A Model of Organizational Practices for a Board of Directors to Govern the Nonprofit Organization

This presentation addresses the existing gap in primary research of nonprofit organizations, board of directors, and governance. Provides information for practitioners who embrace evidence-based management. Supports directors who serve on nonprofit boards who want to seek continuous improvement on governing the NPO.A Model of Organizational Practices for a Board of Directors to Govern the Nonprofit Organization Problem Domain Model for NPO board to make an informed decision about how to identify, attract, and retain qualified board members. Benefit to the community who depends on a NPO for support – effective governance by the board translates to survival of the NPO. Results Nonprofit organizations are a large part of the social and economic landscape: More than 1.44 million nonprofit organizations (NPOs) were registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2012. NPOs represent 5.4% of the U.S. GDP and employ more than 10% of the working population. Volunteers give an estimated 81 billion hours of work annually. In 2014, $358 billion was donated to support NPOs. Between 2008 and 2012, more than 1,000 NPOs disclosed hundreds of millions of dollars in losses attributed to theft, fraud, and embezzlement. The NPO board of directors are responsible for governing the NPOs and protecting the assets. Many boards are not prepared or understand what it takes to be able to govern. There is a gap in many NPOs between what the board should be doing and what is being done. Faculty Advisors: Dr. Thomas J. Mierzwa Dr. Denise A. Breckon Implications for NPO Boards Brenda Shore Doctoral Candidate Doctor of Management The Graduate School University of Maryland University College, Adelphi, MD The Evidence Search string: (nonprofit) AND (board) AND (govern*) Research Question What organizational practices need to be implemented to identify, attract, and retain a board of directors capable of overseeing and governing a nonprofit organization? Methodology Meta-ethnographic synthesis Emergent Themes 1.Mission Statement – the nonprofit organization needs to have a defined mission, vision, and established goals to know where they are going, who they serve, and what it will take to meet the expectations of their donors and constituency. Developing a mission statement provides a mechanism for all stakeholders, including present and future board members, to understand the purpose of the organization and align their talents and interests accordingly. 2.Recruiting – a defined, formal recruiting program is needed and should include job descriptions for each board role, as well as a structured interview and feedback process. 3. Training and Development – when an individual becomes a board member, he should be oriented to the expectations and requirements of the board; ongoing training and development should be conducted regularly for all board members. Training should include governance, strategic planning, and operations. Purpose of Study 1.Address the existing gap in primary research of nonprofit organizations, board of directors, and governance. 2.Provide information for practitioners who embrace evidence-based management. 3.Support directors who serve on nonprofit boards who want to seek continuous improvement on governing the NPO. Theoretical Framework Develops the construct that there are many stakeholders who are impacted by the performance of the NPO. Prescribes that the appropriate resources for the job must be available to the organization to meet the demands of the stakeholders and the individual director. This person must be qualified to be a director who will serve as a member of the board and protect the assets of the stakeholders. Conceptual Map Systematic review and meta-ethnographic synthesis Systematic review: Facilitates the review and selection of relevant, and reliable primary research conducted in the field of study. A process that is objective, replicable, systematic, and comprehensive. Meta-ethnography: A configurative synthesis that uses a small number of studies selected from the systematic review, interprets the findings, and provides a response to the research question. Meta-ethnography facilitates the development of new theory and models. Concepts Second-order interpretations Third-order interpretations Also referred to as first-order interpretation. Concepts are identified after the reading of the appraised studies – individually. Identifies how the studies are related to each other based on common and recurring concepts. Identifies the relationships between the studies – can be reciprocal, refutable, or a new line-of-argument. Literature action Count Excluded/reasons Total from search 8,386 7,709/duplicates, subject, country Title and abstract screening 667 396/topic not aligned with RQ Full document screened 281 254/details and study not aligned with RQ Quality assessment 35 13/did not meet appraisal criterion Meta-ethnographic synthesis 22 Weight of Evidence and Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) First-order Constructs Second-order Constructs Third-order Constructs A sample is listed below: •Boards first need to identify a particular profile or type of individual they want and then to actively search for directors that fit this profile Culture Strategic Management Mission, Vision, Goals Recruiting Job Descriptions Orientation Training & Development Mission statement Recruiting process Training & Development Implications for Scholars Resulting model can be used as a beginning point for an empirical study. Study can be duplicated to ascertain if results are consistent. Exposure of scholarly studies gives credence to more research needed on the subject. Fall, 201