Board

A friend serving on a nonprofit board reported plans to resign from the board shortly due to the board's unwillingness to take critical actions necessary to help the organization grow. The board failed to take any action to remove a director who wasn't attending meetings and refused to resign. His term had another year, and the board had a bylaws obligation to remove him from the board. However, a majority of directors decided such action would hurt the director's feelings. They were unwittingly accepting the "nice-guy" approach.

If you’re a fundraiser who is struggling to get your executive director or board to understand why you should launch an online fundraising program or invest more in online giving tools, try these talking points to help plead your case: Online giving boosts individual giving. Online giving allows you to interact with your donors where they are — online. You don't have to set up a merchant account. It's not just a fad.

The nonprofit board model requires that a group of volunteers, many of whom do not know each other nor possess expertise in the mission, come together and, through committee work and four to six full board meetings a year, assume the primary legal responsibility for governing the organization.

Nonprofit organizations today need boards that provide critical thinking, create a learning culture and serve as dynamic ambassadors.

While nonprofits may be structured differently than for-profit businesses, there are some elements they have in common such as business needs for operational efficiencies, processes and sustained results. Like any business, in order for a nonprofit to be effective in its operation it must have the necessary funds and the staff in place who believes in the organization, its mission and its vision.

A colleague once told me there aren’t any great new ideas — just people who know how to borrow well. I believe he was right! These are the best fundraising ideas I ever stole and put to work over and over again: Pair your board members' influence with direct mail. First, have your board review your donor lists. Next write a great letter. Finally, report back often to your board members.

It’s frequently the case that even experienced fundraising staff members feel a bit intimidated when it comes to talking to their board about “giving and getting.” For one thing, it can feel as though you’re asking board members to pay your salary — after all, your income does depend on contributions. And for another, in a sense your board is collectively your employer. I have yet to meet someone who’s comfortable telling his or her boss what to do.

During the past several years, I have had the privilege of working with a number of nonprofit boards that are leading and supporting fast-growing nonprofit organizations. In some cases the fast growth had created tension. It is typical that the board feels like its established operating agreements are not responsive enough to accommodate the rapid decision-making required by the growth.

You have spent countless hours creating a marketing and communications strategy and budget for your nonprofit, and there is just one thing standing in your way from executing it: board approval.

For many, getting board approval can be a stress-inducing exercise, but it does not have to be that way. If you keep in mind that your board is ultimately accountable for the activities of your organization, its need to scrutinize your marketing plan is understandable.

Kay Sprinkel Grace, author of "The Ultimate Board Member's Book," recently spoke with her publisher about nonprofit boards. GuideStar has published an excerpt from the book and is pleased to be able to share Grace's additional thoughts with you.

Board members are naturally nervous about fundraising. But there are ways to calm them down and make fundraising fun for them. No kidding! Here’s how: Set them up to do fundraising jobs that don't involve soliciting.

Tell them they don't have to ask if they don’t want to. They can open doors and help you find new friends and donors — without having to solicit. And these actions will directly impact your bottom line.

If you want to set up a fundraising action plan for your board, try this plan …