Do nonprofit boards make a difference? An exploration of the relationships among board structure, process, and effectiveness”, MNonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 21(3

The contribution of board structure and process dynamics to organiza-tional and board effectiveness is the focus of this article. Based on data collected from a cross section of Canadian nonprofit organizations, the results show a positive association between the perception of board effec-tiveness and the use of many of the most widely advocated prescriptions on how a nonprofit board of directors should operate. However, when objective indicators of organizational performance are examined, the link between performance and board behaviors is found to be more limited. Most people assume that the board of a voluntary, nonprofit organization makes a difference for the organization with which it is associated (Carver, 1990). The literature on board of directors effectiveness is growing, and the characteristics of effective boards are being identified (see, for example, Knauft, Berger, and Gray, 1991). Much of the existing literature is prescrip-tive; in addition, it often draws on personal experience and anecdotal evidence rather than on comprehensive conceptual models and systematic research. Now, however, a new research-based focus is emerging. The approaches of the past-describing the ideal board or the one best way-are being challenged as more typologies and contingency approaches are developed. This article reports on the results of a recently completed survey of over four hundred nonprofit organizations in Canada. The survey explore