The Recipe for Building an Effective Nonprofit Board of Directors

Effective Board-Pic

When starting, working with or being part of a nonprofit, there are many “recipes” for how you determine success.  You may look at effective programming, strategic planning, fundraising and development but you can’t achieve any of that without one main ingredient and that is making sure that you have an effective nonprofit board of directors.

Board performance is a crucial ingredient to ensuring success within your nonprofit.  How can you build a board that is more effective? Let’s first take a look at the role of a nonprofit board of directors.  In the simplest sense, a nonprofit board is established to help push the organizations strategic goals, mission and vision forward.  Now, how this is done depends on the organization and the goals that you would like to achieve.   This is why one of the steps to building an effective board of directors is to,

  1. Have a succinct organizational mission and vision– Having your mission and vision in place,helps to ensure that those who are on your board support your mission, vision and they are  willing to do what is needed to push that forward.  You want to make sure that those who are charged with helping to lead your organization support the cause you are working hard to fight for.
  2. Build based on the needs of the organization- I know that many of us that are “goal-givers” or passionate social entrepreneurs often want to help others in every way that we can, but please make sure that when building an effective board of directors you look for individuals that can help the needs of the organization.  Meaning, as much as you may love your Aunt/Uncle/BFF, please do not recruit them to join your nonprofit board because they want to help. If someone does not have the qualifications to meet the needs of the organization in a board capacity, let them volunteer or help in other ways.  When building your board, understand that on the onset you may not have the funding for a lawyer or an accountant so start to find individuals that can fill those gaps.  Individuals that can help you in the areas that   your organization needs the most help in. Look for those who have expertise in the areas of              development, finance, community relations, marketing…etc.  Believe me, this will be extremely helpful as you start to grow as an organization.
  3. Recruit from within the board- I serve on numerous boards in which within our succession planning we have to recruit board members that will replace us when our term is over or to join the board in general.  We already covered the fact that your board should consist of people that support your mission and vision, so if that is the case-the same people will want to bring the right individuals on board to make sure that the mission continues.  Don’t be afraid to discuss this with your Board Chair, the best form of advertising is word of mouth and this also can pertain to recruiting and building an effective board of directors.
  4. Research! Research! Research! – When you are doing your “vetting” process make sure to research the individuals you’re looking to recruit.  Find out what other boards they may serve on or have served on, research what company they work form, find them on LinkedIn.  You want to make sure that the individuals chosen align with the brand of the organization.  You also want to  make sure that there is no conflict of interest, why go through all the trouble just to find out   that the individual is not able to serve. Which leads me to number five.
  5. Connect with board prospects beforehand-  This comes down to basic professionalism. After you have done your research, try to connect with that individual on a more personal level.  Invite them out to coffee or lunch.  This helps you in numerous ways-
    1. You get to see the   person outside of the “computer” learn their personality and see if this is someone that you feel  can be a great board member and
    2. It shows the individual that you care about what they have to offer and see them as a person.  I have received invitations to join boards strictly from a static template email but I had no idea about the organization, its mission or who the person was that reaching out.  Having that personal touch can go a long way.
  6. Understand that everyone will not fit- Everyone may not the right person to join the organization, regardless of background, passion, and community contributions. As you are  selecting board members, don’t be afraid to say no to individuals that are not a “fit” for your  organization. This does not mean that they are not a good person, this just means that they are  not right for the direction that the organization and board is moving.  You want to make sure that individuals will work well with current board members that they are able to follow thru on  the board responsibilities, that they are committed to the strategic plan and goals of the organization.  And, if someone does not meet that criteria it’s okay to move on to someone else.

Building an effective board will take a lot of work and effort but once it is done the payoff (not just monetary) will be great and your recipe for organizational success will exude flavor because of it.

How about anyone else, do you have any advice for building an effective board?

The Importance of Having a Personal Mission Statement

“To use my gifts to inspire others to walk in their purpose so that they align their passions with their destiny” – Lachelle Binion

Often times when we think of mission statements we think of a written summary describes the values, beliefs and goals of what an organization seeks to accomplish. Organizations dedicate a lot of effort, time, and sometimes money to craft the “perfect” mission statement. But, how many of us understand the importance of having a personal mission statement?  In my view, having a personal mission statement is equally as important as crafting one for your organization.

Here’s why,

  • It forces you to align your life with your purpose-Your mission statement is a daily reminder of what you want to accomplish in life.
  • It gives you a path to clearly keep your vision before you-When you can visualize, you can conceptualize the road you want to embark on.
  • It defines who you are and how you want to live-Your statement is personal, it’s who you are and how you wan to live.
  • It inspires us to accomplish our goals-It keeps us focused on if we are achieving what we set forth.

Developing a personal mission statement isn’t as hard as some may think. Here are some tips and basic steps on how you can craft your personal mission statement:

  • Keep it simple- 3 to 5 sentences max. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself with a list of goals.  Your statement should be succinct and to the point.
  • Be positive– Focus on the inspiration you seek to gain or give in life. This is your It’s your daily purpose mantra-leave the negativity out.
  • Make it personal-Your personal statement should be about who you are internally
  • Make it actionable-Use action words, make it about what you want to accomplish in life and how or why you want to do it.

A few ways to get started it to create a list of words that you feel best describe you (you can even ask others to give you positive words that they would use to describe who you are). From that list narrow it down to three or four words and start to craft the statement.  A great formula is to start with is:

“To (enter what you want to become or do in life) + (why or how you want to do it)

Example: “To use my gifts of intelligence, charisma, and serial optimism (what she wants to do) to cultivate the self-worth and net-worth of women around the world (why she want to do it)” – Amanda Steinberg-Founder of the Dailyworth.com

Example: “To be a teacher (What she want to do). And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be. (Why she wants to do it)”- Oprah Winfrey, OWN

Example: “To have fun in my journey through life (what he wants to do) and learn from my mistakes (how he want to do it)” – Sir Richard Branson, Founder of The Virgin Group.

Finally, don’t get caught up in the details. Let this be something fun and inspiring and guiding principle for you.

How do you feel about personal mission statements? Does anyone else have a personal mission statement that they would like to share?

Hello world!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to The Kismet Life!  Kismet means destiny or fate, and this blog is focused on just that-but with an entrepreneurial flare.  I want to build a community in which we are truly walking in our destined purposes and this blog is just a part of that foundation

If you are looking for tips on how to effectively brand yourself, how to start a nonprofit board, how to let go of fear and walk in your purpose than this is the blog for you!  So if your ready to step outside the “cube” subscribe and join me so we can manifest our passions into our destined life!

Thanks for reading and just remember “It’s Kismet” 

Lachelle