The Roles and Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards of Directors within the Governance Process

This course provides a more in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in the governance of nonprofit organizations. While the course has been developed with North American culture in mind, we do appreciate that in other parts of the world, the nature of the roles and responsibilities of boards of directors may not be the same. Nevertheless,it is our hope that much of the course content will still be of value to those in other parts of the world. To learn more about this course, please watch the overview video by copying and pasting the following link into your web browser: https://goo.gl/SXZEZS .

Keywords: Nonprofit; Nonprofit Sector; Voluntary Sector; Nonprofit Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Volunteer Organizations, Leadership, Management, Governance, Board, Board of Directors, Performance, Effectiveness

Course 2 Overview:

Week 1: Some of the questions to be explored this week are: What is the board’s role in planning for the organization’s future and why is it important for nonprofit organizations to do it? What is strategic planning and what can boards do to carry this out effectively?

Week 2: This week’s questions: What is the board’s role in assessing the performance of the organization? Why is performance assessment important? Why do many boards have difficulty meeting their performance assessment responsibilities?

Week 3: This week’s questions: What are the elements of the fundraising/resource development process? What is the board’s role in ensuring the organization has adequate funding? What information should be in a resource development plan?

Week 4: At this stage, you are asked to review the course content, submit a written assignment (known lightheartedly as a BEAR (Board Effectiveness Readiness Assessment), and take two multiple choice Readiness Assurance Tests (known similarly as RATs). One RAT will assess knowledge and reading comprehension and the other will test application of knowledge within a practical case.

Week 5: We will encourage you to discuss the RATs in the discussion forums and take them again should you wish to change any of your answers based on the information exchanged.

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Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
The Board’s Role in Planning
Week 2
The Board’s Role in Performance Assessment
Week 3
The Board’s Role in Fundraising and Resource Development
Week 4
Concept Testing and Application
Week 5
Assessment of Learning: BEAR Peer Review and RAT Discussion Forums

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Reviews

Some useful information and the practical exercises were good.

Valuable Course and insightful. It is filled with several frameworks that you can apply readily in a non-profit organization situation. Thank you SUNY, Luther College and Coursera

An excellent course. The only gaps are a- Broken Links b-mandatory purchase of expensive books.

I really enjoyed the curse and as a board memeber sitting on a number of Boards, I have found the course directly applicable and relevant.