Guest Post by Amy Stephan
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Non-profit organizations (NPOs) need to have more than a mission. They need to have strong leadership that guides them. That entity is the board of directors. The board is the front line of volunteers and should be the pacesetter for engagement, governance and financial stability. Even with the board being so important, often it’s the least defined piece for organizations.
Every organization is different. The mission, goals and objectives of a NPO will dictate what their board should look like in order to be successful. Common building blocks can be found in most engaged boards - diversity in membership, financial capabilities and connection to the mission. NPOs, especially small shops, should start with these when they are thinking about building their board.
Diversity in Membership
To create more structure for their boards, NPOs need to ask themselves what impact they expect a board to have. Defining the board’s goals is an important step in determining what kind of diversity you need and what you are asking from board members.
What is diversity?
Board diversity refers to many things – occupation, financial capabilities, community connections, link to the mission. NPOs need to concentrate on having a good balance of all these things.
Examples include:
- Connection – Having members who are passionate about your mission for different reasons helps balance the emphasis put on programs, fundraising, research, etc.
- Profession – Having people from different backgrounds and occupations brings a multitude of experiences to the table.
- Social Networks – Engaging board members who have many different community connections broadens your reach.
Diversity is a building block for long-term success.
"Diversity on Boards,"an article on the National Council of Nonprofits’ website may say it best, “Everyone brings his or her own personal and professional contacts and experiences to their service on a nonprofit board. There will always be numerous challenges facing a nonprofit and having a variety of ways to build bridges to potential donors or policy makers in the community, and community members, is extremely helpful.”
The Starting Block
When seeking new board members, NPOs should start by looking at what gaps in expertise need to be filled. If you are a health-based organization and have a membership comprised mostly of doctors and nurses, then focusing on non-medical field candidates is a good starting place. If you have a governing board with fiduciary responsibilities but nobody with expertise in finance, that may be an area of focus. Identify your needs up front and base your search on those needs.
Financial Capabilities
Our missions may not be bottom line driven, but we can’t meet our objectives without funding. While it’s nice to have board members who are affluent, it’s not the prerequisite.
How important is personal wealth?
Board members don’t necessarily have to be capable of making a six-figure gift. They should have the affluence and/or influence needed to help your organization secure gifts, grants, sponsorships or whatever it is you might need. Because the board of directors is considered the top tier of volunteers for any organization, they need to set an example for other donors you may be cultivating. There are few things more impactful to a potential donor, foundation or corporation than being able to say you have 100% giving support from within your organization.
Give it or get it
Many NPOs choose a “give or get” policy where board members are required to personally give or get a certain amount in donations each year. If you’ve achieved a diverse board, you will find a variety of members who:
- Personally give.
- Have access to individual or corporate donors (through their employer or otherwise).
- Help secure grants through foundations.
Focus is important
The important thing to remember is that your board is your governing body – not the fundraising arm of your organization. Board members should be setting an example for other donors and helping contribute to your fundraising efforts. Your board should be concerned with watching the bottom line to help ensure financial stability. A recent article in The Nonprofit Quarterly by Simone P. Joyaux discusses the difference between a board and board member and how NPOs should utilize them differently for fundraising purposes.
Connection To The Mission
Every board member needs a connection to your mission, but it doesn’t have to be the same connection and it doesn’t have to be immediate. Different connections will help bring different viewpoints to the table, leading to decisions that are more inclusive to those you serve.
Explore Various Connections
When looking for new board members explore different types of mission connections to increase diversity on the board.
- Professional connection
- A personal story that ties them to your services
- Connection between your mission’s work and people they care about
- Create a connection – Some people have no immediate connection but will find it through your personal stories and accomplishments.
Ask, Listen, Learn
The best thing you can do to cultivate those relationships is listen to their story. Everyone on your board has a story and it’s likely they want to share it. Your role is to listen and discover what motivates them.
Once you’ve heard their story ask them to share it – a lot. Don’t keep those golden tickets a secret. Encourage your board members to utilize social media to share why they are involved. Encourage them to write a guest blog for your website. Use their stories in your annual appeal letter. Share their stories.
While getting the most out of each board member is important for success, making sure that they are getting the most from your NPO is just as important. After listening, ask what their expectations are from you and your organization. Ask what they hope to get out of their service. Find out what they want to achieve and what legacy they want to have as a member. Make it a partnership.
Raising The Bar
The best thing I can tell you about strengthening a board doesn’t neatly fit into any one area because it’s about all of the building blocks working together – Raise the bar.
If you want the right person to join your board and have that board become and remain successful, you have to create the right environment. From asking the right candidates to having the right staff person to the actual space where your board meets – Raise the bar.
The highest professional caliber environment will attract the highest caliber people. NPOs spend too much time worrying about filling seats and not enough time finding the people for the right structure. Filling a seat isn’t a difficult task, building the right structure and finding the right people who will truly make a difference is the challenge. These building blocks are a good start to conquering that challenge.
About Amy Stephan
Amy Stephan is a consultant and non-profit professional with more than 10 years of field experience working in fundraising and development. She helps NPOs with fundraising and major gifts, capital campaigns, board and volunteer development and staff leadership, working with organizations of all sizes to plan, implement and assess social media strategies.
She has worked with organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the American Diabetes Association, and is a freelance writer where she blogs weekly at Kindergarten Maze to Concrete Jungle. Follow Amy on Twitter and connect with her on LinkedIn and Facebook.
34 Replies
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I’ve been following your blog for a while now, and your latest post certainly didn’t disappoint. Keep up the excellent work!
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Hi there, Thank you for your kind words! ~Keri
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Hello Keri, Really good post and very nice tips 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Regards, Peter Pereira
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Peter, Happy to know you found value in this post! Thank you for your comment, ~Keri
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I appreciate your style and ease to deal with this issue? A full article on which I will undoubtedly support for my next article. Regards, Gerard .
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Gerard, Thank you for your support of this article. Thank you for your comment, ~Keri
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Pingback: Nonprofits and Social Media: Finding A-Listers to Create a Board
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Amy, aloha. What a terrific post. For years, way before social media, I was a freelance fund raising consultant so I truly appreciate the clarity of this post. What I oftentimes found is that the non-profits were unclear on what to ask for or were afraid to ask for what they wanted. From my experience, people were always willing to help if you told them exactly what you needed and why. Knowing non-profits, I can see most being slow to move to social media. However, Amy, the possibilities that await the non-profits who use social media are exciting. Thx for laying out these building blocks to success. Best wishes for a Terrific Thursday. Aloha. Janet
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Amy, aloha. What a terrific post. For years, way before social media, I was a freelance fund raising consultant so I truly appreciate the clarity of this post. What I oftentimes found is that the non-profits were unclear on what to ask for or were afraid to ask for what they wanted. From my experience, people were always willing to help if you told them exactly what you needed and why. Knowing non-profits, I can see most being slow to move to social media. However, Amy, the possibilities that await the non-profits who use social media are exciting. Thx for laying out these building blocks to success. Best wishes for a Terrific Thursday. Aloha. Janet
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@janetcallaway:disqus , Yes….many nonprofit leaders are so wrapped up in making the ask for so much, that they sometimes forget to step forward when they could get exactly what they request for something so important! I saw a study recently that showed that nonprofits using social media were doing better – by almost double – in fundraising efforts. That’s huge – and hopefully that information and posts like this one will motivate more and more to hop in the social game. Thanks for your comment, Janet, and for your support of @76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus in her efforts! 🙂 ~Keri
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Thanks, Janet! I think you are right – it’s going to be a slow move to social media for many NPOs. However, when they do make the move, I think they will find the ROI is so much more than they ever could have believed. And if they don’t, they should call me or Keri @ideagirlmedia to help them find their way into cultivation bliss via social media! : ) Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Have a great day!
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Smaller non-profits do have a hard time filling board positions. This is because a small number of people in the org do most of the work and no process is in place for bringing in others. Would be great to see an article about dealing with this issue.
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@DotConnection:disqus , Excellent points! When I’ve been in the leadership seat, I’ve tried to encourage board member cultivation through committees – constant empowerment and encouragement to raise everyone, and the organization up. Have you tried this at all? What is your experience? Thank you for your comment, ~Keri cc @76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus
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That is a great topic idea Denise. I might start working on that for an upcoming blog. Thanks for the suggestion! Any input you want to give me to go into the article would be greatly appreciated. If you want to share, catch up with me on Twitter @amy_stephan. Thanks!
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That is a great topic idea Denise. I might start working on that for an upcoming blog. Thanks for the suggestion! Any input you want to give me to go into the article would be greatly appreciated. If you want to share, catch up with me on Twitter @amy_stephan. Thanks!
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That is a great topic idea Denise. I might start working on that for an upcoming blog. Thanks for the suggestion! Any input you want to give me to go into the article would be greatly appreciated. If you want to share, catch up with me on Twitter @amy_stephan. Thanks!
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That is a great topic idea Denise. I might start working on that for an upcoming blog. Thanks for the suggestion! Any input you want to give me to go into the article would be greatly appreciated. If you want to share, catch up with me on Twitter @amy_stephan. Thanks!
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NPOs are more like for profits than many realize. Effective leadership is required. Also clarity around all communication is also essential. Great insight, Leanne Hoagland-Smith Author of Be the Red Jacket
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@twitter-16116412:disqus , It is true that nonprofits do need to look at their operation as a for-profit so they can find efficiency and effectiveness in what they do. I’m sure @76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus said, leadership is key to success! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to comment, ~Keri
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Thanks, Leanne! I agree – the similarities between NPOs and for profit companies are much greater than most want to admit. Leadership is the key to success in both.
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Thanks, Leanne! I agree – the similarities between NPOs and for profit companies are much greater than most want to admit. Leadership is the key to success in both.
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Thanks, Leanne! I agree – the similarities between NPOs and for profit companies are much greater than most want to admit. Leadership is the key to success in both.
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Connection is most definitely the key! And Keri is right, I agree that amazing things happen when the right people are driving the bus. Thanks for your thoughts and remarks, Paul!
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@76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus Thanks! I can see the challenge to teach them about ROI and how this is a marathon and not a sprint.
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@b5673c6758e8ce3596f67fbfd2998884:disqus , Connection with the mission is soooo important. Too often I’ve seen members of boards just simply attend meetings once per month, and no more. The position is more than a resume padder — and when enthusiastic committed people get involved, some wonderful stuff happens. I’m sure @amy_stephan:disqus will concur. 🙂 ~Keri
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@b5673c6758e8ce3596f67fbfd2998884:disqus , Connection with the mission is soooo important. Too often I’ve seen members of boards just simply attend meetings once per month, and no more. The position is more than a resume padder — and when enthusiastic committed people get involved, some wonderful stuff happens. I’m sure @amy_stephan:disqus will concur. 🙂 ~Keri
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@b5673c6758e8ce3596f67fbfd2998884:disqus , Connection with the mission is soooo important. Too often I’ve seen members of boards just simply attend meetings once per month, and no more. The position is more than a resume padder — and when enthusiastic committed people get involved, some wonderful stuff happens. I’m sure @amy_stephan:disqus will concur. 🙂 ~Keri
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@amy_stephan:twitter Thanks very interesting insights Amy! Use social media to story tell your cause from your heart. But first you need to “Ask, Listen & Learn”. You hit the nail on the head with this post. What is the biggest challenge when it comes to marketing when you work with Non-profit organizations?
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@MattGron:disqus , @76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus gave some great feedback for you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – You are so one to Ask, Listen, Learn. Leading by example… ~Keri
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Thanks for knocking on my door! 😉
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@MattGron:disqus , @76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus gave some great feedback for you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – You are so one to Ask, Listen, Learn. Leading by example… ~Keri
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@MattGron:disqus , @76a6534cc036145ba92ed1f64636c6eb:disqus gave some great feedback for you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts – You are so one to Ask, Listen, Learn. Leading by example… ~Keri
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Wonderful post that explains the importance of diversity in a NPO Amy, in 2008 I was awarded the position of “community Liaison” for a grant funded educational program for students with disabilities called The ACT Now Program. The program was extremely success do to the diversity of the board and their ability to understand the diversity of the students and families we were serving.
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@KarlaCamposLopez:disqus , Amy will be thrilled with your comments! It’s always great to hear of successful programs and campaigns, and boards that invest in the cause. I’m sure their success was also due to your work too!! ~Keri
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