[Editor's Note: This is a companion article to the 2007 Annual Report]
By ANN RICHARDS
A good board is like an oyster — without a little friction, it won't produce results, says Linda Compton, president and chief executive officer of BoardSource. She was speaking to more than 300 nonprofit board members and staff at a one-day training conference earlier this year in Flint, Michigan.
Crompton's words resonated with Earl Proctor, who has been serving on boards for more than 40 years, first on the East Coast, where he grew up, and currently in Flint, where he is vice president of the board of Salem Housing Community Development Corporation.
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Earl Proctor is vice president of the board
of Salem Housing Community Development
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"It shouldn't always be easy or comfortable," he said of board service. "But then, I've always enjoyed going against the odds."
Now in his late 60's and retired — except for the occasional consulting job — Proctor is selective about his volunteer board work, preferring to serve organizations dedicated to neighborhood revitalization and economic development.
After earning a master's degree in business administration from Harvard and working for the government and private sector, Proctor believes he has a responsibility to "reinvest" what he has learned to help Flint regain its economic vibrancy.
"It's part of your duty to a community," he said. "If you don't share what you know, you're doing yourself and the community a disservice."
Proctor is enthused about the partnership that is evolving between BoardSource, which brings national expertise on governance issues, and the United Way of Genesee County's BEST (Building Excellence, Sustainability and Trust) Project, which was created to increase the capacity of Flint area nonprofits and their boards.
Funded by a $300,000 grant from the Mott Foundation and $54,000 from the Ruth Mott Foundation, the Building Nonprofit Leadership Initiative will provide online assessment surveys and recommendations for up to 50 local nonprofits, and in-depth consulting services will be provided for at least 10 of these agencies.
In turn, BoardSource expects to gain some insight on the effects intensive technical assistance and training can have in shifting the culture of board service and increasing nonprofit effectiveness, according to Jennifer Acree, BEST Project director.
The partnership's kick-off event — the daylong training for local board members — was much appreciated by Proctor, who was particularly intrigued by a session focusing on the 12 principles of governance, developed by BoardSource and the basis of a recent publication, The Source.
"The principles outline what it takes to be an exceptional board," he said. "They're something to aspire to. They remind you that to be effective, you have to step back and think about things in a different way — maybe push your own learning curve."
Having served on boards throughout his life, Proctor believes that honest communication is one of the greatest challenges to effective board service.
"Dishonesty holds boards back," he said. "If a board member has a private agenda, he or she isn't listening to other opinions. There's no opportunity to solve problems."
Fear is another factor that prevents boards from working effectively, says Proctor.
"Too many board members are afraid of taking a risk. They're afraid of failure. So they never accomplish anything, never experience the success that helps recharge you and keeps you coming back," he said.
"People sometimes take board positions for the wrong reasons — because it’s a requirement for their jobs or they see it as a badge of honor.
"We have serious problems in Flint. We need board members who have a real passion for the work and are willing to share every piece of information they have available to them — to capitalize on the ideas available to us and to direct new young leadership into the future."