By: Margaret Karren

I often hear Executive Directors say that they have board members who aren’t living up to their expectations or they are having trouble recruiting new members. If this sounds like your organization consider forming a Governance Committee. The core responsibilities of this committee are board development issues. Their responsibilities include:

• Director Recruitment
• Director Independence and Conflicts of Interest
• Education of the Board on their Responsibilities
• Term Limits
• Governing Documents
• Self-Evaluation
• Director Removal

Having a committee of strong board members focused on building the board and educating them on their responsibilities is an effective way to strengthen your board. This committee should include individuals well-versed in principles of organizational responsibility, ethics, accountability and director recruitment. My next blog will discuss board self-evaluation, stay tuned.