BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, is an American
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
organization founded in 1988. Its mission is "to inspire and support excellence in nonprofit governance and board and staff leadership".
BoardSource offers consulting services, publications and a membership program to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations by strengthening their
boards of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...
.
History
In the early 1980s, the
Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and
Independent Sector
Independent Sector is a coalition of nonprofit organizations, foundations and corporate giving programs in the United States. Founded in 1980, it is the first organization to combine the grant seekers and grantees.
Located in Washington, D.C.
...
conducted a survey and found that 30 percent of respondents believed they were doing a good job of board education and training, with the rest of the respondents reporting little, if any, activity in strengthening
governance
Governance is the overall complex system or framework of Process, processes, functions, structures, Social norm, rules, Law, laws and Norms (sociology), norms born out of the Interpersonal relationship, relationships, Social interaction, intera ...
. As a result, the two organizations proposed the creation of a new organization whose mission was to increase the effectiveness of nonprofit boards.
With a lead grant from the
W. K. Kellogg Foundation as well as funding from five other donors, the National Center for Nonprofit Boards opened its doors in 1988 with a staff of three and an operating budget of US$385,000.
The National Center for Nonprofit Boards changed its name to BoardSource in 2002.
Current status
BoardSource is based in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and has an annual budget in fiscal year 2013 of approximately $6 million. It maintains a staff of more than 40 employees. In addition, the organization has an affiliated pool of associates who conduct consulting and training engagements around the country on behalf of the organization.
BoardSource collaborates with organizations such as the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the
American Association of Museums
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), formerly the American Association of Museums, is a non-profit association whose goal is to bring museums together. Founded in 1906, the organization advocates for museums and provides "museum professionals w ...
, the
Boys and Girls Clubs of America,
Habitat for Humanity International, the
National Council of La Raza
UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) ( La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citize ...
and the
United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...
of America to provide guidance on what constitutes
good governance
Good governance is the process of measuring how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for t ...
and to offer educational opportunities in new approaches to governance.
According to its website, "BoardSource supports a community of more than 90,000 individuals with customized diagnostics, live and virtual trainings, membership programs, and a comprehensive library of governance resources and publications that include original content."
Initiatives
In addition to its own web portal, BoardSource managed the online platform Exceptional Boards (now defunct) and the online portal Leading with Intent. Leading with Intent is a rolling annual report on nonprofit board governance across the United States that captures and compares social sector governance data since 1994.
Board of directors
BoardSource's board of directors includes:
*Rick Moyers - Independent Consultant (Board Chair)
*John Griswold - Founder
CommonFund Institute*Phillip Henderson - CEO,
Surdna Foundation
*Yanela Frias - Senior Vice President, Head of Structured Settlements (Prudential Annuities),
Prudential Financial
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American financial services company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both Investor#Retail_investor, retail and institutional cus ...
*Carol A. Goss - Fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative Program,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
*David B. McGinty - Leader of the
Human Development Innovation Fund with
Palladium International
Palladium (also known as "The Palladium Group", "Palladium Holdings" or "Palladium International") is an international development sector advisory, management and implementation firm, representing the combination of seven prior companies: GRM Int ...
*Sharon Rossmark - Chief Executive Officer, Woman and Drones LLC
*Mark Shamley - President & CEO, Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals
ACCP
*Cathy A. Trower, Ph.D. - President, Trower & Trower, Inc. and author of The Practitioner's Guide to Governance as Leadership: Building High-Performing Nonprofit Boards (Jossey-Bass 2012)
*Judy Vredenburgh - President & CEO,
Girls, Inc.
*Sylvia Mei-ling Yee, Ph.D. - Senior Advisor,
Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
*Julia R. Wilson, Chief Executive Officer
OneJustice
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.BoardSource.org/
Independent SectorAssociation of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.