Boards are usually composed of individuals with a great deal of personal and business experience that is helpful in heading – in the case of many area agencies on aging – multi-million dollar operations. Board members are often professionals, such as bank executives, accountants, politicians, educators and social service administrators. They might also be prominent, influential members of the community whose notoriety and connections serve as crucial assets in fundraising and facilitating progress for their agencies. Ideally, these individuals are representative of the diverse ethnic and age groups that they serve.

As governing bodies, boards provide valuable oversight to ensure that the agencies they oversee are heading in the right direction and operating efficiently. In essence, the buck stops with the board. Boards decide on and fine-tune the missions and objectives of their respective organizations, as well as recruit, hire (and fire) chief executive officers. They retain overall fiscal responsibility for their respective organizations. Agency budgets, policies and strategic plans are usually crafted with board input and always require board approval. Other functions of boards of directors/trustees for non-profit agencies include:

• promotion and enhancement of the agency, its mission, and services within the community;
• promotion of ethical standards;
• assistance with organizational design and planning;
• monitoring of programs, services and overall performance relative to mission and goals;
• ensuring adequate resources and assistance with fundraising;
• recruitment and orientation/training of new board members; and
• assumption of overall responsibility and accountability for the agency.

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