Board

Your board meeting or fundraising committee meeting ends with a buzz. Everyone is excited about the direction things are heading at your nonprofit organization. People even agreed to take on tasks. With deadlines. Yet, a month or so later when you meet, you are disappointed—again. Calls weren’t made. Tickets weren’t sold. Doors weren’t opened. Reports weren’t reviewed. You aren’t even sure…

An advisory board can be an incredible nonprofit and higher education resource, especially in fundraising. What is an advisory board? An advisory board is a non-governing body that provides advice and often serves as ambassadors for an officer or an organization. For example, in higher education at a state-sponsored university, a college or dean might have an advisory board...

Small town. The center of culture lives here at this library. And the building is a jewel in the town. Historic. Small staff. Small local board. Not a lot of money for board education. Actually, no money. Also, not a lot of role clarity. In fact, two staff members are also board members. Messy. It’s…

Chances are good that most of your board members have only a vague notion of what will be expected of them in your capital campaign. Board members who know they can’t make big gifts to the campaign may be especially concerned, since they may not even know many people who could. They may even be quietly wondering if they should resign from the board...

Easing board members into fundraising can be a rewarding and fun process, especially if they focus on just telling stories. Last month on the blog, I shared three types of stories that nonprofit board members can tell. Once board members have stories in mind that they would like to tell, they may be wondering where…

If you are a nonprofit board member, does this sound familiar? Your organization needs more financial resources. And, you are not sure which path to take. Should you: Help launch another fundraising event? Invite your friends over for coffee and ask them for support? Organize a campaign for major gifts? It can be confusing to…

Nonprofit leaders have a valuable resource hidden in plain sight. It's their board members. Your board is not just for fundraising or decision-making. Its relationship capital is worth a lot more. It can help meet many of your organization's needs. Combine the connections your board members have built over their careers with the right opportunities,…

Having been both a fundraiser and a board member, it’s been interesting to see both sides of the conversation about board fundraising. I have to say, having had a seat at the board table and now being a board chair, I have a lot more empathy for what board members are feeling when they are…

We all have seen agendas that have time amounts allocated for each item, but are never followed. At a certain point, members get tired or uninterested in the meeting or spend too little time on the most important issues. How many of us take meeting agendas for granted? Since meetings are an important part of our business life, we need to better understand this topic...

A new study shows—yet again—that boards are sluggish at succession planning. Can a stronger focus on its financial benefits move the needle? It’s no surprise that boards struggle to find talent. But what do we mean when we say "talent"? And just how important is it? A new study by the KPMG Board Leadership Center…