Do you know what makes one nonprofit board high-functioning and another… not?

Information and opportunity.

Board service means something different to volunteers and staff. Often, volunteers don’t understand the extent of their commitment, and they skip meetings and obligations simply because they lack an understanding of their role in the first place.

Staff members may underestimate the board’s role and responsibility in guiding their mission and miss opportunities to educate and engage these leaders in meaningful ways.

So, how do we send information and opportunity back into the boardroom?

It’s simple: staff leaders must commit to a systematic program of onboarding and educating their board members. Board education should not be a one-time event. It should be a culture of internal engagement that is nurtured.

When organizations commit to cultivating their board members, they enjoy benefits that other nonprofits can only dream about: strategic focus, meaningful engagement and active support of the mission’s greatest needs. That’s where the “high-functioning” part comes in.

Here are our observations and tips for creating a high-functioning board capable of giving you the support you need.

We’ve all done it, waited until the last minute to recruit new board members to fill a vacant seat. Then what happens? We ask our board members who they know and fill the seat. We say, “oh you won’t have to do much” and “we don’t meet very often” and then we wonder why activity is lackluster.

Pro Tip: Make board recruitment a year-round activity. Keep a short list of dynamic people that you meet throughout the year and encourage others to do the same. Talk about potential candidates at least quarterly and offer committee membership to cultivate their interest. And use our board member job description to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Board Member Job Description | Aly Sterling Philanthropy

Your board members should be your organization’s biggest champions. They shouldn’t just understand what you do and who you serve – they should feel it. This is a passion that should be built over time through intentional and varied mission immersion experiences led by staff. The goal is to give them reason to fall – and stay – in love with the mission and the good work you do.

Pro Tip: There are many ways to bring your board members more deeply into your work. The easiest way to start is by adding a “mission moment” to the beginning of every board meeting, where staff members give updates on important programs and share examples of successful projects. Board members should also be invited to volunteer, whether that means swinging a hammer, answering the phone or speaking at a gala.

Are most of your meetings and board engagements focused on forward thinking initiatives? If not, what are you doing? Take a moment to think about what would have to change for you to get there. What’s the first step?

Pro Tip: Being able to spend significant time on strategy requires focusing on a few key areas (and not doing everything). Spend as much time thinking about the things you can STOP doing as well as the things you can START doing! One of the best things a board can do is make strategic decisions that allow you to focus on doing a few key things in an excellent manner.

You share the “vital” things like budgets, financials and other policy documents with your board members, but do those documents alone best illustrate how your organization is accomplishing its mission? What about key program impacts and success stories? Sometimes when we reduce missions to budget numbers, we miss the whole point.

Pro Tip: Consider creating a dashboard of key service-related metrics that shows how your organization is working toward its goals. Add stories and examples to meet board members’ needs for mission immersion. And use both to foster strategic and candid conversations about successes and failures.

Recruit board members with the specific skills needed to support your strategic focus and successfully govern the organization. Seek a diverse mix of people – with different personalities and backgrounds – to provide an array of perspectives to balance the group.

Pro Tip: It’s perfectly fine to recruit people who are not familiar with your mission but have the skills you need. The key to a healthy partnership is thorough onboarding and regular education to immerse them in the mission.

Recruit board members who have skills and interests that align with your focused strategies. And seek a diverse mix of people – with different personalities and traits – to provide an array of perspectives to balance the group. Then empower them all to get to work!

Pro Tip: It’s perfectly fine to recruit people who are not familiar with your mission but have the skills you need. The key to a healthy partnership is thorough onboarding and regular education to immerse them in the mission.

When you ask people about the best boards they’ve served on, their answers usually focus on what they learned, the impact it had on them and the people they met/served with. Hands down, the most impactful stories are from board members who had an incredible mission immersion experience.

Pro Tip: If you can show your board first-hand how you change lives, they will work hard to find ways to help the organization grow. If you invest in their learning opportunities and surround them with people who care, they’ll grow as leaders and testify personally to how your mission makes a difference. What more can you ask for?