Let’s take a moment to highlight all that HOA board members do! You have a desire to see everyone around you flourish, and you take the time, effort, and energy necessary to make that happen. Thankfully, there are some awesome benefits for choosing to spend your time to serve others!
Here are the top three:
- Increase your business acumen. Running an association is very similar to running a corporation. Your HOA is, in fact, most likely a non-profit, incorporated entity. As an elected leader of the association, you have many of the same duties as company leaders in the for-profit, corporate world.
As a board member, you regularly oversee financials, accounting, compliance, risk management, insurance, legal, vendor management, and culture development. Few board members walk away from their time serving their association without enhanced business knowledge. This is true even for some of the most experienced business professionals on our boards.
- Develop your people skills. Serving others in an HOA also gives you the opportunity to take charge of community projects, resolve conflict, and communicate with committees, board members, managing agents, and homeowners. On a personal level, you will socialize and network regularly with others. As an added bonus, most of the people you will interact with are likely to share your desire to contribute and improve your community.
- Become a positive influence in your community. Volunteering is also a great way to encourage a future sense of community responsibility in the people around you: your co-workers, family, and especially your children will learn from your example. As an added bonus, seeing you give so selflessly helps build a sense of compassion, empathy, tolerance, and gratitude in the people around you. By volunteering, you help ensure the betterment of future communities. That’s pretty exciting!
Board members seek office because they want to see their community be the best version of itself. However, after working so many long hours in the trenches (most board members will serve anywhere between 30 to 200 hours a year), it can sometimes be hard to tell what’s been accomplished. But, as recent studies have shown, 92% of homeowners say living within their association has been either a positive or neutral experience. So, even if it’s hard to see the positive impact you’ve made in members’ lives, the majority of homeowners certainly do!
Volunteering as a board member has enormous benefits for the individual people, the families, and the community at large. Being a board member means you are making our world a better place to live. The people who get to work with such committed individuals on a regular basis benefit from the experience, too!
