive Director. For example: How does each individual wish to receive messages and key correspondences? What are each person’s hours of availability? What is an acceptable response time?
Another tool that can increase clarity, collaboration, and accountability is a strategic plan. You can learn more about what goes into the strategic planning process and the written product here.
Sample Job Description for a Nonprofit Board Chair
Below is a sample job description for a nonprofit board chair that you can feel free to adapt for your organization’s needs:
The Board Chair/President is responsible for ensuring that the Board of Directors and its members are aware of and fulfill their governance responsibilities, comply with applicable laws and bylaws, conduct board business effectively and efficiently, and are accountable for their performance.
In order to fulfill these responsibilities, and subject to the organization’s bylaws, the Board Chair/President presides over meetings, proposes policies and practices, sits on various committees, monitors the performance of Directors and Officers, submits various reports to the board, to funders, and to other stakeholders; proposes the creation of committees; appoints members to such committees; and performs other duties as the need arises and/or as defined in the bylaws.
The Chair/President is accountable to the Board of Directors or Members as specified in the bylaws. The Chair/President may delegate specific duties to the Executive Director, Board members and/or committees as appropriate; however, the accountability for them remains with the Chair/President.
Specific responsibilities of the board chair include:
Meetings: The Chair/President ensures that an agenda is planned for board meetings. This may involve periodic meetings with committee chairpersons and the Executive Director to draft meeting agendas and reporting schedules.
The Chair/President presides over meetings of the Board of Directors. In this capacity, the President:
- Chairs meetings according to accepted rules of order for the purposes of encouraging all members to participate in discussion and arriving at decisions in an orderly, timely and democratic manner.
- Votes as prescribed in the bylaws. In boards that operate with and executive committee, the Chair/President performs the above duties for the executive committee
Board Committees: The President serves as an ex officio member of board committees specified in the bylaws. In this capacity, the Chair/President’s role is to:
- Serve as a voting member of the committee (if specified in the bylaws).
- Negotiate reporting schedules.
- Identify problems and assist the committee chairperson to resolve them, and if necessary, bring them to the attention of the Board of Directors.
Board-Staff Relations: The Chair/President is the primary liaison between the Board and the Executive Director. In this capacity, the Chair/President:
- Meets periodically with the Executive Director.
- Ensures periodic performance reviews of the Executive Director are conducted.
- Participates in the hiring and evaluation of the Executive Director.
Community Relations: The Chair/President ensures the organization maintains positive and productive relationships with media, funders, donors, and other organizations. In this capacity, the Chair/President works in conjunction with the Executive Director to serve as one of the primary spokespersons for the organization.
Signing Officer: The Chair/President is normally designated by the Board of Directors and/or bylaws as one of the signing officers for certain documents. In this capacity, the Chair/President may be authorized or required to sign or countersign checks, correspondence, applications, reports, contracts, or other documents on behalf of the organization.
Board Development: The Chair/President ensures that structures and procedures are in place for effective recruitment, training, and evaluation of board members.
Fundraising: The Chair/President ensures that structures and procedures are in place for securing the resources required by the organization. Depending upon the organization, this may require the Chair/President to play a leadership role in fundraising campaigns through personal contributions of services and money.
Training and Support for Board Chairs
As is clear from this article and the sample job description, the role of the board chair is more than just a title.
A board chair’s responsibilities are multifaceted and essential. Just like nonprofit staff, board chairs benefit from training and support to excel in their roles. Funding for Good offers customized board training solutions, as well as a suite of board templates and training webinars in our shop.
Leading a nonprofit board is far from easy. It requires time, skills, and dedication. If you’re a nonprofit board chair in need of support or a staff leader looking to better support your chair, we’d be happy to discuss how we can help.
