Nonprofit Board, Partners, and Donor Details

Your board of directors is the group of people, typically volunteers, who hold legal responsibility for your nonprofit. They approve the budget, watch over the money, set the direction of the organization, and hold your leadership accountable. Your board should have at least three unrelated people serving as chair or president, treasurer, and secretary.

EXAMPLE:

• John Doe, Board Chair
• Email: jdoe@abcfoundation.org
• Phone: 555-555-5555
• Education: Bachelor of Science, Michigan State University, E. Lansing MI (1980)
• Experience: PMP, Director of Project Management, Recovery Foundations Inc, Executive Director, Go Outdoors USA Inc, CEO
• Affiliations: Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Habitat for Humanity Volunteer, Stonewall Baptist Church, Board Member.

Funders ask for this list because they are giving money to an organization, not to one person. Before a grant is awarded, a funder wants to see that more than one set of eyes is on the finances and that no single individual controls the spending. The education, work experience, and community affiliations you list tell them who is sitting around your table and what those people bring to the work. A strong board with useful backgrounds makes your organization look far less risky to fund.

Note: If you prefer to email your board list to us or email board resumes – in Word or PDF format only –  please skip this section and proceed to Section 2.

Collaborative partners are the organizations you work with to deliver your programs. Some partnerships are formal and put in writing through an agreement. Others are simple working relationships, like a school that refers youth to you or a church that lets you use meeting space. Aim for at least three partners in your community. If you have not established partnerships yet, list the organizations you know you will need and start those conversations now.

Partnership Example.

1. Harvest Food Pantry, E. Lansing, MI. We partner with this organization to supply food to our families in need.
2. One Accord Mental Health, Lansing, MI. We partner with this organization for mental health screening and treatment for at-risk youth.
3. The Salvation Army, Lansing, MI. We partner with this organization for clothing supplies for children and families.
4. Department of Labor, Lansing, MI. We partner with this agency for meeting space for our job training classes.
5. Lansing High School, Lansing MI. We partner with the school for youth referrals and for program meeting space during the week.

Funders ask about partnerships because they want to know your program reaches further than your own staff and your own budget. Partners show that other people in your community already trust you. They also show a funder that you are not duplicating a service someone else is already providing. When a grant period ends, the partnerships you have made are often what keeps the work going.

Your donor list is everything anyone has given your organization over the past year. That includes cash gifts, grants from other funders, donated goods, and donated services. Your board members count here, and so does the food pantry that gave you forty boxes of food each month. When the gift is not money, give a short description and your best estimate of what it is worth.

Example.

1. Gave us $500 for school supplies February 20XX.
2. Harvest Food Pantry. Gave us fresh and nonperishable food for families which was about 40 boxes of food each month during 20XX. This in-kind donation is estimated at $2,000.
3. Gave us $250 for program supplies March 20XX.
4. Avery Foundation. Gave us a grant for $1,500 for transportation fuel costs in July 20XX.
5. John Doe (Board Member). Gave us $500 for operations in September 20XX.
6. Amy Smith (Board Member). Gave us $500 for operations in September 20XX.
7. Pete Emerson (Board Member). Gave us $500 for operations in September 20XX.

Funders ask for this because no funder wants to be your only source of support. Seeing other names on your list tells them that people who know your work have already put something behind it. Giving from your own board carries extra weight, since a funder reads it as a sign that the people responsible for your organization believe in it themselves. In-kind donations matter too, and on many federal and state grants they will count toward a required match.

Your volunteers are the people who give time to your organization without pay. That includes board members who work outside of meetings, the neighbors who show up for events, the retired accountant who keeps your books, and anyone offering a professional skill at no charge. List the volunteer role, the number of people filling it, and your best count of hours given during the year.

Funders ask about volunteers because it tells them how much community support you already have. A program running on donated time says that people nearby know your work and are willing to put themselves behind it. Volunteer hours also carry a dollar value that many funders will accept as in-kind match on a grant. Independent Sector and the Do Good Institute put the value of one volunteer hour at $36.14 for 2025, so a small group of steady volunteers can add up to thousands of dollars in contributed labor. Start tracking those hours now if you are not already, because you cannot claim what you cannot document.