ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

SKY VOLUNTEERING ORGANIZATION (SVO)

What a SVO Board does

SVO Board of Directors exists to make sure that the organization fulfills its mission. Plain and simple.

It’s also responsible for making sure the organization meets its regulatory responsibilities and files appropriate paperwork with government agencies.

Plus, it’s responsible for ensuring that you meet goals and keep promises to the public, donors, and beneficiaries..

The Bottom Line

SVO Board of Directors has a specific job to do along with a clear set of roles and responsibilities.

When everyone on your Board understands exactly what’s expected of them, your organization will operate much more smoothly. Plus, it feels better having everyone on the same page for moving forward. Your staff will no longer be frustrated and Board members will understand how they can best support the team.

If you want to see your exciting vision for the future come true, get your Board trained so they understand and embrace their roles and responsibilities.

Sky Volunteering Organisation: COORDINATOR

Support planning and coordination of a program and its activities.
Ensure implementation of policies and practices.
Maintain budget and track expenditures/transactions.
Manage communications through media relations, social media etc.
Help build positive relations within the team and external parties.

Sky Volunteering Organisation: PARTNERS

Sky Volunteering Organisation: Partnerships help pool resources and expertise, build positive brand association, and expand the reach of programs. Nonprofit-corporate partnerships can take many forms but the key elements of any successful partnership are trust, communication, shared values, and mutual respect.

Sky Volunteering Organisation: SPONSOR

Sky Volunteering Organisation: In a fiscal sponsorship arrangement, the sponsor accepts tax deductible donations and grants on behalf of the sponsored project/organization. The sponsor accepts responsibility for the use of those funds and ensures their application toward charitable purposes, along with any additional donor restrictions.

SKY VOLUNTEERING ORGANIZATION (SVO)

Main Responsibilities of SVO Board of Directors

1. Determining and upholding the organization’s mission

What your organization does, and what its goals are

Who your nonprofit serves

Why its work is important

It’s also one of an NPO board of directors' responsibilities to prevent mission creep by ensuring programs, activities, and services stay in line with your organization’s overall purpose.

2. Conducting strategic planning

· Operational (to address day-to-day and annual objectives)

· Short-term (to advance specific projects or priorities)

· Long-term (to guide your nonprofit’s future direction)

3. Choosing an executive director

· Assessing your organization’s needs

· Determining essential leadership traits and skills

· Setting clear role expectations and objectives

· Evaluating performance and setting compensation

· Succession planning

4. Providing financial oversight

· Assessing program costs and monitoring budgeted versus actual amounts

· Reviewing statements of financial position, operations and cash flows (preferably monthly) and ensuring tax compliance

· Developing internal controls and policies to prevent loss, theft, and financial confusion

This is an especially important responsibility since proper financial oversight is essential for remaining accountable to donors.

5. Ensuring legal integrity and accountability

· Follow all applicable laws and regulations

· Make annual tax filings and GST/HST payments when required

· Keep accurate records to meet donor and governmental information requests

It’s also part of your NPO board of directors' responsibilities to understand your organization’s code of ethics, constitution and bylaws so they can preserve legal integrity by adhering to them.

6. Maintaining sufficient resources

· Developing and approving the annual budget

· Ensuring resources are allocated to the right activities

· Identifying where additional fundraising may be necessary to maintain cash resources

Since every board member should contribute to annual fundraising efforts in some capacity, it’s best to clarify these expectations in writing.

7. Monitoring programs and services

· Gathering data on who’s using your programs and services

· Monitoring trends around participant numbers and user categories

· Determining how much to budget for specific activities

The board should also work with your executive director to measure program success and participant satisfaction.

8. Recruiting and training board members

· Identifying skill, insight, or experience gaps and creating position listings to fill them

· Clarifying roles and responsibilities before shortlisting promising candidates

· Creating a conflict-of-interest policy and holding board meetings to discuss whether prospective members can act in the organization’s best interest

9. Enhancing your public image

· Consistently speak well of your organization and advocate for its services

· Help create its public brand

· Determine who its public spokesperson should be, and how they should interface with the media and potential funders

Upholding a healthy public image may also require that your board maintain a rigorous public relations program.

10. Assessing their own performance

From time to time, it’s important to assess how well your NPO board of directors' responsibilities are being upheld. Along with evaluating their own performance every few years, members of the board should earmark areas for development or improvement.

What a Nonprofit Board does

Your nonprofit’s Board of Directors exists to make sure that your organization fulfills its mission.

Plain and simple.

It’s also responsible for making sure the organization meets its regulatory responsibilities and files appropriate paperwork with government agencies.

Plus, it’s responsible for ensuring that you meet goals and keep promises to the public, donors, and beneficiaries.

It’s a much bigger responsibility than most people understand.

Unfortunately, most people who serve on nonprofit Boards have no clue what they’ve gotten themselves into.

They don’t understand their fiscal or legal responsibility nor their ethical responsibility.

And in the absence of understanding, people do whatever they think is right, which leaves the organization open to micromanaging, mismanagement, and more.

Yuck.

It pays big in the long run to take the time to make sure everyone is on the same page and understands their role so you can build a cohesive group of people who partner with you to lead your nonprofit forward.