In November of 2011, Michael Verchot, Founding Director of the University of Washington’s Business and Economic Development Center, spoke at the Yakima Downtown Rotary Club. He said that businesses need three things to succeed: management skills, money to finance and grow, and markets/customers to serve. Not surprisingly, these three needs correspond with the primary responsibilities of your nonprofit board: long range strategic planning, fund raising, and policy development.
Does your board focus regularly on long range strategic planning? If you have not already done so, start by clearly defining your organizational mission. Then define your vision for the future. You will work backward from your mission and vision to identify the specific tasks needed to fulfill both. Specific tasks, action steps, will be best accomplished if they are assigned to individual board members. Preliminary deadlines on research need to be set and accountability to the group clearly set forth. Do not rush this process or be content to speak in generalities about them at your meetings. Set benchmarks to check your progress along the way toward one, five, and ten year goals.
This is your first individual homework assignment: Between meetings, do the research needed to help your board make informed decisions. Send the results of your work to the other board members well in advance of your upcoming meeting so they have time to process the information you are bringing. Good information and ideas will be all around the table if each member has prepared and communicated in this way before each meeting. Consider interviewing someone from another successful nonprofit on a topic at hand. Compare cost options for a need your group is facing. Each member can research and study related materials.
Fund raising is your board’s next major responsibility. Do you, as a board member, lead in giving? Are you the first to make a pledge to your organization each year? Can you boldly say to potential donors, “Join me in supporting this worthy cause.”? As a group, are you setting aside meeting time regularly to identify potential new donors? If you do not know how to run an annual fund raising campaign, this is where you pause to get the training. Hire a consultant or development director to set a solid fund raising course. Do not expect this person to do the fund raising for you. Your success will be multiplied exponentially if your board becomes a fund raising team working together with your development professional.
Policy development is your final major ongoing priority. If you do not have a policy manual, you can ask for a copy from a nonprofit you respect. Use theirs as a starting point, but make it your own by revising each section to reflect your board’s vision for your organization. Maintain it, refer to it, and keep it relevant. Have legal counsel review each section that is created or updated.
Your manual will clearly set forth the collective agreement on best practices for your organization. It will hold your business together when there is turnover. Your policies and procedures direct your staff toward meeting the needs of those whom you serve. They guide the ethical, legal conducting of your business. How does this help you gain/add customers? People support organizations they trust, organizations that consistently meet their needs. Continuity in good business practices builds that trust.
The most effective nonprofit boards are working boards. Is your board already focused on long range strategic planning, fund raising and policy development? If not, agree upon the area of greatest need and start there. Personally invest the time to be a working board member. It will make you a greater asset to your organization. If, in the past, you have arrived at board meetings without preparation, it is time to make a change, time to make a bigger difference for good.
I am hoping for your every success!