by Susan Detwiler | May 4, 2015 | fundraising
Why doesn’t a nonprofit board fundraise? There are a lot of reasons. At a recent Bloomerang webinar, Getting Your Board on Board, I offered ways to move board members along the continuum from ˜I’ll do anything except ask for money,’ to ˜I’ll ask a major donor for a gift.‘
Since we couldn’t get to all the questions, I promised to answer some directly, and some of them in this post. If you want to see the first set of questions and answers, shoot me an email, and I’ll send it along.
And now, here are some of the questions that we couldn’t get to:
Board members who don’t give
Q.
What if your board recruits for new board members, but because they don’t give themselves, they don’t require new members to give? The cycle just perpetuates!
A.
It sounds like your board members may not see themselves as responsible for the future of the organization. Once they consider that thinking about the future is part of their job, you can ask what ensuring the future looks like to them.
In this case, you may have to start by NOT talking about money. Instead, talk about the future, and the kinds of people you need on the board in order to make that future possible. Times have changed since the organization was established, and you’ve been able to change with the times. What kind of people do you need on the board in order to continue keeping up with society? Who might you need on the board in order to build the future you want? That way, board member responsibility for being donors becomes only one part of the whole package of being responsible for the future. By talking about the other board attributes first, the conversation can naturally migrate to money as a part of the whole.
Jump-starting a Development Committee
Q.
Other than sharing this webinar, what other things can be done to “jump start” a development committee?
A.
Oh, so many things. And I wouldn’t start with this webinar. I likely wouldn’t even start with talking about money. I would start with envisioning the future. What does your community look like if you and your organization were 100% successful with everything you decided to do? Beginning with vision is exciting. The dollars and other resources are just a means to that end. Once you and your committee are excited, it’s so much easier to contemplate raising the dollars to make that vision possible.
Qualifications of a Board Member
Q.
Can you share a board member outline for qualifications to be used by the nominating committee?
A.
There are many places to go for a classic grid that looks at demographics and skill sets for board members. The best advice I’ve heard, though, is to decide what you want to accomplish in the next three to five years, and figure out what skills and attributes will help you get there. Then, while seeking those skills and attributes, seek to balance the age, demographic and social circles that are represented. This post talks about Five Essential Qualities of board members, and includes links to some sample qualification outlines. This one talks about the need for people of different ages.
Thanks for asking! If you have questions about helping your board see the future, and their role in making it happen, I’m happy to talk. Just reach out and let me know.
Any other questions? Let me know and I may answer them here!
Susan
by Susan Detwiler | Apr 6, 2015 | governance
Many nonprofits end their fiscal year on June 30. And for most, that’s also when board members change over. That means it’s very likely you’re going to have a few new board members.
Do you know who you’re going to ask to join the board?
If you’re typical of many nonprofit organizations, you’ve waited until now “ two months before the annual meeting “ to look for new board members. Your nominating committee is tasked with rounding up likely prospects and inviting them onto the board.
For some of your prospects, it’s the first time they’ve even thought about the possibility of joining you. And they have to give your committee an answer in less than a week. For others, they’re just itching to get on the board and tell you everything you’ve been doing wrong.
Of course, it’s also possible you’ve done some homework, and know about ˜getting the right people on the bus.‘
But what questions do you ask to find out if they’re the right people? Whether they have an accounting practice or a legal degree is simple to find out. But asking some key questions will let you in on their inner workings. Questions that will help you decide whether this is someone you want to work with.
What would you like the organization to achieve while you’re on our board?
What will that make possible?
Who will that help?
Answers to the first question might very well be about balancing the budget or serving more clients. But the answers to the second and third questions will tell you about the candidate.
Is this someone who is thinking about your mission and why you exist? Is this someone who will partner with the rest of the board and staff in an effort to make your community better?
Consider the possibilities of having a board full of individuals who think beyond the budget. What could you achieve?
by Susan Detwiler | Mar 26, 2015 | fundraising
Consider the IRS Form 990. The executive director tears his hair out over it. The accountant prepares it. The board looks at it and nods. Let’s just get it done.
But when the Internal Revenue Service redesigned the Form 990 in 2008, it created an opportunity that too few nonprofits take advantage of.
High net-worth donors check your financials before making a major gift. The federal government requires the 990 to be available upon request. You can’t turnaround online without a governance guru writing about transparency.
So what are we waiting for? If the 990 is so important, why aren’t we figuring out ways to use it to our own advantage? Just because it’s a government form, created for the government’s purpose, doesn’t mean we can’t take it to its highest potential.
Talking to foundation executives, I heard one say that she checks the 990 to see the ratio of board members relative to the size of the budget. The Community Reinvestment Officer for a national bank said she checks for a tangible lack of board involvement.
Why not use the 990 to lay the groundwork for a more substantive conversation with donors and foundations?
Imagine the possibilities! Where the 990 asks for your purpose, make it sing! Footnote the heck out of it. You can add as many expansions as you want, so why not use it. And since you’re putting it on the website so everyone can easily find it (you are putting it on the website, aren’t you?), take a little extra space and answer funders’ questions before they ask them.
One terrific example of taking the Form 990 to new heights is at the Creating the Future website. Creating the future is a living laboratory for developing and demonstrating tools for individuals and communities, so people are living well, individually and collectively. It’s a concept that begs to be explored, but most funders won’t take the time to ask. So the organization has its Form 990 on its website, as well as an annotated Form 990, that gives detailed explanations of why they answered each part the way they did.
You can just see someone looking at their website, seeing Form 990 and Form 990 annotations, and clicking the second one out of curiosity. Creating the Future has just engaged a supporter.
Imagine the possibilities. What will make supporters feel good about giving to your organization? Can the Form 990 help?
To talk more about using what you have to make a difference, governance transparency, or to see how The Detwiler Group might partner with you to plan the future, contact me at sdetwiler@detwiler.com or www.detwiler.com.
by Susan Detwiler | Dec 19, 2014 | Communication, governance, leadership, nonprofit, Standards, Strategic Planning
It’s hard to write a blog post in December without somehow bringing in the winter festivals. They are hard to ignore. Whether we observe a festival or not, we get caught up in end-of-year fundraising appeals; endless staff, neighborhood, organization and family parties; last minute shopping, travel and cooking.
Yet with all this busyness, it is also a time when, regardless of your faith, it is a little easier to see the good will in others.
So today I refer to an earlier essay on Presuming Good Will. Originally written in 2010, the message still resonates.
No one is on a board of trustees because she wants to see the agency die. No one is on a board of directors because he wants to run it into the ground.
There may be strong disagreements, but it’s important to assume the disagreement is based on good intentions, and presume good will on the
part of the ˜other.’
Let’s use this time of year to really see the good will in our colleagues, friends and family. Let’s recognize that we can all agree that we want what’s best for our organization, even if we may not agree on what that best is.
Then let’s bring this perspective with us into the new year, and remember the good will we share as we build towards our respective visions for our communities.
If you are celebrating a holiday this season, I hope that it is warm and meaningful. If not, may you find the time to enjoy the lights and festivities that others provide.
Happy New Year!
Susan
Learn more on building a team out of your board members, and bringing together board and staff at www.detwiler.com or reach me at sdetwiler@detwiler.com.
by Susan Detwiler | Sep 9, 2014 | governance, innovation, leadership, nonprofit
With the start of school, education gets a lot of attention. Keeping up with the sector means perusing the legislative, governance and financial news. It also means listening to the people on the frontlines.
While scanning an education site, I was struck by how closely classroom management lessons match the latest in governance wisdom. Those values we learned in grade school have a great impact on the way our boards work together “ if we actually bring those values to our nonprofit.
On the first day of school, this grade school teacher* introduced to her class Six things sixth graders say:
I don’t know….YET. In the context of nonprofit board work, are we able to recognize that we don’t know everything, and there is much we can learn? How does that recognition affect our interaction with staff, clients, the community, our peers?
I’ll give it a try. Even if things are going well, perhaps doing something new will be even better. Innovation is key to avoiding stagnation. Are the members of our board open to trying something we’ve never tried before?
Oooh! A Challenge! When things are difficult, do we fall back or step forward? Do we cocoon, or is our board willing to explore the limits of our abilities? Do we reach out to others who may have the resources to help?
Let’s figure this out together. Science has shown that cooperation and trust among team members foster better results. On a board, cooperation allows each person to contribute his or her particular expertise. Do our trustees cooperate and collaborate?
Of course, I’ll help! Sometimes extraordinary times require extraordinary effort from staff, board and volunteers. Do our trustees see themselves as integral to the success of the mission, and personally take steps to ensure that success?
Thank you. Quality of life is proven to improve if we recognize that we have something to be grateful for. Of all the reasons to serve on a board, the opportunity to say thank you by helping others is one of the most powerful. Do we each come to our board work with an attitude of gratitude for the work of others and the opportunity to fulfill the mission?
These are simple statements, but science has proven each to be important components to success. I’ve seen innovation, gratitude, and cooperation create successful teams in organizations as diverse as arts, education and social sciences. I’ve also seen the price paid when trustees forgot them.
Think future! Building these attitudes into regular board meetings fuels dynamic discussions that focus on what you can do, instead of what you can’t.
*Special thanks to Aliza Chanales of Yeshivat Noam, for permission to repost her Six Things Sixth Graders Say in the context of nonprofit governance.
What are your experiences in building the right attitudes among your board members? Pass them on! Post them here or you can reach me at sdetwiler@detwiler.com.
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