Board Composition and the Orientation of Community Economic Development Organizations in Michigan (Volunteerism).

Abstract

Involvement of the community and participation by skilled professionals is noted as being critical to the successful implementation of community economic development (CED) strategies that are designed to create jobs and provide needed goods and services in low-income communities. Yet, little is currently known about the types of representation on the boards of directors of community economic development organizations that may be related to a community economic development orientation. This study was designed to determine what relationships exist between the representation of specific organizations, individuals and skills on the boards of directors of community-based organizations in distressed communities in Michigan and the orientation of these organizations to a community economic development theme at the local level. Sixty-four CED organizations active in distressed Michigan communities completed a mailed self-administered survey instrument designed to determine the organization's board composition and development orientation. In addition to providing basic descriptive information on CED in Michigan the main findings of the study include: (1) The observation of no significant relationships between the representation of formal or communal organizations on the board of directors of these organizations and a CED orientation. (2) That representation from such business related skills as legal, financial, business person, architect, insurance and real estate on the board of directors is not significantly related to a CED orientation. The study did however note, that the greater the representation of accountants on the board of directors the less likely an organization would have a strong CED orientation. (3) Representation from the organization's target population was not significantly related to any organizational development theme. The study concludes that existing organizations interested in implementing a community economic development strategy in a distressed community may wish to examine their board composition and organization development objectives before undertaking such a development strategy.