Can You "Fire" a Nonprofit Board Member?

One of the chief frustrations of nonprofit organization and/or agency management is ineffective and inefficient board members. Some board members are not only unhelpful, but they can also be "toxic" and make overall board operations hard to manage. You may find yourself wondering if it is possible to "fire" a board member and find a way to get him or her removed from the board of directors in some relatively painless way.

The fact is, it is possible to remove a board member, but it is one of those difficult challenges that is best handled with care and consideration. Keep in mind that the board of directors sets the tone and culture for an organization, and while it may be the staff who actually does most of the work, the board does have a public face that influences the overall reputation of the organization. This public face influences the ability of the organization to fund raise, get important grants and function in the community. Board of directors drama can be just what the organization does NOT need.

Consider if the behaviors can be changed first. It may be helpful to have a meeting with the board chair (or other board members depending on who the challenging member(s) is/are) to talk over the problem and develop a plan. It may simply be a matter of sitting down with the person in question and discussing expectations and ways that he or she can shift behaviors to benefit the organization. Developing a work plan for board members can be a beneficial way of establishing and reinforcing expectations.

Another path is to develop the board by adding new members in such a way that the offending member becomes ineffectual or outnumbered. This way, his or her behaviors may have less of an effect or he or she may simply leave the board on his or her own because the board isn't a good fit.

If change is not going to happen and removal seems the only option, consider who best to do the task. Ideally, it should fall to the board chair or president (unless that is the person who needs to go.) Since board members are technically the employers of staff, it is usually inappropriate to ask staff members to "fire" a board member (even an executive director.) Instead, a committee or representative of the board should be the one who explains to the board member why he or she must leave the board. This takes care. Consider coming up with alternatives and rehearsing how best to share the news. Try to minimize drama by creating an "exit strategy" and making it as easy and face-saving as possible for the board member to leave. While you likely won't be able to eliminate all hard feelings and potential drama, you may be able to reduce the possibility by taking care and consideration.