I firmly believe that getting or keeping a board/board members active begins with the mission moment. I believe there can't be too many mission moments. You may know of the Morning Meeting used in pre and elementary school where the day begins with kids sharing their story for that day? Well, maybe as frequent as once-a-week via email and for-sure, the beginning of a board meeting, "report" a story that illustrates an experience that exemplifies mission. These happen every day and every week with your customers. Tell these linked to why your nonprofit exists. This is why people join boards - yes, it's that simple.
Meanwhile, here's some further thinking on board motivation by Joan Garry culled from the Chronicle of Philanthropy:
JULY 30, 2019
Ignite Your Board Members’ Passion
How to Reignite Your Board Members
To engage trustees, I use a simple equation when coaching executive directors, which creates a more productive partnership and equips trustees with the enthusiasm and tools they need to become real ambassadors:
The formula: Inform + Engage + Enrich = Ignite
Most board members will tell you that they are informed. But as a nonprofit leader you need to take two other critical steps to create vocal and visible ambassadors for your cause ― the kind of ambassadors whom those you serve need and deserve.
For example, last year I worked with an equine-therapy program that offers the benefit of horseback riding to kids on the autism spectrum. I gave the executive director some tough love: I told her that her fingerprints were all over her disengaged board.
Here’s how we used the formula.
Inform. The information has to "stick" ― no recitation of your board report. Instead, a PowerPoint presentation with only 13 slides, each with a single image of the horses — the real stars of the organization. On every slide, the name of the horse and its "magic power," such as one horse that is uniquely attuned to anxiety whose healing power helped transform one child. Not only are those board members informed, but now they have personal and powerful stories to tell.
Engage. The topic must tap into what board members bring to the boardroom. For example: The equine-therapy group is considering purchasing an adjacent property. The executive director wants to serve more kids, and the conversation about purchasing the property is big and strategic. So, the director framed the pros and cons to the board, asking questions like these:
- "Am I thinking about this the right way?"
- "If we don’t buy it, who might be our neighbor, and how would that affect us?"
- "If this property weren’t going on the market, would we be looking to expand?"
- "What other questions should we be asking?"
- "What additional information do we need?"
A boardroom of people with the right skills and expertise will add a lot of value to the discussion. And then, when you move forward, the trustees share ownership of the decision, which always leads to more-enthusiastic fundraising.
Enrich. Board members are leaders. Leaders have context and know trends, but they need data. For example, if you are serving kids on the autism spectrum, you need to tell trustees the extent of the problem, expected future trends, and whether the population is growing.
The executive director of the equine-therapy organization has a large network of contacts. Working with her board chair, she extended one board meeting by 30 minutes to allow time for an expert to give a 20-minute presentation with 10 minutes of Q and A. The expert also joined a social gathering afterward. Very few board members left early.
Think of your last two, three board meetings: Did you give your board a bite of any of these three elements of the formula? Were you intentional about how to use a meeting to accomplish any of these things?