Part II of the Genetic Alliance Interactive Guide

Developing a Governance Board

Boards: Which and Why

If you plan to apply for nonprofit tax status, you'll need to be incorporated, and in most states that means you will need a governance board.

If you want to develop guidelines for standards of care for your disorder, you need a clinical or medical advisory board. Even if your publication needs are simpler - to develop patient-education pieces, for example, or information sheets that parents can give to their children's teachers - you should have a medical advisor or medical advisory board.

If you want to review applications for funding for research, you need a research or scientific advisory board. Include basic and clinical scientists in and outside of the fields that study your condition. Advisors familiar with your condition can advise you about the condition. Advisors outside the field can assess grant applications and address questions that would be a conflict of interest for those inside the field.

Governance boards for small, condition-specific organizations are often developed somewhat informally. If you are contemplating nonprofit status, you probably already know the people who can form the foundation of your governance board. This board will have to be in place, along with bylaws and other requirements, before your organization can apply for federal Internal Revenue Service 501(c) (3) tax status.

The organization BoardSource has excellent publications that will be helpful as you begin to build your board - http://www.boardsource.org/.

The National Health Council has a statement of good operating practices for voluntary health organizations. It addresses issues such as basic organization, personnel policies, financial management, and fundraising. It also has recommendations for governance boards.

The National Health Council recommends that a governance board have at least five members and that they serve as volunteers. (They may be reimbursed for expenses related directly to attendance of meetings.) It further recommends that board members be bound by a conflict-of-interest policy and that the board or its committees meet at least three times a year.

How Will You Motivate People to Serve?

Perhaps your new or small organization thinks that few people would be interested enough in your narrow goals and objectives to serve on a board governing your organization. We challenge you to think about your organization and the governing board in a new way. There are many reasons why individuals might choose to make a difference by supporting your organization and helping to guide it. Some of these might be:

To contribute to a good cause
To be involved in a dynamic grassroots organization
To associate with other exciting and inspiring individuals
To assist a related cause - for example, your condition might cause heart disease and someone might wish to impact heart disease in a very focused way
A personal connection - an individual is a friend or relative of a person affected by the condition

Once you understand what motivates people to serve, you can recruit individuals you think would be assets to your board. Just because someone shows an interest in the board - or any other volunteer activity - does not mean that they should be brought into that role. You want to attract people with ideas, but you want your board to work smoothly and serve the members foremost. Try to avoid individuals who appear to have an agenda contrary to yours, or who have an ax to grind. You want to be able to reflect a breadth of opinion - and to handle (and invite) constructive criticism - but at the end of the day, you need to be able to work as a team.

» Developing Bylaws and Articles of Organization

Privacy Policy - Disclaimer - Funding
Maintained by the Genetic Alliance.
The Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups was written by Sharon Fontaine Terry and Caitlin Burke, with contributions from Genetic Alliance members. The Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups is made available under a Creative Commons license. You may make and share copies of this work for noncommercial purposes without modifications and with this acknowledgement included in full. More information is available at About the Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups.

Send feedback about the Interactive Guide.

SEPTEMBER 2004: This is a preliminary installation of the Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups. We need your feedback. Make comments on specific pages (you may see error messages, but comments should still post), or send email. Is something missing? Can we make it easier to navigate? This Guide will change regularly over the next few months as we incorporate changes and fine tune the site. Thank you!

AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO BUILDING ADVOCACY GROUPS
Part II
Part I Part II Assessment Structure Resources Support Education Research Advocacy Part III	Developing a Governance Board Boards: Which and Why If you plan to apply for nonprofit tax status, you'll need to be incorporated, and in most states that means you will need a governance board. If you want to develop guidelines for standards of care for your disorder, you need a clinical or medical advisory board. Even if your publication needs are simpler - to develop patient-education pieces, for example, or information sheets that parents can give to their children's teachers - you should have a medical advisor or medical advisory board. If you want to review applications for funding for research, you need a research or scientific advisory board. Include basic and clinical scientists in and outside of the fields that study your condition. Advisors familiar with your condition can advise you about the condition. Advisors outside the field can assess grant applications and address questions that would be a conflict of interest for those inside the field. Governance boards for small, condition-specific organizations are often developed somewhat informally. If you are contemplating nonprofit status, you probably already know the people who can form the foundation of your governance board. This board will have to be in place, along with bylaws and other requirements, before your organization can apply for federal Internal Revenue Service 501(c) (3) tax status. The organization BoardSource has excellent publications that will be helpful as you begin to build your board - http://www.boardsource.org/. The National Health Council has a statement of good operating practices for voluntary health organizations. It addresses issues such as basic organization, personnel policies, financial management, and fundraising. It also has recommendations for governance boards. The National Health Council recommends that a governance board have at least five members and that they serve as volunteers. (They may be reimbursed for expenses related directly to attendance of meetings.) It further recommends that board members be bound by a conflict-of-interest policy and that the board or its committees meet at least three times a year. How Will You Motivate People to Serve? Perhaps your new or small organization thinks that few people would be interested enough in your narrow goals and objectives to serve on a board governing your organization. We challenge you to think about your organization and the governing board in a new way. There are many reasons why individuals might choose to make a difference by supporting your organization and helping to guide it. Some of these might be: To contribute to a good cause To be involved in a dynamic grassroots organization To associate with other exciting and inspiring individuals To assist a related cause - for example, your condition might cause heart disease and someone might wish to impact heart disease in a very focused way A personal connection - an individual is a friend or relative of a person affected by the condition Once you understand what motivates people to serve, you can recruit individuals you think would be assets to your board. Just because someone shows an interest in the board - or any other volunteer activity - does not mean that they should be brought into that role. You want to attract people with ideas, but you want your board to work smoothly and serve the members foremost. Try to avoid individuals who appear to have an agenda contrary to yours, or who have an ax to grind. You want to be able to reflect a breadth of opinion - and to handle (and invite) constructive criticism - but at the end of the day, you need to be able to work as a team. » Developing Bylaws and Articles of Organization Privacy Policy - Disclaimer - Funding Maintained by the Genetic Alliance. The Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups was written by Sharon Fontaine Terry and Caitlin Burke, with contributions from Genetic Alliance members. The Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups is made available under a Creative Commons license. You may make and share copies of this work for noncommercial purposes without modifications and with this acknowledgement included in full. More information is available at About the Interactive Guide to Building Advocacy Groups. Send feedback about the Interactive Guide. SEPTEMBER 2004: This is a preliminary installation of the Interactive Guide to Advocacy Groups. We need your feedback. Make comments on specific pages (you may see error messages, but comments should still post), or send email. Is something missing? Can we make it easier to navigate? This Guide will change regularly over the next few months as we incorporate changes and fine tune the site. Thank you!	« Your Organization's Name Is Important » Developing Bylaws and Articles of Organization