More Than Meetings

Considerations for Joining a Board

If you’ve served on a charity’s board of directors, you know that the role demands much more than simply showing up for meetings. Charities benefit from board members’ active engagement, strategic oversight, and a deep commitment to the organization’s mission. Indeed, board members are fiduciaries who are responsible for guiding the nonprofit’s culture, ensuring sound governance, providing financial stewardship, and acting as ambassadors and advocates in the community. Beyond legal duties, they are expected to help secure resources, oversee leadership, and contribute to the charity’s long-term sustainability and impact.

If this sounds like a lot, it’s because it is! Before you make the leap to join a charity’s board, please consider reaching out to our team. Community Foundation of the Gunnison Valley (CFGV) can serve as an invaluable resource to support your decision-making process. Our staff members know a lot about local charities, including in-depth information about programs, impact, leadership, financial stability, and reputation. We’re happy to provide an impartial assessment of the charity’s governance practices, evaluate alignment with your values, and fill you in on the current needs or challenges the board is facing.

Thorough due diligence is crucial, not only to ensure that the board position would be a good fit for your skills, interests, and availability, but also to avoid potential legal pitfalls and liabilities that could stand in the way of your ability to carry out your fiduciary duties. Our team can provide a high-level review of these duties, including:

• A duty of loyalty to prioritize the charity’s interests and avoid conflict;

• A duty of compliance to adhere to the nonprofit’s mission and legal requirements; and

• A duty to “manage accounts,” which means overseeing financial stability and accountability 

These duties translate into real responsibilities for strategic planning, fundraising, financial oversight, and executive evaluation. 

Anyone who served on a board during the COVID pandemic years attended many Zoom meetings. Here’s a screenshot of CFGV board and staff in December of 2020

If you want to learn more about the responsibilities involved in serving on a board, CFGV co-hosted a “Board 101” training in 2022 in partnership with the Chaffee County Community Foundation. While the training is a few years old, it still has some really great information for current and potential board members.

Please reach out anytime. It is our honor to help you make a difference in the community we all love, whether that’s through charitable giving, board service, volunteering, or advocacy. CFGV is your home for philanthropy in all of its many forms.