Some organizations appoint an executive director right from the start. Executive Director for Division A Executive Director for Division B . In the United States, they are often called executive directors, and their roles can be compared to that of a Chief Executive Officer of a for-profit business. Due to the nature of many of these organizations, however, the non-profit director may have some unique job responsibilities that are different from those of a for-profit executive. It is a legal requirement for a nonprofit to have a board of directors. The executive director should have final operational authority for all operational matters related to the organization, except those designated for the board in the bylaws. An executive director at a nonprofit will be in charge of the daily running of the organization. However this structure can be confusing to persons in the nonprofit arena. Others chose to take on an executive director after the organization is already established. A nonprofit is a corporation and, just like its for-profit cousins, nonprofit corporations exist independently of the people who founded them.

Executive directors and presidents of nonprofits have very different responsibilities. Choosing when to hire an executive director is a serious decision for any nonprofit organization.