Written by Allison Howe

You joined the board because you believe heartily in the mission of your nonprofit. But it is getting harder and harder to get to those meetings. Too many responsibilities with the kids. Or the elderly parents. Or work.  Also, there are so many meetings and you think, “What am I really contributing?”  Perhaps you have nothing new to say after serving 20 years on a board with no term limits and the other board members do not want to hear, “We tried that already.”  Maybe you are a founder and find others are getting frustrated balancing your feelings with what needs to happen to move the organization forward.

It is often difficult to acknowledge that maybe you are no longer a good