The Nuts and Bolts of Good Governance

Many people involved in the non-profit sector are passionate about providing services and enhancing the lives of people they know or people they may have never even met. Whether as staff or volunteers, they get involved in an organization to “do good,” to make positive change in the community. Boards contribute to the mission of an organization by governing it. Carter McNamara, an American management consultant and founder of the Free Management Library who writes extensively about non-profit boards says, “The phrase ‘governance’ often refers to the Board’s activities to oversee the purpose, plans and policies of the overall organization, such as establishing those overall plans and policies, supervision of the CEO, ensuring sufficient resources for the organization, ensuring compliance to rules and regulations, representing the organization to external stakeholders, etc.”