Duties

This was a really great learning experience for me. I’m working on a business plan for a class in one of my classes this quarter and part of the model includes a board of directors. I wasn’t aware that boards had legally binding responsibilities to the state to sit on a board of directors.

I learned the most about the duty of loyalty. Prior to the conversation, I got the feeling that people use boards for a lot of networking and move from board to board to board pretty quickly. But, I learned it was important to maintain respect and loyalty to that board and not have conflicting interests within the community.

I was surprised to learn about the duty of care the most. Dr. Gilbride-Brown’s feedback about the frustrations and joys of being the director of the board was great to understand as well. I would not have previously thought about the financial support that is important to come from a board member. This made a lot of sense with Dr. Gilbride-Brown was talking about asking friends to donate and participate in the mission of the organization. It is harder to get community buy in of any kind when you aren’t completely bought into the organization.

It was great to tie this in with the information about the collective power of non-profits. The example given about the buying power a dollar being multiplied to buy nearly 7 times the amount of food for a person through Neighborhood Services. It was also really practical information to learn how boards deal with non-cooperative board members, those that might not continue to financially give to the organization or who are less than active in generating interest and support amongst their peers. Prior to this meeting, I was aware that it was important for board members to have strong connections and the desire to network and build those relationships. But, I was not aware that it was so important for a board member to continue and grow this networking talent once on the board.