Global Best Practices for CSO, NGO, and Other Nonprofit Boards

CHAPTER 6Europe

Valerio Melandri

Valerio Melandri, professor in Bologna University's Masters in Fundraising Program, focuses our attention on the board's role in fundraising. For the vast majority of NGOs, fundraising is the primary instrument for ensuring stability and sustainability, and therefore boards must understand the need for an active role in it. When fundraising fails in an organization, the most likely culprit is a board that does not fully grasp this critical role. Because of the importance of the board's role in sustaining resources, any investigation into governance should always consider this vital role. The author also engages us concerning the issues of remuneration for board members and the need to analyze the composition of the board and evaluate performance. In conclusion, he describes some interesting emergent models.

Europe is fragmented in many ways and is made up of many diverse states.¹ Each state has its own history, culture, language, and legislation. The fragmentary nature of Europe affects the overall structure of the third sector here, and consequently board structures and practices vary. They do have some characteristics in common, but these are not strengths; they are limitations, which will be described in the following paragraphs. Overcoming these organizational limitations and rethinking the board here could foster the advancement of the European third sector. Its future will depend on the innovation and renewal of the governance model over ...