Board-only

A board-only organization is one that is managed by a board that is self-appointed or otherwise not accountable (for all practical purposes) to a base of members through elections, a delegate body, etc. The American Society of Association Executives has voted to become such a body. The growing trend to switch toward this type of structure is controversial. O'Regan & Oster have found that large, more representative nonprofit boards score well on a number of indicators. [citation|author=O'Regan, Katherine & Oster, Sharon M.|date=2005|title=Does the Structure and Composition of the Board Matter? The Case of Nonprofit Organizations|publisher=21 J.L. Econ. & Org.|pages=205] Ostrower found that organizations with at least one governing body member directly elected by membership perform better on a number of governance indicators. [citation|author=Ostrower, Francie|date=2007|title=Nonprofit Governance in the United States: Findings on Performance and Accountability from the First National Representative Study|publisher=Urban Institute, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy] However, some organizations are finding it difficult to maintain a membership-based structure in the wake of increasingly difficult-to-meet requirements for such organizations under the Model Nonprofit Corporation Act. org-stub

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