Selecting Board Members
Here are several comments from various school foundation researchers on the subject. To a large degree, the proper selection of these people has determined the success of education foundations. Select “active” board members. Directors link the foundation organization to the community and give it direction. Board members come to represent the organization to the community. The four most desirable characteristics of potential foundation board members found during surveying school foundations leaders are:
Credibility in the community
Availability to work for the foundation
Loyalty to local schools
Ability to raise funds
Community members have no idea whether or not foundation members are faithful to the organization’s mission and vision. They are also unaware of how well the board performs its fiduciary duties, so the community usually judges the entire foundation by the people they see on the foundation board.
Since they are viewed as representatives of the foundation, board members should represent the widest cross section of the community possible, which will maximize benefits toward building community relationships and harnessing available expertise. Successful foundation leaders tend to have broader expectations for their board members. They want them to do more than just raise funds; they want them to build community relationships, educating businesses and individuals about the foundation.
How are board members chosen? A 1999 Oregon school foundation found the following as various methods used to choose members within its state:
12% Appointed by school board
85% Appointed by the existing foundation board members
3% Others
0% Elected
This article was taken from the School Foundation Textbook, (page 18) published by the National School Foundation Association. This book is available for sale under the Resources tab on this website or click here: http://www.schoolfoundations.org/en/resources/purchase_materials.cfm
