If your not-for-profit’s board members frequently miss meetings, show little enthusiasm for their roles or resign before their terms are up, board meetings may be to blame. Perhaps they run too long and rarely end in actionable decisions. Or maybe one member dominates every discussion or bullies other members. Any of these reasons can make meetings inefficient and ultimately harm your organization.
To ensure board meetings make the most of stakeholders’ time and energy, your board president should take these tips to heart:
1. Plan an actionable agenda. Contact each committee chair to learn about needs for the upcoming meeting. For each item placed on the agenda, include an anticipated action. For example: “Finance committee, anticipated action: approve or reject organizational investment policy.”
2. Provide adequate resources. Supply the board with the information it needs to make informed decisions. You may want to include the minutes of the last board meeting, active committee reports related to agenda items, current financial reports, the executive director’s statistical “state of the organization” report and relevant memoranda.
Financial information should be in a format that doesn’t overwhelm board members. For example, include a simple list of income categories, expense categories, balances, investment performance and issues of concern. The finance committee can request more information if it needs it.
3. Prioritize certain items. Don’t try to cover every issue your nonprofit faces in each meeting. A two-hour meeting, for example, may be only enough time to discuss one key issue and plan a related action. Make sure your nonprofit’s most pressing and significant matters are handled.
4. Encourage staff/board communication. Communications from your nonprofit’s staff to the board shouldn’t be dictatorial. For example, if the executive director presents a monthly report, solicit board opinion and allot time for member response. If a response isn’t needed, simply put a copy of the report in the board packets.
5. Be inclusive and unified. Some issues might prompt a strong difference of opinion, so try not to begin or end meetings with a controversial one. Good boards can weather heated discussions, but you must foster unity.
Also, board members need to feel safe asking relevant questions to get the information they need for intelligent decision-making. Be sure every board member talks at least once during a meeting. If necessary, solicit the opinions of newer or more reticent members and limit the comments made by members who tend to dominate board discussions.
6. Follow up. Send a post-mortem summary of matters discussed and decisions reached. Include individual assignments and note the next scheduled meeting date.
Contact us for more tips and information about good nonprofit governance.
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