Five Steps for Creating an Effective Nonprofit Board
Whether you’re joining the board of an external nonprofit or taking on a similar role in a family foundation, certain practices can help your organisation deliver on its mission. In this two-part series, we explore impactful strategies that can improve performance and create lasting change.
Aligning a diverse board of talented and committed individuals with a clearly understood mission is the bedrock upon which a nonprofit can thrive, but in application, this coordination rarely happens by chance. When composing and engaging the board, an intentional approach supports the organisation’s direction of travel and enhances its ability to achieve long-term results.
Drawing on our extensive experience, we outline key steps for building and sustaining strong governance over time.
1. Define and align your nonprofit’s mission
A clearly articulated purpose is both a North Star that guides a board’s decisions and a beacon that attracts capable, experienced individuals to the organisation. During challenging times or moments of crisis, mission-centric decision-making helps these institutions stay on course, ensuring clarity of focus.
2. Create a diverse board
Bringing together a broad range of backgrounds, skills and outlooks is essential to long-term resilience in a fast-moving world. Inclusive boards tend to attract more varied donors, with many grantees increasingly focused on diversity.
3. Allocate roles and responsibilities
It’s vital to define expectations for every board member. This avoids confusion and duplication, allowing skills and aptitudes to be fully harnessed for the overall benefit of the organisation.
4. Right-size the board to your nonprofit’s mission
The optimal number of members on a nonprofit board is a regular point for debate. Five to 12 is often seen as optimal – providing the board comprehensive coverage of skills, while allowing it to remain agile and act nimbly.
5. Set clear expectations
Board roles are often entirely voluntary. High-caliber members will be very busy people, so always be precise about the level of commitment required.
The key to building a productive board is open and upfront communication about expectations and an individual’s specific position.
Rick Barragan is the Managing Director,
Los Angeles Market Manager, for
J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
[email protected] | (310) 860-3658
privatebank.jpmorgan.com/los-angeles
Source: “Five steps for creating an effective nonprofit board,” Olivia Jenkins, private business advisory, international private bank team lead, The Philanthropy Centre, Louisa MacDonald, vice president and philanthropy adviser, Calum Graham, portfolio manager, Institutional Investment Solutions, April 20, 2026
