1. Kick-off Event
October 22, 2010
Haas School of Business
UC Berkeley

2. Welcome
Nora Silver, Director and Adjunct Professor, Center for
Nonprofit and Public Leadership
Evin Guy, Project Coordinator, Center for Nonprofit
and Public Leadership
Jake Saperstein and Jean Lu, MBA 2011, Net
Impact co-Vice Presidents
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3. A Sampling of Board Fellow Organizations
Leadership High School
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4. The Center
The Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership
prepares next-generation leaders to
– found, lead, manage and govern in the social
sector
– creatively innovate and collaborate across
sectors
– and create winning solutions that produce social
impact
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5. Kick-off Agenda
• 3:10-3:15 Welcome
• 3:15-3:25 Purpose and Program Components
• 3:25-3:45 Activity: Fellow and Mentor Introductions
• 3:45-4:00 Introduction to Board Governance and
Resources
• 4:00-4:20 Lessons from experienced board members
• 4:20-4:50 Panel with Q&A
• 5:50-5:00 Closing
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6. Purpose
Fellows
• Work at the highest level of an organization with dynamic and
experienced board members
• Understand governance and develop valuable governance
skills
• Gain an understanding of the intersection of the business and
nonprofit sector
• Learn leadership skills
• Make an impact on your local community
Organizations
• Gain new skills and 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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7. Program Year (October – May)
 Board Fellows Student and Organization Guides
 nonprofit.haas.berkeley.edu
 Board Fellows student resource portal (in process)
 Feedback via mid-point check-ins and end of year evaluations
Attendance at monthly board meetings
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8. Fellow Commitment
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9. 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
This was a tremendously
valuable experience for
our board. Our Fellow
provided much needed
research and analysis of
our situation to jumpstart
us and helped to move us
in the right direction. We
really benefitted from an
outside expert.
— Seewan Eng
Former Board Chair
Leadership High School
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10. Nonprofit Board Commitment
Mentor
Guide and coach the
fellow
Introduce
Provide a formal
introduction to the
organization, the board,
and its work
Integrate
Include the fellow in all
board meetings and
connect with key
board/staff/stakeholders
Encourage
Encourage the fellow to
actively contribute
his/her perspective
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11. Activity: Fellow and Mentor
Introductions
Board Fellows Mentors/Organizational
Representatives
Name
Program year
Professional
background/Interests
Future career goals
Name
Title/Affiliation
Professional background
Description of your
organization and board
Board meetings and other
key events
 Define goals and communications plan (how will you
communicate during the year?)
 What do you hope to gain from this experience?
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12. Introduction to Governance –
Why do Boards Exist?
• Hold organization “in trust” for the
community
– Protect donors
– Prevent nonprofit executive abuse
• Trustees of the organization
– Legal duties of care (prudent person),
loyalty (put organization first), obedience
(faithful to mission)
– Substitute for shareholders, customers,
competition
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13. 7 Board Member Responsibilities
1. Determine the organization’s mission and purpose
2. Ensure effective organizational planning and
evaluation
3. Ensure adequate resources and manage resources
effectively
4. Determine and monitor the organization’s programs
and services
5. Represent the organization to the community,
enhancing the organization’s public image
6. Develop the board and its members, and assess
board performance
7. Select and support the executive
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14. Board Fellow Best Practices
• Focus on big priorities and long-term
strategic issues
• Board acts as a whole
• Question, discuss, debate, decide
• Prepare and learn
• Contribute and influence
• Accountability
• 8-10 hours/month
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15. How Board Fellows Add Value
• Skills and expertise
• Teamwork
• Ask and speak up
• Fresh set of eyes
• Prepare
• New contacts
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16. Types of Boards
 Organizing Board
– Small, homogeneous, informal
– committed to purpose
– “leading boards” and “following boards”
 Governing Board
– larger and more diverse board
– committees become important
– shared authority between board and staff: board chair and executive
director are principal leaders
– assumes responsibility for organization
– transition to governing board takes at least 3 years and a lot of staff
time
 Institutional Board
– very large (35-60 or more)
– more prestigious -- includes large donors or those with access to
funders
– accepts the responsibility of fundraising
– delegates governance to executive committee
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17. Resources
•http://www.boardcafe.org
•http://www.boardsource.org
•http://www.bridgespan.org.
•http://www.compasspoint.org/boardbasics
•http://www.eriskcenter.org.
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18. Lessons From Experienced Board
Members
• What do you wish you had known
when you first joined a board?
• What advice would you give new
Board Fellows?
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19. Panel
• Bob Miller, MBA 1967
– Board Mentor, Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
• David Reimer, Haas Executive in Residence
– Board Mentor, Destiny Arts Center
• Chris Grapes, MBA 2011
– 2009-2010, Rubicon
– 2010-2011, Envision Schools
• Jason Dolan, MBA 2011
– 2009-2010 Oakland Small Schools Foundation
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