A growing number of Bay Area businesses want their senior executives to serve on nonprofit boards and are taking steps to make that happen, the San Francisco Business Times reports.

"These companies recognize that their top executives are also members of the local community and have a personal interest in how their companies give back," said John Power, executive director of the San Francisco-based Volunteer Center, which offers an online board matching service. "As corporate leaders, they are very suited to being leaders in the not-for-profit sector."

San Francisco-based Providian Financial, for example, developed a program matching its executives with nonprofits seeking board members and, as an added incentive, pledged to make an annual donation to a nonprofit on behalf of any executive serving on that nonprofit's board. Since January, twelve senior Providian executives have joined nonprofit boards, bringing the company-wide total to forty.

Moreover, with more companies directing their philanthropic dollars to matching gift programs, having a corporate executive on the board is another way to bring in dollars. "Nonprofits are constantly seeking board members to give guidance and also personally contribute," noted Power. "[And] if a personal contribution yields a corporate contribution from the workplace, that's twice as nice."

Beyond the ability to attract additional donations, however, board members from the for-profit executive ranks are uniquely positioned to provide valuable professional expertise — an incalculable benefit in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley era, as nonprofits increasingly are expected to operate like for-profit companies. And they can save nonprofits money on things like legal, accounting, and marketing fees.