Last year, I shared my thoughts on the basics of board engagement. One of my key pillars is to approach fundraising responsibilities holistically beyond required giving and direct involvement in solicitation. Thinking more broadly about how board members might participate in fundraising can lead to areas that are better suited to their abilities, such as stewardship.
Similarly, when charting your organization’s long-term course, we also need to think bigger, both about what our institutions need and what board members can offer. Board members bring specific talents to the table—skills, perspective, and professional judgment—not just their own giving or introductions to others with giving capacity. What our organizations need, and often struggle with completing due to the demands of day-to-day work, is assistance with higher level strategic activity.
Here are a few areas where I would encourage you to consider board members’ potential for more substantial contributions and significant impact on your mission:
Key Moments: Leadership Transitions
Any leadership transition is pivotal. They take many forms, from the carefully planned retirement of a long-serving leader to the more fluid decisions that are made as an organization’s size and impact grow. For example, when do you need a COO or a CFO? Does your work lend itself to a co-leadership model?
Board members bring professional skills and judgment to the table that can help you navigate these situations. Broader expertise in and experience with change management across diverse industries is especially useful during transitions. Because board members are not involved with day-to-day management, they can assist leaders in seeing the bigger picture and provide unique perspectives. Additionally, if your organization plans to hire outside consultants to guide a leadership transition, board members should be involved in the selection process.
Determining Strategic Direction
Equipping your board to help on questions of strategic direction begins with the board selection process. The importance of having a diverse board that reflects the community you serve cannot be overstated. If you have recruited and built your board with this goal in mind, then they will be able to advise on new strategic directions that respond to community needs.
For example, a colleague shared a story with me about serving on the board of a local non-profit devoted to providing food and services predominantly to men and women experiencing homelessness. These activities all took place in their facility, which is an integral part of its larger community. However, through deep board discussions about future directions and the state of hunger locally, it became clear that there was tremendous need outside of the walls of the facility among working families who were food insecure. This led to the beginning of mobile food service at convenient and accessible spots for these families. While the core services remained valuable and necessary, without the outside perspective of board members, this new strategic direction that responded to a high community need might not have been pursued.
Identifying New Community Partnerships
This effort goes along with determining strategic direction—if your board represents a cross-section of your community, they can provide insight into new community partnerships that can lead to exciting work. To make this happen, it is crucial that there is open communication and reporting between the chief executive and the board, showing the reality of the organization’s work and where there may be gaps. Most board members are drawn to service because of their strong desire to improve the communities where they live, and this drive can foster new connections that lead to more robust services.
As a leader, you no doubt have a rich knowledge of others working in your community and field, the fresh perspectives that board members bring can be truly humbling and lead to impressive results. Approach these conversations with an open mind and be prepared to learn—exploring new partnerships can be exciting, fun, and lead to increased impact.