Nonprofits are a fundamentally different type of business from either large corporations or small businesses. For example, a restaurant losing money all year can't hope to make it up with a big fundraiser or grant at the end of the year. A manufacturer can drop a product line without the ill social consequences of a social service agency dropping a service. Business people from the private sector have many skills to offer nonprofits, but expertise in nonprofit management is not always one of them. One additional limitation on board effectiveness is simply the lack of time that board members have to work with the agency.
Board members are generally achievers with many responsibilities.
Even a dedicated board member finds it difficult to attend board and committee meetings, study materials, and attend organizational functions. In response, organizations try to keep meetings short and have fewer of them per year. Yet the assumption continues that meaningful planning and governance can take place on a board that spends only a few hours a month considering the issues.