Effective board operations are an art as well as a science. Local advisory boards or governing boards/councils refer to active, duly organized, and representative bodies that hold regular meetings and make decisions on behalf of the membership, and whose members serve without pay. Advisory boards assist those who make organizational decisions but do not exercise final authority. Organizational boards and councils organize work around a planning frame. Boards do not get involved in program delivery detail, but in many organizations board members are also program volunteers. Although some board functions are for maintenance, others are developmental. These functions are true for most community-based nonprofit boards and are categorized under 10 broad headings: mission statements and policy-setting; long- and short-range planning; resource development; fiduciary care; assuring compliance; image development; linkage and sanctioning; advocacy; ensuring the quality of the chief executive officer and/or staff; and evaluation. (This document contains five figures: hierarchy of planning, board-committee meeting cycle, policy formulation, higher degree of goal integration, the communications network. Nine references and three additional sources of assistance are included.) (NLA)