Area nonprofits met for the monthly Bremer Brown Bag conversation and “Spirit Bear” shared that he has a board that attends meetings and serves on committees, but when the time arrives to sell those darn raffle tickets and recruiting attendance at fundraising events, the road blocks go up. "My friends are tired of me asking and I’m going to be out of town and I have NO time to do anything.”
Well…………when the members joined the board, were the expectations of service clearly and openly communicated?
Do you have a working board, advisory board or combo of the two? What could we call that? working + advisory= workry? advirk? worksory? …….[looking for help here…..]
Has the board experienced what you do? Have you provided the forum for them to touch, feel and see the work that you engage in everyday in your nonprofit? Do they even know what you do?
As the executive director, how are you engaging your board members in the mission and vision of your work?
Work-Wisdom-Wealth------this is what we want from our board members.
Invite-Engage-Ask-----------this is how you do it.
Connect the disconnected.
Posted by Amy Wyant, NRS, Brainerd
1 comment:
Good post, Amy. I have found that unclear expectations can set boards and Executive Directors up for this kind of frustration. I have also observed that if a board isn't a big giving/fundraising board...you're probably not going to be able to turn them into one. Focus that energy elsewhere and get the most out of your board's other abilities.
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