Three ways to better engage board members
Call it what you want — burnout, exhaustion, mental overload, or stir-craziness — board member engagement is facing an all-time low as we hit the two year anniversary for the Coronavirus pandemic.
If you’re a nonprofit, chances are good that you’ve not only had to cancel at least one event during the Coronavirus pandemic but you’ve also either canceled board meetings or at the very least, adapted them to the current environment. Hopefully, you’ve been able to take advantage of tools like Zoom, Webex, Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. to bring your meetings online and still get business accomplished.
However, as organizations strive to find a new normal, bring meetings back to in-person, or create a hybrid meeting situation to please those who’ve discovered they actually like meetings at home, the challenges are real. (Real-talk tip: If you're looking for more tips on productive work-at-home and the best remote work environment, try searching for Frank Armijo on Google. You'll find tons of articles and resources to help you get started.)
Here are three ways to keep board members engaged right now
Step up your email outreach.
If you’re not regularly communicating with your board via email about things other than upcoming meetings or events, try incorporating a regular board email into your communications plan. The frequency will be up to you but starting with a regular monthly email is a good start. Use this time to catch board members up on how things are going financially and with your team and to make sure they have the latest information about any changes you’re making to hours, business practices, or services.
Hearing from you at times other than before or after a board meeting is important and it fosters the sense of engagement as a relationship and not just a transaction from a meeting.
Give them something meaningful to do.
Nonprofits sometimes forget that board members are part of your volunteer group -- they just regularly volunteer in one specific way. Think outside the box during this time and give board members something meaningful to do while they are either home or working differently. Can they make thank you phone calls to donors who gave in the first quarter? Can they send an outreach email to new donors thanking them for their support? Can they coordinate a drive for in-kind donations you need? When you give them meaningful work, you’ll remind them how much they are needed and most will be happy to have something that can actually do right now when many feel out of control.
Side note here: if your board members are serving on the front lines either in healthcare settings, grocery stores, pharmacies, or the myriad of other frontline roles, skip this step and just send them a nice thank you card or email reminding them how fortunate you feel to have them representing your organization.
Give them better information when you’re together.
It turns out that when board members are inspired and informed, they are also motivated to do more.
And, happy board members who feel like their time is respected, their gifts are valued, and their contributions are important often become your number one recruiting tool for new board members.
If your board meetings have become, well, boring (sorry, I had to), it’s time to change things up a bit. Most nonprofits start board meetings with approving minutes, committee reports, or other mundane (albeit necessary) tasks.
I encourage you to start your meetings with an inspirational story instead -- a quick reminder to your board members of why they show up at every meeting as they do; because they believe in the work you’re doing together. Keep this section of the meeting brief but consider sharing a recent photo, a quick video, a testimonial you received -- anything that brings their attention back to the work itself and not just the business part of the process. (I explain this concept further in the Upside Down Board Agenda.)
You can also incorporate new and useful information in your Executive Director report that often ends up sounding like you reading off your calendar of events (no criticism here -- I get it). Interestingly enough, the words “what to say in my board report” were trending on Google not too long ago.
Here’s a reminder of some of the best items to include in your Executive Director Board Report
Key events that have happened since the last meeting
Financial Highlights
What’s new or changing within your industry
Your biggest challenges right now
Highlights of marketing data (outreach, site traffic, social reach, etc.)
A heads up on decisions they’ll be asked to make at the next meeting
Thank yous to staff, volunteers, or board members
And remember, the language in your report matters. Instead of using a lot of “I” statements, make them “we” statements. After all, these board members are a big part of your organization and without them, you can’t exist.
Executive Director board reports should not consume your time and should remain fairly standard from meeting to meeting so board members know what to expect and where to find the information each time. They should also be sent at least one week prior to the meeting to give board members ample time to read it and should not take up more than 10% of each board meeting.
Remember to save the reports as a PDF since you don’t know what device board members are accessing the report on or whether or not they have a compatible program to view the document.
In most nonprofits, your board members are your very best cheerleaders, a big part of your donor pipeline, and the best candidates for major or planned giving. When you work to actively engage them in meaningful work, communicate with them regularly, and treat them like invested stakeholders at every turn, you’ll start seeing results from those efforts.
Until next time, be well and keep making a great first impression online.