What is the optimal size of a nonprofit board? Even respected nonprofit advisory groups disagree on this question. The right answer can be found in a look at the function of your organization, the size of its assets and the board’s culture.
According to the BoardSource Nonprofit Governance Index 2010, the average board size is 19 and the median is 17. BoardSource reports that nonprofits with budgets of $10 million or more have an average of 18 members and those with less than $1 million typically have 14 members.
A 2011 study by Bain Capital reported in The Nonprofit Times asserts that the optimal board size for effective decision making is seven people. According to Bain, “every person added after that decreases decision-making ability by 10 percent.” So for boards with the median of 17 people, Bain would put their decision-making ability at zero.
While a smaller board size does reflect new thinking about board functioning, I’ve seen too many boards that work extremely well with 17-22 people to buy into Bain’s assertion. Some boards grow quite large to enable greater engagement of key community leaders or to expand its fundraising capability. United Way is an excellent example of this done very effectively.
Larger boards do require more adept leadership and meeting management to ensure adequate engagement of their members. Most seasoned, national nonprofits are quite capable in this area. Younger and smaller nonprofits with large boards are typically more challenged to manage their board’s full engagement.
While the problem can be partly a function of board size, it’s more likely symptomatic of failure to adequately track and analyze how the board is functioning. Too much time spent on reporting and not enough on generating new ideas for the organization’s use, board topics that don’t relate well to organizational performance and inadequate opportunity for board discussion are frequent culprits.
The board that meets quarterly requires even more attention to the engagement issue than one meeting monthly. Well-functioning board committees that carry on the board’s work in financial oversight, resource development, leadership development, program oversight and so on can help greatly in maintaining greater board engagement.
The flip side of the board size question is the small board whose members feel overwhelmed by the amount they are asked to do. This problem arises when the board is what’s commonly referred to as a “working board.”
The board governs the organization but also does administrative and program work, plus its fundraising role, to compensate for no staff or a small staff. While human services boards with smaller assets may have as few as five to seven people, it’s hard to make that an effective size with so much work to be done.
On the other hand, small family foundation boards can function quite effectively with a small board.
Large boards being asked to downsize can raise serious turf issues, so carefully laying the groundwork for change will be necessary. When the majority of the board recognizes the need for rethinking its size, the change can be effected by a vote to alter the relevant organizational bylaws.
Sarah Todd is executive director for Girls on the Run of Coastal Georgia and founder of social change leadership resource Change Pioneers. You can reach Sarah at 912-224-2120 or toddsar@gmail.com.