Duties

Molly Ellender

I really enjoy hearing Cheryl and Dr. Gilbride-Brown speak because of the clear honestly they are portraying towards us. I feel much more included as a member of the board since they are telling us the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is like they are really taking us seriously and want us to fully understand everything that goes on. This being said, I think it is clear that no matter what ugly things they do tell us about, it is obvious that is is completely worth it for them to continue their work in non-profit. I am constantly surprised by the amount of politics involved when we talk about new aspects of the board. I had no idea how much it truly controlled the decisions, members, and board dynamics.

Duty of care - I think the only way to truly be able to commit everything that is expected of you on a board is to 100% feel passionately about the cause in which your non-profit works. All of the duties that are expected of a member are a lot. Unless it is something that runs deeper than just feeling good about yourself for working for a greater good, it might be hard to be fully invested.

Duty of obedience - I think this is the duty that surprised me the most just in the sense that it wasn't something I had really thought about. It does seem like each member of the board would have to fully understand the legal regulations of the board or their decisions couldn't be made to the best of their ability. This is where the passion needs to come into play because outside work and research probably has to be done by each member to fully understand all of the legalities.

Duty of loyalty - To me loyalty is something that is deeply important in anything that I do. It would only make sense that complete loyalty should be shown to the entire non-profit so all actions portray a positive light and therefore gain the respect and support of the community.

Another thing that really surprised me was Dr. Gilbride-Brown and the financial contributions expected of the board members. I guess in my mind it kind of seemed like board members might not have to contribute as much financially since they are so important in making the non-profit successful, but it makes sense that their support is needed and should be part of their duty. Each speaker/topic presented to us in class makes me think deeper into the way that these boards are run and makes me excited to keep learning about the problems boards face daily.