Towards community engagement in the governance of non-profit organisations

Nowadays, non-profit organisations (NPOs) face growing pressure to involve the community in their governing boards. Nevertheless, few empirical studies have been conducted on how they self-regulate community engagement in their governance. With the aim of filling the research gap on this topic, this article provides new insights into community engagement in non-profit governance, considering the case of Italian bank foundations (IBFs) in which community representation on the board is required by law, and self-regulation plays a pivotal role in defining mechanisms of engagement. Applying Guo and Musso’s (2007) framework, a content analysis of IBFs’ statutes highlights that detailed attention has been paid to formal procedures and descriptive representation mechanisms, while participatory arrangements are lacking. The analysis of the IBFs’ case reveals additional mechanisms that are useful for better ensuring community representation within governance, and provides new mechanisms that could be considered by regulatory activity in NPOs where the community is on board by law.