Fundamentals of Training and Developing Your Nonprofit Board

Your nonprofit board plays a pivotal role in how well your organization does as it pursues its mission.

One area that all nonprofits should prioritize is the ongoing development of board members, so they’re in the best position to serve successfully. Well-trained board members understand their role and how they can make a positive impact. They work as a cohesive unit and help the organization run more efficiently.

Ongoing development also helps the board member feel valued as a team member. It can make the difference between members who serve as committed advocates for the organization and those who leave after a short period.

Here are our fundamentals for training your nonprofit board:

Provide the Basics with Effective Onboarding

Initial onboarding is one of the most critical periods for new board members. It’s when they form their impression of your organization and how things work, for better or worse.

Having a formalized process for onboarding is something all nonprofits should embrace because it’s an opportunity to build a strong foundation. When there isn’t a standardized process, new board members often get inconsistent training and may not learn everything they need. A thorough orientation should set board members up to be successful in their roles.

What sorts of “basics” should you cover in onboarding? Here are a few key areas:

• The mission, values, and history of your organization. 

• A who’s who of all board members and key staff. What are their roles? What are their areas of expertise?

• The board member's job description and expectations.

• Any expectations around fundraising or giving.

• The board member agreement.

• Key policies and procedures. For example, conflict of interest, the board’s role in managing senior executives, bylaws, financial reporting, travel reimbursement, etc.

• The most recent annual and financial reports.

• The organization’s strategic plan.

• The board roster and any committees.

• A calendar of planned meetings and events.

• Any tools or technology that the member will need to use.

The goal of this phase should be to get the new board member engaged and able to work effectively as quickly as possible.

Know the Rules

The rules governing how nonprofit boards operate vary from state to state. It’s helpful to include training on the legal duties of board members within your state. Board members often don’t automatically know the ins and outs of state law, including which duties apply to which states.

Fortunately, most states have some sort of guidance available for nonprofit boards, which you can usually find online. For example, Ohio’s guide for charity board members and California’s are online.

There are also board rules and responsibilities that members should know that don’t relate to the state in which you live. BoardSource provides the ten basic responsibilities for boards which include topics such as establishing organizational identity, ensuring resources, and providing oversight.

Encourage a Culture of Continuous Learning

Boards often consist of a mixture of long-serving members and new board members. Regardless of years served on your board, all members will benefit from training and development. People often find refreshers useful, or they may learn something new. Including all board members is also a great way to help new members get to know their colleagues.

Some nonprofits organize regular training meetings for their board members to keep knowledge and skills current. Governance is a major priority; sometimes, things might change, or not all members have had the opportunity to learn all areas. Some ideas for governance training topics include:

• Board member job descriptions.

• Financial reporting and responsibilities.

• Fundraising strategies.

• Strategic planning.

• How to share and spread the mission of the organization.

• Rules for facilitating board meetings. For example, some boards use Robert’s Rules of Order, which govern every situation a board may encounter. 

• Networking with donors and business professionals.

• Evaluating performance (the board’s and the executive director’s).

• Facilitating meetings.

• Media and communications training.

Training and development for the board member role shouldn’t be a one-time event; it should be an ongoing effort to ensure that board members have what they need to be effective. Even the longest-serving members usually have something more to learn!

Train for Board Committees

If your nonprofit runs separate board committees, it’s important to tailor training and development for them. These opportunities are a way to ensure your board committee is operating effectively and efficiently. 

Highlighted in a previous article about running successful committees, board members should have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They should know the mission and goals of the committee and how they can use their skills to further that mission.

Board committee members may need training on researching, making recommendations, and presenting to the wider board. They should also learn about what each committee does so they know how to best support them.

As a general rule, committees should be “right-sized” to streamline decision-making. Large committees can have challenges making difficult decisions as a unit, while small committees can find that they don’t have sufficient resources to be effective. It can be a good idea to cover these potential challenges in board committee training. Awareness can help members recognize when they might be facing a similar challenge.

Regularly Compile Training Resources

There are several excellent resources for board members’ continuing education. These come in all sorts of formats, including self-paced training online. Compiling resources so that board members can access them as needed is potentially helpful. Some sources to check out include:

• State associations of nonprofits. These will often offer programs in a variety of formats for board members.

• Peer-to-peer learning presented by board members from other nonprofits.

• The National Council of Nonprofits.

• The Nonprofit Risk Management Center. This organization provides resources to help board members understand liability insurance and risk management issues.

If you have contacts specializing in specific areas, keep a record of their details and expertise as part of your training resources. Someone down the road may find it helpful to tap into a resource directly.

Conclusion

Just like strategic planning is a process, so is providing training and education to all members of your nonprofit team, including board members. Educating board members should be a priority during onboarding and throughout their tenure as board members. Encouraging a culture of continuous learning will empower board members to be effective in their roles.

7 Best Practices for Meaningful Employee 1:1s

Performance management is a hot topic among nonprofit leaders.

Just like organizations in the for-profit sector, nonprofits have had challenges retaining staff. The “Great Resignation” is a symptom of an ongoing trend, not just a phenomenon of pandemic times. Over the last decade or more, there has been consistent growth in the number of employees quitting their jobs each year.

There are several reasons team members leave their jobs, but one aim for nonprofits is that resignations aren’t due to a lack of a relationship with leadership.

That’s where meaningful employee one-on-one meetings come in.

The 1:1 should be an opportunity to know your employees well and give them a forum where they can safely speak up. Employees should know where they stand, and nonprofit leadership should gain some understanding of their perspective on things.

Here are some best practices for nonprofits:

#1. Set Expectations Early

A key component to remember about one-on-ones is that meeting expectations should be established early and communicated with the team member. Employees are often naturally nervous about any meeting adjacent to performance, so you can help them prepare by being specific about expectations.  

It’s also critical that your expectations aren’t the same for every team member. A one-on-one is about the individual, so consider each situation within your organization and its impact on meeting expectations.

Some baseline goals of the one-on-one could include:

• Keeping both parties informed about any new developments.

• Helping leadership to stay on top of the employee’s goals and how they align with wider organizational goals.

• Allowing the team member to provide leadership with constructive feedback.

• Allowing leadership to provide the employee with constructive feedback.

• Helps build trust due to the private conversation setting and allows for team members to share concerns.

One-on-ones must be a two-way opportunity for both parties to voice concerns. Consider your timing for meeting requests, too. Does it work well for both of you? Are one-on-ones a regular occurrence? Or does the employee feel like you only schedule them when they don’t meet goals (such as when a fundraiser isn’t as successful as you had hoped?) 

#2. Ask Questions Beyond the Day-to-Day

One-on-one meetings should engage in productive dialogue and be a chance for every team member to develop a strong connection with leadership. Perceived indifference from leadership or a notion that team members aren’t listened to can motivate employees to quit.

For these meetings to be at their most productive, you’ve got to dive a bit deeper than questions that focus on their day-to-day activities. What makes this person tick? Are they engaged? Are they getting all they need to succeed? Do they have ideas and goals beyond what they’re doing right now?

Find out information such as what frustrates them and what excites them. Make it a safe space for them to bring up new ideas for how you might improve things. A few examples of good questions to ask include:

1. What problems did you solve this week?

2. What challenges do you see within the organization? What ideas do you have for helping to resolve them?

3. How can I best support you?

4. What is the most important thing we should talk about?

5. How is this impacting you? Who, or what else, is impacted?

6. What’s the most exciting thing you worked on over the past month?

7. What fantastic ideas do you have about your role?

#3. Keep the Atmosphere Relaxed

Some of the most successful one-on-ones come about when team members are comfortable and relaxed in the environment. Therefore, a traditional-style, across-the-desk meeting isn’t necessarily the best method.

One suggestion for in-person meetings is a side-by-side “walk and talk.” Doing this will automatically put both parties on equal footing, inviting more candid discussion. Walking and talking also keep employees more actively engaged and have been known to help prompt ideas. After the walk, a team member can write a summary of the conversation or notes in a shared document.

Remote 1:1 meetings can be just as effective as in-person meetings. If you’re meeting remotely, both team members should come prepared with talking points. Collaborating on an agenda in a shared document can help both parties prepare for the meeting and it is also a great place to take notes. 

The goal for a relaxed atmosphere is another reason to be very conscious about the timing of your meeting request. If the employee is under time pressure for the latest campaign, they will probably not give their full attention to the meeting. They’re more likely to think about how soon they can get back to the tasks they need to get done.

Running employee 1:1s? Keep the atmosphere relaxed if you want better outcomes

#4. Use a Shared Agenda

A shared agenda is an excellent tool for collaboration ahead of a one-on-one. Mission Met schedules weekly one-on-ones with team members and set up a shared document so both parties can add discussion items. Doing this helps ensure no one forgets key items. A tool such as Google Docs or your performance management software works well for this.

Explicitly asking employees to add their items to the agenda will also benefit both parties. Make it a regular part of how you do things so that team members feel included and get every opportunity to speak up.

#5. Always Abide by Basic Courtesy

One of the differences between employees seeing one-on-ones as a valuable use of their time, as opposed to a “check the box” item, is how their leadership treats that time. If you’re late, distracted, allowing interruptions, or unprepared, they’re not going to feel that you’re taking the time seriously.

The basic, courteous elements of any meeting include being on time and mentally present. It’s easy to be distracted by the million things you must do, but this one-on-one is their time. Develop a culture where your team views one-on-one meetings as a valuable tool and a great communication opportunity.

#6. Listen to Understand

Let’s face it, as a leader, you’re probably used to doing a lot of talking. The secret to more effective one-on-ones is knowing when to curb that impulse and listen to understand.

Depending on where you look, many theories suggest that the one-on-one leader should do less than 50% of the talking. This might mean allowing silence to go on as the team member takes space to think about something. It means that rather than listening to respond, you must listen to understand what the employee is saying.

Allowing employees to talk helps show them that you care about what they have to say. Remember that everyone is different - some prefer to speak less, but their ideas are just as valid as their more talkative colleagues. You can help the situation by asking open-ended questions that allow them to come up with thoughtful answers.

#7. Always Have Key Takeaways

For one-on-ones to be truly meaningful, you need actionable takeaways. It’s not enough to make small talk every week or so - your team members see the value when their ideas are listened to, and you take action as a result.

One of your agenda items for one-on-ones should always include a follow-up from last time. Were those actions taken? Have there been any challenges? Is there something else you need to do to support the action?

Conclusion

Every nonprofit should show that they value the contributions of their team members. Doing so is crucial for helping to retain good staff and stay on top of any issues.

One-on-ones are an excellent tool for staying on the pulse of your organization and helping employees to feel valued. The tips highlighted above can help you to make one-on-ones more meaningful and a valuable exercise for all. These best practices apply to both virtual and in-person environments but they may need to be altered to best fit your team.

Lastly, one-on-ones form a critical part of your performance management strategy. Mission Met Center is an excellent option if you need software to help you plan and keep track of strategic goals and align your team to those goals.

What if Your Executive Director Wins the Lottery? Tips for Nonprofit Succession Planning

Most of us have fantasized about what we’d do if we were to win big on the lottery.

Among the thoughts of dream vacations, a new home, or becoming a philanthropist, usually comes the question: what about work? Are you staying or taking early retirement?

Your executive director probably dreams of winning the lottery, too. While that will likely remain a dream, there are still many other potential reasons why an executive director may decide that it’s time to move on. They might have a sudden emergency requiring that they leave quickly, they may retire, or a new career opportunity may arise.

Regardless of the reason for departure, it’s a big deal for most nonprofits. Who is ready to succeed in your executive director role? The transition can be tricky, which is one reason why your nonprofit should have a succession plan in place.

Succession planning involves documenting policy and procedures for what to do if an executive director (or other key roles) leaves the organization. It also covers preparing for this eventuality before it ever happens. The aim is to facilitate a smooth transition.

This article discusses helpful tips to ensure that succession planning goes smoothly for your nonprofit. Find out what to prepare and how to prepare it.

Why Is Succession Planning Important for Nonprofits?

There are two key elements to succession planning that ensure nonprofits can continue with minimal interruption: emergency planning and long-term planning.

Emergency planning covers situations such as “the executive director just won the lottery” or “the director of philanthropy is sick and needs to take extended leave.” In other words, emergency planning is for sudden departures or extended absences (typically three or more months).

Long-term succession planning is a process for planned retirements or the possibility of key staff members moving on. Long-term planning generally involves activities such as training other team members for the tasks associated with the role.

Succession planning is important in both forms for the following reasons…

Continuation With “Business as Usual”

In the for-profit sector, companies refer to “business continuation planning” as part of their succession plans. The nonprofit sector has this need, too; nothing should grind to a halt within operations just because a key person isn’t there.

For example, consider processes such as sign-off on hiring or spending. In many nonprofits, the sudden departure of the executive director would leave such requests in limbo and could severely impact the organization’s ability to complete its mission. Succession planning helps to define responsibilities so that important tasks can continue.

Nonprofits need succession planning to continue with “business as usual”

Answers Key Questions for the Nonprofit

What happens if the executive director departs and there isn’t a succession plan? For many boards, this would lead to months spent trying to answer key questions that a succession plan would have resolved for them. Questions such as:

• How do we fill the position? Do we hire externally or promote internally?

• How do we address any concerns of staff or donors over the departure of leadership?

• What do we need for this position? Do we need to adjust the job description?

• What do we do if an interim plan is required? Who acts in the role, and what does their contract determine?

• How long should the succession process take?

• Who will be the organization’s spokesperson for this period?

Succession planning, in case of an emergency and for the long term, answers these questions so you’re not spending your time scrambling to make arrangements.

Reassure Donors

Leadership's departure from your nonprofit can leave your key donors uncertain and hesitant to commit funds. Effective succession planning and a commitment to continuation reassures your donors and can help limit the financial impact on your nonprofit. Basically, the donors want to know that your organization will run with at least the same level of skill and competence as before.

Preserve Valuable Knowledge

When the executive director or any other key team members depart, there’s always a risk that valuable knowledge goes with them. For example, they tend to have vast networks of contacts and knowledge about specific vital areas for the organization.

Succession planning should include a plan to harness and preserve that knowledge so it’s not lost to the organization. It can otherwise take years to build back up.

Tips for Nonprofit Succession Planning

Let’s look at some general tips for both emergency and planned succession.

Emergency Succession Planning

In many cases, the executive director drafts an emergency succession plan and presents it to the board for approval. They know the role well and can generally cover all the aspects needed for the plan. This is the “we know we need it, but hope we never actually need to use it” plan.

Some key aspects to include in an emergency succession plan include:

• Naming the first and second acting successors. This may be by name or by job role.

• Identify any limitations the acting successor may have in their role. These limitations are usually noted along with how they can get approval. For example, if it’s signing off on spending over a certain amount or the ability to fire staff, who do they go to for sign-off?

• Identify any contingencies needed for the acting successor’s current position. It’s difficult to fill in and do two jobs well!

• Contractual elements for the acting successor. For example, how will they be compensated?

• The top three to five priorities from the strategic plan; these are essential for the executive director role.

• The interim responsibilities of the acting successor.

• Define an internal and external communication plan. This should also state who is responsible for what communication and when.

• Define a training plan for interim appointees. This should also include clear directions about where and how they can seek help.

• A process to select a new permanent person in the role.

What If You Don’t Have a Plan Yet?

If a key executive leaves suddenly and you don’t have an emergency succession plan, then you need your board to convene as soon as possible to complete some key tasks. Here’s what to consider:

1. Naming an interim spokesperson for the organization. Word tends to get out if an executive director leaves, and people will want questions answered.

2. Prepare a communication plan, covering internal and external communications.

3. Define a process to hire a new executive. This should include deciding whether you’d like to promote from within or hire externally.

4. Identify an interim executive and approve compensation for them. Define their responsibilities and any limitations on their role.

5. Identify a support person (or persons) for the interim director.

6. Form a committee to search for a new, permanent director.

Planned Successions

Planned successions are always the preference because you have time to get effective systems and processes in place. However, even a planned succession can have challenges. For example, you’d generally expect the incumbent executive director to support succession and transition activities, but sometimes they struggle to hand over the reins. You may want an experienced board member acting as a “champion” for the succession process. Similar to our recommended overall champion role for strategic planning, a succession planning champion increases accountability to the process. They are committed to ensuring the plan is implemented and they provide the needed support for team members during the transition.

When entering into a planned succession, your board should carefully define how they want the role to operate and whether they want any changes. For example, would your organization benefit from a different style of leadership? Do the responsibilities of the role need to evolve?

Planned successions can be challenging; the successor must have credibility with team members and stakeholders. If they don’t, they may not last in the role.

When the board has decided that they’d like significant changes in the leadership role, many organizations deliberately choose to hire an interim executive director for a period first. This can help to keep the mission moving forward while providing room for a cultural shift and for the organization to embrace a different kind of leader.

A defined succession plan should include:

• Reflection from the outgoing executive: what were their personal and professional challenges in the role? What went particularly well?

• If the departing executive was a founder or if they will remain directly involved for any other reason, that involvement should have defined parameters. For example, maybe they will be a resource or facilitate contact with their own network but won’t be involved in decision-making.

• An updated job description for the role. This should include the top three to five strategic objectives for the role, core competencies, required experience, and preferred leadership style.

• A communication plan that covers all stakeholders, both internal and external.

• A professional development plan. It’s imperative if you’d like to hire internally. You need to identify the key development areas required and who should be trained in those areas. This is an ideal time to identify leadership development opportunities for staff and board members so that the organization can maintain a “deep bench.”

• An plan to provide support to newly placed team members. They might need coaching, mentorship, and help with defining goals.

• An onboarding plan. It usually covers at least the first 90 days in the role and defines some clear goals from the board. It should include orientation and a structured feedback process.

Many nonprofit boards opt to form an executive hiring committee to oversee succession planning and the procedures around hiring a new executive. Sometimes it is also beneficial to engage a transitional coach to help facilitate a successful transition. Doing so is especially helpful if the changes become complex or challenging. Whatever the case, successful transitions come from planning and a commitment to managing them well.

Conclusion

For your nonprofit, succession planning is critical to ensure that your mission keeps moving forward. Whether it is a sudden, emergency departure or a planned departure with a longer lead time, you need to be able to move ahead while maintaining the trust of your key stakeholders.

Somewhere, someone is winning the lottery or finding out they need to take an extended leave of absence. Someone else is preparing for retirement or a new job offer. If that someone happens to be your executive director or another senior role, you need a plan to keep their role in the organization functional. Your succession plan, in partnership with a strategic plan, will provide a blueprint for continuing forward momentum for your nonprofit during a time of transition.

A Fresh Approach for Your Nonprofit Advisory Council

Have you heard the old joke that a camel is a horse designed by a committee?

Well, all too often that’s what happens with the design of nonprofit advisory councils. Perfectly fine councils get turned into overly complex bodies that can become burdensome to manage. That’s the last thing that you want when you already have a lot on your plate running and leading your organization.

We’ve written about simple ways to run your board committees. In this article we’ll share our fresh perspective about advisory councils that are easy to manage and provide the benefits you want for your nonprofit.

A Council, Not a Board

It’s important to note that throughout this article we use the term advisory council. That’s in contrast to the more common term of an advisory board used throughout the nonprofit sector and in the articles that we reference.

Our use of the term “council” is deliberate. We think that for many small and midsize nonprofits, calling this group an advisory board is a mistake.

Councils typically differ from other groups like your board of directors or committees. A board is a more formal organizational body that requires clear management, officers, rules, etc. A smooth-running committee, too, has documented guidelines, a chair, and clear processes that help it address one topic or project (such as financial management, fund development, governance, board recruitment, etc.) By calling the advisory body a council you can communicate something entirely different: a group that provides guidance in a more informal way.

A more informal structure for an advisory council is what we’ve found works best for most small and medium-sized nonprofits. For example, one organization that we’ve worked with for years has an exceptionally beneficial advisory council that the board and staff love. It has about fifteen people that provide guidance on legal, indemnity, programmatic, and fundraising topics. They have never met as a full group and don’t have a chair or any officers. They are simply a loosely organized group of advisors that the board and executive staff call upon, as needed. It works beautifully and doesn’t create any unnecessary management responsibilities for the already taxed board and staff. With the advisory council’s support, the organization always exceeds its fundraising goals and receives exceedingly high marks on its programs.

Of course, you can set up a more formal council. But the key point of this article is that you can have an extremely beneficial advisory council that is loosely organized. So, if you’ve hesitated to form an advisory council because of a perception that it will be too much to manage, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Your Council’s Purpose

So, what should be the purpose of your advisory council?

Regardless of how you organize your council, it’s core purpose is to provide guidance and support to your board and executive staff. (In a prior blog post we discussed the council’s relationship to the board.)

The council is not, typically, a decision-making body. That’s the realm of your board of directors.

What the council provides guidance on depends on your nonprofit’s needs. According to an article from Boardable, “at their core, all advisory boards have a single goal: to help the nonprofit organization.” Boardable mentions that advisory councils can play these types of roles:

• Governance

• Fundraising

• Young Professionals

• Letterhead

• Programmatic

Some councils play multiple roles and focus on multiple topics. It just depends on what you want and need. Look around your organization and find the things that require additional insight. That’s where you may find the purpose.

Once you have clarified your council’s purpose, it’s important to document it to make sure everyone is on the same page. Take it from Sherri Dunn Berry, who explains in this cautionary story that a lack of clarity around expectations led to difficulties with the advisory council of a fiscally-sponsored project.

Whatever role your council plays, it must be defined and documented so that everyone in your organization is clear about its purpose.

Who Should Be On Your Advisory Council?

The members of your advisory council should be selected based upon its stated purpose. They may include community members, board members (past or present), donors, subject matter experts, and anyone else who can provide value to the organization and promote the council’s role in the organization.

If your council has a general purpose then you may want a cross-section of members from your community. In an article for Blue Avocado, Jan Masaoko suggests that a community leader can “act as a spokesperson for the organization in the community.” If your council has a leader then she proposes that an active board member could serve as a possible alternative to lead the council.

Caroline Hoy adds that retired board members may be a good fit if they “have valuable history with the organization and can provide perspective to the discussion.” Additionally, she mentions subject matter experts “who understand the bigger picture in your field and can give context to your plan.”

Other possibilities for members include:

• Long-time volunteers with a clear understanding of your nonprofit’s mission

• Invested donors looking to serve but who aren’t a good fit for the board

• Potential donors who will have the opportunity to connect with the organization more deeply

• Diverse representatives of the community you’re trying to serve who can speak from their unique experiences

The council can be made up of anyone who cares deeply about the issue and offers valuable insight into the topics at hand.

Council members are happy to have their name associated with the organization and can pick up the phone or respond to an email when needed. The point is to make sure the council meets the organization’s needs and that the expectations are clear from the beginning to prevent confusion and conflict.

Keep Things Simple

An advisory council should benefit your organization, not stand in the way of its success. They play an important but unique role in any nonprofit, and just because something is important doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated.

In our experience, the perception of formality can scare nonprofit leaders away from forming advisory councils. Nonprofits that understand that councils can be loosely organized often have the most success with them.

With that approach your council will be a well-designed horse instead of a humpy camel.

A Brief Primer on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Nonprofits

In our strategic planning work at Mission Met, one of the common themes that our customers address is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

As a complex and highly-nuanced topic, it can be difficult for nonprofit staff and board members to create a common understanding of the issue. With that in mind we’ve created this brief overview that we hope you and your team can use to inform your discussion.

Note that we at Mission Met are not DEI experts. Within this article we have referenced others that are much more knowledgeable about this than us. Please provide a comment to our article if you have any feedback or ideas that could help the article’s readers get an even richer understanding of this topic. Thank you.

What is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

Diversity, equity, and inclusion–typically referred to as DEI–is a catch-all phrase for three distinct but related ideas: Diversity is about the presence of difference. Equity is about the process of fairness. Inclusion is about ensuring people with diverse backgrounds feel and are welcome in the organization.

While the term has become more prevalent in recent years, it is important to approach this not as a trend to be applied to certain sections of your organization but as a new way of thinking about your entire operational framework.

As such, it will be valuable to break down each of the three ideas individually to see how they fit together.

Diversity

A diverse staff and board brings together people with different identities and qualities like:

• Race

• Gender

• Sexual orientation

• Religion

• Ethnic background

• Ability/disability

• Language

• Class

Diversity initiatives also look for people who have been (and currently are) underrepresented or marginalized in the field and in the community as a whole.

However, having a diverse staff or board does not quite mean that your organization has accomplished diversity. There’s much more to it than that.

In a blog for the DEI training and consulting group She+ Geeks Out, Fatima Dainkeh, reminds leaders that “Representation isn’t just about having ‘different’ people present. It comes down to making sure that different voices are heard, valued, and represented in decision-making processes.”

Equity

Equity helps tear down roadblocks. This requires more than simple changes and gets at the very policies, procedures, and processes of an organization.

Equity differs from equality in a few important ways. Equality focuses on the same treatment of every individual. In a perfect world, that’d be fine, but people operate within broken and unfair systems, especially those who have any sort of minority status.

Equity is more about helping all people reach the same level of success, even if that means disenfranchised people are given opportunities that help get them to the same places that majority groups have historically operated within.

Inclusion

While diversity and equity are proactive steps, inclusion is an outcome of those efforts. Inclusion gets accomplished when diverse people actually feel welcomed and experience a sense of belonging.

This includes not just the presence of diverse individuals, but their voices being heard in important aspects of the nonprofit. Diverse groups of people should participate in decision-making conversations and have professional development opportunities or ongoing training available to them.

Inclusion only works when the people of the organization get behind it. Policies and procedure changes, while good first steps, will not change the hearts of staff and leaders. To help with this, Dainkeh offers a list of questions to evaluate oneself and staff when it comes to inclusion:

• How do we act or feel when our teams expand to include individuals from a variety of educational backgrounds?

• Who do we say good morning to when we enter the office?

• Do we make assumptions about certain groups of people but not others?

• Does everyone feel like their contribution matters?

• Does change happen when adequate feedback is given?

• Who is involved in decision-making?

Having answers to these questions, she says, will “help us to think about whether or not we’re practicing inclusion in the workplace and beyond.”

Different Approaches

Besides DEI, there are a variety of other approaches to this general topic. We’ll highlight some of these below and provide links to follow for more information.

Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion

DEAI shares much of the same elements of DEI but adds accessibility. The American Alliance of Museums has a great breakdown of their definitions for each category. They explain that accessibility “is giving equitable access to everyone along the continuum of human ability and experience” and that it is particularly concerned with thinking “beyond compliance” and the physical environment to promote “access to and representation in content for all.”

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

JEDI includes elements of DEI, but highlights the importance of justice. Here’s one article that explains some of the DEI and JEDI distinctions. From the article:

“Diversity and inclusion rhetoric asks fundamentally different questions and is concerned with fundamentally different issues than efforts seeking equity and justice. Leading with Justice and Equity is a significantly different framework because it prompts us to think about the systemic barriers to access, engagement, and success at the forefront of our work and how we can transform an organization to try to eliminate these barriers.”

Equity, Diversity, and Belonging

EDB specifically highlights the importance of belonging as a part of the framework. Pathink Pathak explains that “some people need different or greater resources – and treatment more broadly – than others. That can only lead to the conclusion that we need equity or fairness, not equality.”

Additionally, he adds that “inclusion is a technocratic process” while “belonging is an emotion and an outcome.” The difference is key for him and other proponents of EDB because “you can be formally included… without feeling that you belong.” EDB attempts to change that and focus more on fostering that sense of belonging.

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The definitions for this approach are the same as DEI but puts equity at the beginning, seeing it as the most essential starting point for a better workspace and society.

The Importance of Prioritizing DEI

Whichever approach you choose, prioritizing DEI will bring valuable benefits to any nonprofit.

Research shows that diversity leads to better, more creative decision-making as leaders pull from a larger pool of perspectives and experiences. It also is tied to greater creativity, diligence, and hard-work among staff members.

Multiple voices will also foster a greater sense of innovation as individuals bring fresh ideas. An article from The Council of Nonprofits states that “When board members, employees, donors, and others who shape the values and activities of a nonprofit come from a wide array of backgrounds, they bring unique perspectives that influence how the nonprofit approaches its mission in more inclusive and innovative ways.” Making DEI a central priority for your nonprofit will help you better meet your mission and vision.

Finally, the most important reason to prioritize DEI goes beyond the success of any organization. People of all backgrounds and walks of life have the right to the same opportunities as everyone else, and nonprofits are uniquely positioned to help make that a standard operation.

Additional Resources and Closing Thoughts

Effectively preparing for and implementing DEI practices takes significant time and thorough planning. This blog was meant to just serve as a very basic primer. To learn more, here is a list of resources that can help in your efforts.

1. Information about including DEI in bylaws and other institutional structures

2. National Council of Nonprofits

3. Terms and definitions

4. Understanding implicit/unconscious biases

5. Project Implicit Tool

6. Statement on Cultural Equity from American for the Arts

7. Diversity Toolkit

Nonprofits exist to make a difference, and DEI represents a powerful change every organization can make together.

5 Tips for Running Successful Nonprofit Board Committees

Nonprofit board committees can be a double-edged sword. When operating well, they promote productivity and ensure the organization runs as efficiently as possible. Committee members get to use their skills and expertise to fine-tune specific areas of the nonprofit, helping the organization accomplish its goals and fulfill its mission.

Committees do have their downside, though. The good things only happen when the committee operates well, and that’s often not the case. When a board does not fully commit to their success, the potential positives fade away. Committees instead become a source of frustration, full of unproductive and ineffective efforts.

We’ve seen the negatives many times in nonprofits we work with, and we know it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve put together five tips that will help your organization’s committees operate successfully.

Tip #1: Understand The Roles and Types of Committees

A board committee is a small, dedicated group of individuals that help the board make decisions around a specific need. Committees leverage the unique backgrounds and knowledge of committee members to support the board with significant decisions or projects, pulling from a larger network to get to the best conclusion possible.

Some committees, like an executive committee or board recruitment committee, only consist of board members. Other committees, like a capital campaign or bylaws committee, may include a mix of the board and staff and sometimes even key advisors and stakeholders. The objective is to get the right people in place for the committee’s specific tasks.

Committees are typically either “standing” or “ad hoc”. A standing committee is ongoing and is often specified in an organization’s bylaws. The most common standing committee is the executive committee, typically made up of the board’s officers and mandated by the organization’s bylaws. As referenced in this excellent article, this committee is responsible for the hiring, firing, and support of the executive director and sometimes acts on behalf of the full board. Finance, fundraising, and membership committees are some other common standing committees.

Ad hoc committees (sometimes called a task force) are temporary and disband after the particular project is accomplished. Capital campaign, strategic planning, bylaws, and annual event committees are examples of ad hoc committees.

Tip #2: Appoint an Effective Chair and Secretary

Like the board itself, a committee should have an effective chair (or co-chairs) and secretary. By far, this is the most important tip within this article. Quite simply, the leadership and support provided by these two roles can make or break a committee.

Like the overall board chair, the committee chair must:

• Set and run organized meetings

• Maintain and communicate a clarity of purpose for the committee

• Create space for all of the committee members to share their perspective

• Ensure that the committee has clear goals and is making progress towards accomplishing them

Typically, the committee chair is also responsible for reporting the committee’s progress back to the full board.

The secretary is responsible for things like taking notes, disseminating agendas, and supporting the chair. In many cases a staff member plays this role.

Make sure that whomever is selected for these roles has the time and commitment to do them well.

Tip #3: Identify the Purpose and Goals of Each Committee

Committees shouldn’t exist just to say you have them. Each one needs a clearly defined purpose and measurable goals.

The purpose of the committee can be stated as one or two sentences that highlight the overall reason for the committee’s existence. Here is the purpose statement for the advocacy committee of one of our customers:

The advocacy committee is responsible for ensuring that the organization has a clear, current, and well-documented advocacy strategy that aligns with the mission and strategic plan.

Further, two of this committee's specific and measurable goals are to create and disseminate an advocacy tool kit for their members and to refine and implement their monthly information sessions with state legislators. You can see how they keep their committee focused and organized with a table like the one below.

Having a documented purpose and small set of measurable goals for your committees will help them run more effectively.

Tip #4: Get Your Meetings Right

Unfortunately, committee meetings are notorious for being poorly run and taking too long, in large part because the prior tips haven’t been followed.

Following the guidance that we provide in our blog article about effective meetings, “Death by Meeting”, each committee meeting should have clearly stated outcomes, a set agenda, and tie back to the committee’s purpose and goals.

Tip #5: Review the Number and Size of Your Committees

The number and size of committees varies greatly from organization to organization.

One of our customers, a staff-driven nonprofit, only has one board committee (an executive committee) and that works just fine for them. Another one of our customers, a membership organization, has a very effective set of eleven committees where the work of the organization is conducted.

Committee size varies depending upon the task. A bylaws committee may have three people whereas an annual event committee may have fifteen. Generally speaking, the smaller the committee the more manageable it will be.

If you’re wondering whether you have the right number and size for your committees, make this topic an agenda item at your next board or executive committee meeting. Bring these documents to review at the meeting:

• Current list of committees

• Who is on each committee

• The committee purpose and goals

• Your bylaws

• This article

Review these documents with your board and have a frank discussion about whether your current number and size of committees are serving you well and then begin to make adjustments as needed.

Closing Thoughts

Nonprofit board committees can either be a source of great frustration or great success. They can be filled with unproductive meetings and wasted time, or they can bring positive change to the organization. Following these tips can help you run your nonprofit committees more successfully.

8 Nonprofit Interview Questions

Every nonprofit needs leaders, go-getters, and people passionate about the mission. Getting those kinds of people into your organization, however, can be a real challenge.

Hiring new staff can be stressful. Identifying needs, recruiting candidates, and selecting the right person takes a ton of effort and resources, not to mention the time demanded of the people doing the hiring. All of this culminates around the interview.

Interviewing gives you a chance to see how the candidate fits with the organization. After seeing a resume and having a few conversations, you have to make a decision: is this the best available person who can help the nonprofit accomplish its vision?

What happens in the interviews matters. A lot.

Successful interviews require good questions. The more the you know about the candidate, the more you can draw from when making their decision.

We want to help you ask questions that will produce insightful answers from your candidates, so we’ve put together eight interview questions that will strengthen your organization’s hiring process.

1. What, specifically, are you drawn to in our mission?

Your nonprofit's mission is the backbone of the organization, and every potential employee should also care about the things the organization cares about. Something in the mission needs to resonate with the candidate if they’re going to fit, so go ahead and just ask them directly what that is.

This kind of question also provides the interviewer with a chance to gather additional information about the candidate. Some may show up to the interview with little knowledge about the mission while others may be able to articulate it perfectly. The latter demonstrates a drive to dig deeper and shows their level of interest in the specific organization, not just in a potential job.

2. Why do you want to work in the nonprofit sector?

This is an easy question to get the interview started, especially for candidates who come from the private sector. Few people just coincidentally apply for nonprofits. They usually have a reason. Giving them space to explain that reason could help the candidate settle some of those early-interview nerves so they can more comfortably (and honestly) answer the others.

The question is more than just an icebreaker, though. The interviewer has a chance to hear what draws them to the nonprofit space. Really consider the candidate’s response. Are they just bored with their current situation or are they excited about nonprofit work? How long has their passion lasted? What motivated their interest? The candidate will likely address all these secondary questions in their answer, and the interviewer can ask follow-ups if necessary.

3. Tell me about some nonprofits you support or admire. Why?

Most people who apply for nonprofit jobs typically share some sort of passion for change. By asking this question, the interviewer gets a sense of what issues that candidate cares about. As they respond, the interviewer can assess whether those values align with the organization’s mission in some way.

The question also gives the candidate a chance to showcase their awareness of the nonprofit sector as a whole. If they can’t name an organization they support or even admire, it’s safe to say that they’re not entirely in tune with the sector as a whole. On the other hand, if the person can quickly provide a thoughtful answer, the interviewer can assume that they have made some prior investment in the nonprofit world.

4. Describe a volunteer experience that meant something to you.

Even if the candidate has never worked in the nonprofit sphere, volunteer experience can give the organization insight into the kinds of issues the candidate is passionate about and the work that they’ve participated in before applying. Watching the way the person talks about their experience gives the interview a chance to see them speak freely about their passions. If their passions align well with the organization’s, you can assume the candidate’s excitement would transfer into their job as well.

5. How would your experiences and skills help our organization accomplish its vision?

Every interviewer for every job wants to hear the candidate talk about how their skills can help the organization succeed. That’s nothing new, but there is something unique about asking this question in the nonprofit sphere.

First, it helps the interviewer see the candidate’s familiarity with the organization’s goals. The more they can talk about the vision, the more likely it is that they have studied up on the organization and care about the direction it's headed.

Second, the interviewer has a chance to see how the candidate sees themselves as part of that vision. This is critical because of the collaborative nature of nonprofit work. Employees are not meant to just fill-in gaps. They work to move the organization closer to its goals. Candidates who express how their gifts can uniquely help accomplish this could have an advantage on those who can’t quite see their skill sets fitting into the nonprofit.

6. What do you think are the key challenges facing nonprofits today?

Nonprofit employees encounter all sorts of challenges on a day-to-day basis. As rewarding and fulfilling as the job can be, overcoming roadblocks is a daily task.

Having candidates consider this question allows the organization to see whether they consider the issues they may encounter. It also shows how much the candidate stays aware of trends and changes within the industry.

This question can be particularly helpful when hiring for potential leaders because those are the people who will need to help the organization and their departments respond appropriately when challenges do arise. Knowing that the candidate looks ahead can give you confidence that they will prepare for what is coming as opposed to responding in the moment.

7. Tell me about a professional experience that didn’t go according to plan. How did you react and improvise?

Anyone who has worked in the nonprofit world knows the need for flexibility and adaptation, especially in smaller organizations. People often wear multiple hats and juggle various responsibilities. It may not be the best fit for those who prefer structure, singular responsibilities, and predictability.

Requesting a story when the candidate had to be flexible enables the interviewer to see how they responded to the challenge. Maybe the sudden change excited them, or maybe it stressed them out to the point of becoming unproductive. Maybe their experience landed somewhere in between, but whatever the case, the response can help the interviewer consider the candidate’s level of comfort with unpredictable moments.

8. Can you tell us about an experience you had contributing to a team?

Collaboration is key for nonprofit work, and seeing “team player” on the candidate’s resume doesn’t quite give you enough information to make an informed decision. Inviting them to tell a story will give you an idea of how they actually operate within a team.

The stories enable interviewers to identify what kind of team player the candidate is. Does their story exhibit any leadership qualities? Do they mainly talk about accomplishing tasks someone else assigns? These subtle details can help the organization see what kind of role the candidate fits into, even if it’s not the initial one they applied for.

Less experienced candidates may not have a wealth of professional examples, so interviewers can encourage them to consider other areas of collaboration, like school projects, humanitarian service, or volunteer experiences.

Final Thoughts

Sourcing new staff members for your organization is always a challenging task. You can use all sorts of skills and techniques from other industries, but certain aspects of the interview will uniquely apply to the nonprofit sector.

Getting the interview right will save you from frustrations and challenges later on. Doing the hard work of asking good questions will provide you with insight into the candidate’s passion so you can make the most informed decisions, and the eight questions we listed above will give you a solid place to start.

How a Co-Champion Can Transform Your Strategic Planning Effectiveness: From Eric Ryan's Upcoming Book

I’m thrilled to tell you that later this year I’ll publish my upcoming book, Mission Met: Proven Strategic Planning Guidance to Help You Build a Financially-Secure and Impactful Nonprofit. The book will provide you with a suite of practical strategic planning practices that will help you and your team better execute your strategic plan. 

This blog post, about the power of co-champions in the planning process, represents the second article in a five-article series where I’ll share a brief preview of some of the guidance that I provide in the book. 

The Benefit of a Fitness Partner

Imagine that it is 5:30 AM on a Friday morning. Your alarm goes off to get you up for an early morning jog. It’s cold outside, you’re tired from a long week, and you end up turning the alarm off and going back to sleep. In other words, the short-term discomfort of an early-morning rise got in the way of your ultimate desire to be physically fit. 

Now imagine a slightly different scenario. The setting is the same, but this time you’re supposed to meet your jogging partner, Wendy, at 5:45 on the corner a block away to run together. In this case, you get out of bed, put your running gear on, and fulfill your commitment to Wendy. As usual, Wendy is on time, and the two of you laugh about wanting to go back to sleep but not wanting to let each other down. 

After your run, you feel good about yourself, your friendship with Wendy, and have more energy for the day ahead. 

The difference between these two scenarios is obvious: Wendy’s accountability and partnership was what propelled you to act.

Now, let’s create a similar set of scenarios regarding strategic planning. 

The Benefit of a Strategic Planning Co-Champion

It’s 9 AM on a Friday morning, and you have an important grant application due by 5 PM. At 9:30 AM you have a one-hour block on your calendar to work on your organization’s strategic plan. It’s been a long week and you haven’t been able to focus on the grant as much as you’d like. You decide to blow off your strategic planning time and work on your grant instead. You don’t end up rescheduling your strategic planning work, and as a result, your plan doesn’t get the attention it needs. 

Now imagine a slightly different scenario. The setting is the same, but this time during your 9:30 block you’re scheduled to review the plan with your administrative assistant, Maurice. You want to set a good example, and despite the pressure you feel from the grant deadline, you maintain your commitment to meet with him. 

After the two of you meet, you feel good about your leadership and you’re reminded, yet again, about the value of regularly reviewing and measuring progress on your organization’s plan. Plus, you ended up getting Maurice to help you with the grant application and you easily beat the 5 PM deadline. 

Like the jogging scenario, having a person who serves as an accountability partner made all the difference. 

In the world of strategic planning, we call this partner a “co-champion”. 

Over the years, I have become a huge fan of the co-champion model. Having a co-champion significantly increases accountability to the process, improves results, and, frankly, just makes planning a lot more enjoyable. 

Employing this one practice significantly increases the odds that your planning process will be well-executed.

In a recent conversation with Laura Anderson, an expert in co-leadership models, she agreed, saying, “We all have unique individual strengths, but even the best leaders are still a single human. Having an effective pair—somebody who complements you and adds to or multiplies your value because your collaboration is so effective—is when you start to see so much opportunity.”

the MVP of the Planning Process

I’ve seen many people effectively serve as a co-champion with the executive director: the board chair, programs officer, development director, etc. 

That said, the most successful co-champions have often been administrative assistants. In this model, the executive director keeps an eye on the big picture, while the assistant focuses on the mechanics of measuring and tracking the plan. Further, administrative assistants often feel a strong sense of pride in being called upon for such an important organizational role. They take their responsibility seriously and the organization benefits as a result. 

In nearly all cases where I’ve seen an administrative assistant play the co-champion role, they evolved to be the MVP of the planning process. 

Sometimes I’ll observe executive directors who are hesitant to select an assistant as a co-champion out of fear of setting them up for failure. This can be a missed opportunity. Instead, use the co-champion role as a “vote of confidence” that empowers the assistant to develop their leadership. Further, this assignment serves as a great weather balloon to predict your assistant’s potential for future leadership.

A Nonprofit's Guide to Remote Working Success

Remote work was already growing before the COVID-19 pandemic made it a necessity, and it seems like it’s here to stay.

One 2019 study estimated that 70% of workers would utilize remote work in some capacity by 2025. Then came the shutdowns, where nearly every industry embraced remote work. Now, even as vaccines have increased and things move back towards normalcy, the trend seems unlikely to stop.

Even organizations that prefer an office space may struggle to get their workers on board. More and more employees prefer remote work, going as far as taking pay cuts to stay out of the office.

These changes pose unique problems in the nonprofit sphere, where teams rely on building a culture and committing to a vision together. Remote work can feel isolating and may make it difficult to keep teams aligned, but with a few subtle changes, nonprofits can embrace remote work without hindering their productivity, mission, or efficiency.

Utilize the Right Tools for Meetings and Collaboration

Anyone who worked in 2020 (or accessed the internet, or turned on a television, or just about anything else) heard about Zoom. A relatively unfamiliar platform before the pandemic became commonplace for workers across the country along with apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts.

Each of these help organizations host meetings and collaborate with teammates. Video meetings help people feel more connected than emails or phone calls because of face-to-face interaction. Likewise, the ability to quickly ping somebody with a specific need through instant messaging enables more seamless collaboration, even when everyone is far apart.

These types of big brands aren’t the only tools that make remote work successful, though. Lots of smaller, more niche players can support organizations with specific challenges surrounding remote work like connecting with donors, managing projects, or keeping your team aligned.

Project Management Tools

A separated workforce can lead to missed details and reminders. Tools like Trello, Asana, Monday, or ClickUp help organizations keep their teams on track so all the best work gets done at the right time.

This can prove particularly fruitful for nonprofits because of all the various tasks to track and manage throughout the organization. The whole staff has lots of work to balance. Keeping a todo list in the Notes App will only get you so far. Project management tools like these empower organizations to keep calendars, boards, timelines, and other visualizations that help your teams get work done.

Strategic Planning Software

Managing the strategic plan has always been necessary for nonprofits, but the rise of remote work makes team alignment even more important. A strategic planning software helps your organization stay focused on its mission and accomplish its goal.

Mission Met Center works in this way, functioning a home for all things related to an organization's strategic planning. Pulling from over 20 years of experience planning and implementing strategies, we built a simple platform specifically for nonprofits that enables your organization to...

• Simplify workflows by having the most important info in one secure place

• Keep teams aligned and accountable

• Access key reports and track insightful data

• Ensure your organization stays on mission all the time

Utilizing remote workers doesn’t have to cause misalignment. Keeping everyone focused and on task will empower your organization to fulfill its mission. This starts with the right set of tools.

Don’t Neglect Engagement or Encouragement

Separated workers can quickly become isolated workers, but they don’t have to be. Executive directors and other leaders can find creative ways to keep themselves and their staff members connected.

Engaging Employees

A lot of organizations are very stressed and discouraged right now. Team members are overworked and trying hard to stand firm to the mission, but continuing to push through all the time has its challenges. Executive directors know this more than most. That’s why they are uniquely positioned to make a difference.

Some practices involve simple changes to daily rhythms. Encourage everyone to keep their cameras on during meetings. Schedule a few minutes of catching up before getting into the nitty gritty. Implementing these small elements can boost morale and keep people united.

More intentional check-ins can help as well. When organizational leaders make an effort to check in with employees, when they ensure everyone has the means and support to complete their work, they show that they care for their workers. This can help establish or maintain personal relationships amongst the team members and make disconnected workers feel part of something again.

Encouragement for Executive Directors

As much as organizational leaders want to and should make sure employees get taken care of, it’s important that they don’t neglect their own wellbeing, either.

Social media can be a great place for executive directors to get active with other industry leaders through groups and forums. Sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter offer ways to stay connected with those in your organization or people beyond it, too. A lot of executive directors and board members have found support and ideas for how to run their organizations through these kinds of digital networking opportunities with other nonprofit leaders.

If the relationship allows for it, executive directors can also reach out to specific board members for support. Keeping a regular phone call or video conference on the calendar can help ensure that no one gets burnt out or too overwhelmed.

Keep Documents and Information Secure

Security risks are the dark underbelly of remote work and can cause real problems for any nonprofit.

Organizations naturally have less control over their staff’s device usage and practices, making them vulnerable to cyber attacks. Since nonprofits often deal with sensitive information, this can be particularly alarming.

While no security strategy is perfect, a few simple changes can help reduce risks.

Consult with an IT Professional

Larger organizations may have an IT team in place ready to help, but if you’re like most nonprofits, that concept is a distant dream that you know won’t happen soon.

The good news is that you don’t need a full tech team to give advice on setting up your remote workforce for success. Most IT professionals can answer the big questions quickly and help you get started. You might outsource this work to a consulting firm, or you can also utilize your network to see if anyone can donate their time and expertise.

Supplying Devices

Letting remote workers utilize personal devices can cause big problems for a nonprofit because of the security risks involved. That’s why more leaders across industries are supplying their team with work-specific mobile devices to heighten security protocols and bring back some of the control found in an office environment.

Obviously, this can be a hefty cost, but supplying devices doesn’t have to mean getting everyone the nicest laptop possible. Cheaper options do exist. They might not have all the perks of a really nice device, but all the major players – Apple, Dell, Microsoft, and Google – have noticed and responded to the need for workable, mobile devices that can get the job done.

Utilizing the Cloud

Secure cloud storage may be the simplest step in keeping your organization’s information safe. Saving items to desktops or sending information through personal email won’t cut it. Those areas are notoriously insecure in cyberspace.

Organizations can instead encourage their staff to utilize cloud networks like Google drive or file sharing sites like Dropbox to send sensitive information. This may take a bit of training and adapting at first, but in the long run, it will save you from a ton of headaches.

Accessing VPNs

It’s almost inevitable that remote workers will work within insecure networks. Coffeeshops, libraries, and even some at-home internet setups create unsafe places to send, store, and receive information.

A virtual private network (VPN) allows the user to set up a secure connection between themselves and the internet anywhere in the world. By connecting to it, you equip your data with a sort of invisible, encrypted safety shield that protects from potentially harmful attacks.

Best Practices for Passwords

The fact is that most people don’t know how susceptible their passwords are to cyber attacks, but a few tips can help bolster security.

• Reset your password often

• Don’t reuse the same password for all sites

• Use a longer password that is hard to guess

• Don’t store your passwords on your phone or personal device

These best practices reduce the potential for password-stealing and can go a long way in keeping your information safe.

Embrace the Change

All signs point to a future of remote workers, and forward-thinking nonprofits have a unique opportunity to get out ahead of the change by learning to embrace it.

By implementing some of these practices, organizations of any size can continue to have organizational success with their remote workers.

How To Address Challenging Nonprofit Board Members

Have you ever had the feeling that no matter how hard you try, it’s a mathematical impossibility to get all of your board members to agree on a specific strategy or direction? If you answered "yes," you're in good company.

Nonprofit boards are almost always made up of incredibly passionate and driven individuals who want to see the organization succeed. But with this passion often comes tension in the form of different viewpoints regarding how the organization can and should meet its mission and goals.

Applied in the right setting, healthy amounts of tension between board members or yourself shouldn't immediately raise cause for concern. After all, before a train can get rolling, there needs to be a certain level of friction between the tracks and the wheels. However, what do you do when it appears that one of your board members is becoming more challenging? More importantly, how do you handle board members whose differing opinions have turned disruptive and are starting to distract from the organization's purpose?

Below we'll discuss five areas to explore when proactively addressing a challenging board member and how to encourage a passionate but productive nonprofit board.

Establish Meeting Agendas

Even before you've identified that you have a difficult issue to navigate with one of your board members, establishing agendas before every board meeting is a great way to avoid unproductive conversation. If there is an underlying tension between one or two board members and you allow too much time for "open forum" debates, your board meetings can quickly turn from strategic planning sessions into the airing of grievances.

Rather than applying a "wing it" approach to board discussion, come prepared with a list of clear outcomes you want to achieve in the meeting and agenda items to discuss, who will be leading each portion of the discussion, and the times allotted between each topic. Suppose you already know that a particular board member is prone to lead conversations into unproductive territory. In that case, a well-constructed meeting agenda that board members have reviewed and agreed to ahead of time will allow you to limit anyone going off-topic while avoiding unnecessary tension.

Review Board Requirements for All Members

Taking the time to carefully construct your nonprofit bylaws is a critical step to take to help streamline conflict resolution within your board as the need arises.

Your nonprofit bylaws play a vital part in acquiring and retaining the right individuals that will make your organization a success. Review guidelines and standards regularly as the nonprofit begins to grow. Another way to help facilitate this is by creating one-page summaries of board roles (similar to a job description), that provide a clear overview of the board member’s expectations and any commitments that have been made to the organization.

If a particular board member starts to deviate from the principles set out in the bylaws, or board meetings start to feel disjointed, reviewing requirements for all members is a great way to get the board back on track and remind everyone of the unified vision they should maintain as the organization progresses. Many times these subtle reminders are enough to avoid larger disruptions from your board members down the road.

Isolate Challenging Members When Necessary

Sometimes sticking to meeting agendas and reminding the board as a collective of your nonprofit's bylaws may not be enough to bring certain board members back into proper alignment with your organization's needs. When this occurs, it's appropriate to take more direct action by confronting the individual(s) directly.

The board chair and possibly the executive committee should address the handling of board members that are particularly challenging. This should be done tactfully and in a way that avoids embarrassment while quickly addressing the issues at hand. It's essential to be specific about certain types of behavior or actions that you feel are challenging the organization's forward momentum with recommendations of how they can be resolved. Regardless of the resolutions necessary to move forward, it's essential that the board member understands these criticisms do not come from personal viewpoints or perspectives. Rather, realignment is necessary for the betterment of the nonprofit.

Identify When It's Time To Plan An Exit

Unfortunately, try as you may to do everything in your power to keep all of your board members on the same page, at times, it's in the best interest of the nonprofit to plan an exit for a board member who is no longer a good fit. This can be an incredibly challenging decision but one you'll need to carefully consider if all other actions to resolve ongoing challenges with a board member have been unsuccessful.

Depending on how your nonprofit is constructed, taking steps to plan an exit of a board member could contain certain organizational hurdles. Your nonprofit bylaws should be a go-to source for how to deal with all of this. Properly documented and formatted bylaws should state how to bring on a board member, how to orient them, what their roles and responsibilities are, and ultimately, how to offboard them if the need arises. In most cases, however, the best practice is to be open and transparent about your need to form an exit and allow the board member an opportunity to leave the organization professionally and of their own free will.

Improve Your Board Member Recruitment Process

One of the most effective ways to limit challenges or disruptions between board members is to position the "right" individuals on your board. The board member recruitment process is key to getting the right board member in the first place. Ensure that the board member aligns with the organization's mission, vision, and values.

Board members are driven by their passion and the emotional investment they have in the organization. However, by taking the time to build the right board culture and encouraging a collaborative and productive level of engagement, you'll be sure to minimize potential conflicts that can disrupt the execution of short- and long-term goals.

In Summary

No nonprofit board is perfect. Interpersonal disagreements and conflicting viewpoints are often par for the course when working with individuals driven by their passion for the nonprofits they support. However, this doesn't mean you should allow certain attitudes or behavior to distract from the mission your organization is trying to achieve. By taking these five steps to course-correct your board as the need arises, you'll foster the right culture for your nonprofit and its leadership.

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