Articles from Jane providing insight, tips and trends focused on leadership and nonprofit strategies. A great resource to share with your board, designed to help nonprofit leaders quickly learn new and useful information.
“This is just a short message to tell you how much I appreciate your tips! Having been on numerous boards, but also having served as Executive Director reporting to a board, I find myself referencing your columns frequently. This particular column is timely given a conversation I had earlier this week with a fellow board member. We began talking about fundraising for an organization. Her opinion was that once she gets a CEO hired, the board could disappear and that the CEO could manage the fundraising or direction of the organization. She was actively advocating for disengagement of the board — I could not believe my ears and only hope that her feelings are not shared industry wide. She should really be on your email list so she can learn a few things.”
“In any event, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your insights and that I find them very helpful.”
Carla D. Walker
President & CEO|think BIG strategies,llc
Consider including a brief board development discussion at every board meeting. Dedicating 10 to 15 minutes at every meeting to discuss a board development issue is a quick and easy way to incorporate board development into your meetings. Consider using the one of the following questions at your next board meeting to stimulate a discussion…
BoardSource offers nonprofit leaders the following nine steps as an ongoing board building cycle that will help your organization create a robust and high performing board. Step 1: Identify board needs. What do we have? What is missing? Identify sources of board members with the needed characteristics. Step 2: Cultivate potential board members. Get them…
Don’t let your board get so entangled in day-to-day challenges of your organization that they lose sight of your larger purpose. As your board discusses critical issues, your mission statement can provide perspective and a reminder of your organization’s true purpose. At every board meeting keep your mission statement as a central theme. Nonprofit leaders…
When you are discussing a pressing organizational issue at a board meeting do your board members work together to reach consensus on the best solution? Do you have a boardroom culture that readily encourages everyone to share his or her thoughts and ideas? When you are deliberating a difficult issue you want to consider everyone’s…
How productive are your boardroom discussions? Are your board members reaching consensus on critical issues and taking responsibilities for follow up work? Creating productive boardroom discussions starts with good pre-planning. A well thought out board agenda will ensure your time in the boardroom is used well. As you develop your meeting agenda consider what issues…
Most nonprofit leaders at some point are faced with the challenge of board members that complacent and not living up to their potential. The symptoms of complacency may include board members not showing up for meetings, members who are not completing their assignments and/or not participating in boardroom discussions. It can difficult for the leadership…
Being a nonprofit board chair can be exciting, challenging and frustrating. It is a complex role that requires strong leadership, tact, charisma, discretion and the art of persuasion. An important part of the chair’s role is the preparation of the board meeting agenda; this is typically is done in consultation with the executive director. Developing the…
How was your last board meeting? Did your board reach agreement on critical issues? Did it feel like it was a good use of time? One of the most important tasks for your board president or chair is planning for the board meeting. Thoughtfully preparing the board meeting agenda and making sure the information you…
How nonprofit leaders manage their boards has everything to do with their success. Many nonprofits are replacing their nomination committee with a governance committee, which becomes the designated internal structure for improving the board’s performance. A governance committee is typically charged with assessing the board’s performance and making recommendations on policies and practices that will improve…
BoardSource offers nonprofit leaders the following nine steps as an ongoing board building cycle that will help your organization create a robust and high performing board. Step 1: Identify board needs. What do we have? What is missing? Identify sources of board members with the needed characteristics. Step 2: Cultivate potential board members. Get them…
A point of dispute within many nonprofits is “Who does what?” as it relates to raising funds. Fundraising is a team sport that requires a clear understanding of each others roles and responsibilities. Below are some common fundraising responsibilities based on the role within the nonprofit organization. The lists are abbreviated and adapted from BoardSource’s…
Is there culture in your boardroom? Are your board members too polite to ask the hard questions? Do you have board members who exhibit combative or aggressive behaviors? Do you have “group think” where no one challenges the accepted assumptions. Your board’s culture sets the tone for the discussions and decisions that will be made in the boardroom….
Should your organization establish an advisory council? An advisory council can be an effective strategy for keeping past board members and key stakeholders engaged and it provides a structure for busy professionals with limited time to serve your organization. Unlike the board, advisory council members have no legal or formal responsibilities. An advisory council should be limited…
A common frustration among many nonprofit leaders is the lack of support and participation of board members. Why is there not better attendance at board meetings? Why aren’t there more board members serving on committees? How do we get more board members to participate and support fundraising activities? The overwhelming feeling seems to be that we do the best…
The BoardSource Nonprofit Governance Index/Survey asked CEOs to grade their board’s performance in the ten basic responsibilities of a nonprofit board. On a grading scale where a 4 is the A the CEOs gave the highest grade at 3.3 / B for their board’s understanding of the organization’s mission. The lowest grade at 1.29 / D was in…
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