By: Hope Schaefer, Executive Director of the Nonprofit Leadership Initiative a program within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region 

What do you think it means to be a Nonprofit Board Member? Our newest program, BoardBound is exploring just that! BoardBound was developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin- Green Bay Nonprofit Education & Development Network as a program for new or aspiring board members. This 4-session program equips participants with foundational board knowledge so they can feel confident and comfortable in their fiduciary, ethical, and legal commitments to the organization. 

• Session 1: Is being on a board right for me? 
• Session 2: Each board is different, yet the same! 
• Session 3: Understand the board’s three major areas of responsibility 
• Session 4: Becoming an active and engaged board member 

BoardBound participants in small group discussion.

With any nonprofit organization, mission is at the core of what they do. Each BoardBound participant explores their own “why” or personal mission at the beginning of the program and identifies the skills they have that could benefit a potential organization. Once they have established their personal mission, they begin to research nonprofit organizations that exist in the community doing that work. This allows each participant to align their passions with an organization with a similar mission.  

When you combine passion for mission with education around the duties of care, loyalty, and obedience and what that means when you join a board of directors you create a more engaging board member experience. Participants are equipped with an understanding of their key responsibilities, build their confidence and willingness to ask questions, and increase their commitment to their role as a board member.  

Our pilot cohort of BoardBound is in session now with 12 participants from across the Fox Valley Region. Each participant will be matched with an organization that they are passionate about and has opportunities available for potential board or committee members.  

Interested in learning what it means to be a board member? Visit our website to learn more about BoardBound and all our board training programs happening at the Nonprofit Leadership Initiative. Http://www.npleadershipfv.org/board-candidates/boardbound/  

The Nonprofit Leadership Initiative within the Community Foundation is a partnership of Fox Valley-area nonprofits, funders, educational institutions and businesses dedicated to providing resources needed by effective nonprofit boards and executive leaders. NPLI offers a wide range of leadership, management and technical skill-building programs, as well as peer learning circles, to the entire nonprofit sector in the Fox Valley.

We support NPLI with a grant from the Community Vision Fund within the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, one among many community partners supporting NPLI. Click here to learn more.