Nonprofit seminar today at Kroc Center

Before joining a nonprofit board, warns Bob Harris, know this: It's no cake walk.

"The No. 1 lie is, 'You won't have to do anything on the board of directors,'" said Harris, an international consultant on organizing and managing nonprofits. "You're responsible for an organization's roles and responsibilities. You have to understand its mission."

Best practices and leadership for nonprofits is the key to Harris' seminar scheduled today at the Kroc Center, where he will enlighten roughly 100 members of local organizations on how to shape up their methods.

"A lot of us think of nonprofits with heart strings, but there's a great deal of accountability and stewardship involved," said Caryl Johnston with United Way of Kootenai County, which organized the event with the Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce. "It's important work, but there's nobody who necessarily tells you how to do that work."

That knowledge is particularly important for communities like Coeur d'Alene, Harris said, where the chamber boasts more than 50 nonprofits.

"If the chamber wants to enhance the community, it should include nonprofits, too," he said.

Harris, who teaches for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Society of Association Executives, said he always tries to convey the importance of nonprofits for communities and even the country.

"Because of our laws (in the U.S.), the freedom of assembly and speech, we have the ability to get together and say, 'Let's help ourselves and not wait for the government to do it,'" he said.

But there are several steps to getting it right, he said.

Especially when it comes to strategy.

He suggested all nonprofits plan a retreat every three to five years for directors and staff to hone the group's mission and direction.

Members should identify special issues or goals to tackle, then assign tasks to committees, he said.

"Governments expect boards to understand their missions," he said. "They should be able to articulate it and understand the direction of their organization."

One of the most common mistakes he sees are clueless or unmotivated boards, he said.

Some might vote on a budget without looking at expenses, for instance, or without even understanding the budget.

Others don't grasp the fact that they're responsible for the entity, he said.

"The board needs to be engaged," he said. "Another mistake would be not being efficient, meetings where we waste time, or we don't get the board the right kind of information."

They also shouldn't micro manage staff, he added, telling them how to do their jobs better.

"It's offensive to the staff," he said. "The board's role is governance, not management or administration."

He wouldn't call the management of a nonprofit difficult, though, he said.

"I look at it as nonprofits should run as efficiently as any other business," he said. "It takes the same elements of strategic planning, knowing responsibilities and keeping direction."

Harris is speaking from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today at the Kroc Center. Tickets are $35.

Harris, who operates out of Tallahassee, Fla., has trained nonprofits across the country, as well as in Jordan, Japan and Korea. He is certified by the ASAE in nonprofit organization, he said, and also holds a degree in criminology from Florida State University.

"We're so fortunate in our country that volunteers can come up to a board and say 'I want to help our community,'" he said. "I would encourage anyone who has an idea to consider forming a nonprofit."