Thoughts and comments:

1) Would anyone else comment on the odd vs even number of Board Members?  It
has always seemed to me that it really doesn't make much difference, because
the Chair doesn't vote except to break a tie.  If you have an uneven number,
there is more likelihood of a tie because you have an even number of Board
members (who are not chair) voting; conversely, if you have an even number
the only time there is a tie vote is if some Board members are absent.

2) Some very small historical societies, which operate on mostly volunteer
labor, have more board members (we have 15), because they are actively
leading various parts of the operation, and if involved in the decision
making, take greater ownership in getting things accomplished as well as
effecting better coordination of their various efforts by sitting around the
same table once a month. 

I suspect it's a matter of 'one size does not fit all' and you have to take
all the various pieces of wisdom and figure out what will work for you. If
your three staff members are all full time, and the Board members are not
fulfilling quasi-staff roles, then you probably could, indeed, do with fewer
Board members for the decision making part of it.

Others might say, however, that having the larger number of Board members is
getting more people actively supporting the organization, and if there is an
expectation of the Board members also taking the lead in giving, then that
may be a good reason to have a larger Board.  I've heard of large museums
with boards of 25 or 30, for the increased ability to reach into many
pockets in the community.

Lucy Sperlin
Butte County Historical Society
Oroville, California

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Tenuth, Jeff
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Board Size

I don't know if there are formulas based on budgets or staff size, but a
board of 16 and a staff size of 3 is pretty close to absurd.  Boards
should have odd numbers of members to avoid deadlocked decision making.
For most smaller museums or historical societies, seven, nine or eleven
board members are sufficient.  Much beyond that and decision making
becomes difficult because it's too hard to get people to agree or even
appear at meetings.  This is especially true if your quorum number is
high.  Another thing to remember is that the more board members you have
for a small institution, the more agendas are at play.  This can result
in even less getting done.

Jeff Tenuth
Indiana State Museum  

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Todd Bothel
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 9:48 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Board Size

Does any have a recommended size for a Board of Trustees? Is there any
source that states "for this budget or staff size, there should be X
board members"?

We have a budget of $160,000 with three staff members and a board of 16.
I want to know if this is typical, or should we decrease/increase the
number.

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