Ok, so I'm not the ideal December holiday individual. I get grumpy around this time of year for a number of reasons with one of them being that my birthday falls on the Christian holiday and that of course creates competing demands for everyone. But I will put my grumpiness aside for a moment to reflect on a part of an article that has me really thinking twice or three times about the relationship and expectations by a nonprofit board and the executive. What started my ruminations on this topic was the piece in the Tallahassee Democrat that included suggestions about gifts that might be made to the exec around this time of year.
Whoa! I'm thinking: what, the pay sucks and these little gifts are about incentives or if not, what? And a $60 to $100 gift - really? Give an IRA or savings plan or car allowance - those are not gifts but earned rewards AND for what - PERFORMANCE! And don't even get me started about the time of the year. If a board really wants to give a symbolic gift - think birthday not some faith-based event that may not even recognize that the exec in question may be like me without a specific faith-based holiday.
A stocking-stuffer of ideas for year-end giving, last-minute gifts | Notes on Nonprofits
This week’s column is a round robin of ideas and information to help nonprofits.
A reader responded to last week’s “thankful” column to say, “Reading your column today made me aware of the many boards I have served, NEVER once have I been asked about a gift for the ED at holiday time.” She asked me for a few ideas.
I shared an example on a board where I served in which we collected $5 to $10 per board member (some gave more) and bought a gift card from the ED’s favorite restaurant and put the rest on a VISA gift card.
Other ideas include a poinsettia or other plant, bakery treat or home-baked items, coffee or tea from a local shop, a gift certificate for a round of golf, pedicure, or something similar that’s specific to the ED.
No matter what you do, I’m sure the ED will greatly appreciate it. If you are serving on a board, its not too late to do something this year. I would love to hear what you decide to do and happy to share them in a future column to help more boards make this an annual priority.