Solutions Matters Workshop: March 29, 2006

PANEL

Rhoda Barr,Volunteer Consulting Group
Anne Green, Griffin Green Consulting
David LaGreca, The LaGreca Group
Toby Sanchez, Nonprofit Consultant

Host:YWCA of Brooklyn
Co-sponsor:Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York

1. Building Your Board for the Future

Rhoda Barr, emphasized the Boards role as the Brain Trust/Public Trust and that attracting new Board members begins with a clear understanding of the value that a board of directors bring to an organization. She urged that while the oversight role is important for every board, recruiters must also find the right people who can enable the board to fulfill the crucial functions of:

• setting policy
• establishing strategic directions for the organization
• providing connections to resources and information

In considering recruitment criteria, it is also important to find board members who will be predisposed to approaching these leadership tasks as a partnership with other board members and with the staff leadership.

2. Where Do We Start?

Anne Green strongly recommended the need to get your house in order BEFORE the board begins to recruit new members.

The board should have a clear strategy for the future having reviewed the mission, goals and plans:

• Who are we as an organization, and where are we going?
• Whom do we serve, with what programs and services?
• What impact are we having on our clients?
• What are the issues and challenges that the organization is facing?
• Given where we are going, who else do we need on the board, and why?
• Why would a potential trustee want to be on our board?
• Expectations must be clear and articulated

The apparent paradox is that the potential candidates for this work are most likely already busy in their lives. In order to attract candidates, the board must be able to provide a clear picture of why they are needed and what will be expected of them. The board will need to specify its expectations with respect to:

• Attendance at meetings, events and fundraisers
• Coming prepared to board meetings by reading and understanding the information provided
• Board policy on financial giving
• Familiarity with the Bylaws
• Committee service expectations

Anne also spoke of the changing role of the board and the need to constantly adapt the board to institutional needs.

Organize around board recruitment:
The first step is to establish a Governance Committee (or Board Development Committee) whose charge is to:

• organize and mobilize the process of identifying potential candidates
• determine who will contact whom with what message and materials
• create a process for orienting and incorporating new members
• provide an ongoing assessment of how the board and board members' function.

Tools to have in place:

• Standard documents including mission, bylaws, etc.
• Job descriptions for the positions to be filled
• Agreed expectations for board members
• Code of Conduct/Ethics

3. Recruitment is a Full Time Job:
Where Do We Find Potential Board Members?

David LaGreca reminded the group that the challenge for every board is to continually broaden its connections to resources and the variety of perspectives that can be brought to bear on its deliberations. To meet this challenge, the board must engage in an ongoing process to use its current connections and to establish new relationships to be able to draw from an expanding and increasingly diverse pool of potential candidates.

• The more specific the criteria, the easier to identify potential candidates.
• Think outside the box, approach professional organizations
• Look to people who have already shown an interest in the work of the organization
• Organize events that are designed to introduce the work of the organization.
• There are various consultants and programs that assist with not only establishing board recruitment plans but also seek out board members.

Check out the list of resources at the bottom of this page.

While the Governance Committee should lead the process, it is the responsibility of every board member to participate. The whole board needs to be engaged. Every board member should be able to advocate for the organization

4. Inspiring and Keeping Board Members:
Recruiting is Only Half the Job

Toby Sanchez stressed that engaging board members is of equal, if not greater, importance than recruiting.

Board meetings
A principal point of contact for board members with the organization are the board meetings. If they are not engaging, board members will soon lose interest.

Board meetings should be carefully planned. Routine reports and resolutions can be provided in advance and adopted as a whole as part of a consent agenda. This will allow time for discussion of policy, opportunities for board members to learn something new about the organization or the subject matter of its work.

Limit the time of board meetings and provide a timed agenda.

Incorporating new board members

• The board is a community in itself. New members must be welcomed and oriented to its culture
• Provide an orientation and a board manual
• Provide each new board members with a clear role and committee assignment
• Bring new board members into the board conversation
• Provide board mentors
• Check in periodically with new board members.

Questions from the Audience

Do board members need to meet in person?
While some meetings can be by telephone, NYS law requires that a majority of the meetings of a board be in person. This legal expectation is echoed in the Better Business Bureaus Wise Giving alliance standards.

Face to face meetings are important for a number of reasons.

• They are necessary for the team building needed to enable the board work collaboratively.
• It provides an opportunity for new ideas to emerge.
• Board members have an opportunity to learn to appreciate and value different problem solving approaches.
• The personal relationships among members of the board support their personal commitment of the members of the board.
• Trust can be developed.
• It provides the opportunity for board meetings to be fun.

Should a donor be a member of the board?
There is no reason in principal why a donor should not be a member and it is not an uncommon practice. The presence however of a donor on the board needs to be carefully managed to avoid letting that voice overpower all others.

Should the Executive Director be a member of the board?
This happens frequently where the Executive director was the founder of the organization. The better practice is for the Executive Director to be present at board meetings but not as a voting member. The Executive Director is an employee of the Board and having the Executive director as a board member can blur this important distinction.

Can you change a board completely by bringing on new members?
Bringing on two or three well chosen leaders can have a significant impact on the board if they work closely with the Executive Director in crafting a gradual strategy to institute change. It is Important to remember that a very significant factor in how a board acts is determined by the type of issues that the Executive Director brings to the board.

Comments?
We invite your comments, suggestions and questions to the panel regarding the above workshop. Please reply to Solutions Matter Panel at comments@governancematters.org.

Sources of Potential Board Members for NY-based Nonprofits

boardnetUSA

Business Volunteers for the Arts

Council of Community Services of NYS, Inc.

Griffin Green Consulting

Linkages Board Training and Placement Program, United Way of New York City

Nonprofit Boards Clearinghouse, New York Junior League

Nonprofit Connection

Protestant Welfare Federation Agencies

Robin Hood Foundation (for their grantees only)

Volunteer Consulting Group

Volunteer Match