A Board retreat represents a great opportunity to reconnect as a team, revisit strategy, and embrace challenging conversations. Enjoyed facilitating today's Board retreat with the talented team of Alpaca Owners Association, Inc.!
Developing rules of engagement for virtual meetings together with your Board is an important step towards creating a culture of performance. Enjoyed leading a highly interactive workshop on "Habits of Healthy Boards and Managing Effective Virtual Board Meetings" with the talented leaders of American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). What is your favorite tip for effective virtual meetings?
What if your Board members embraced their role as advocates and ambassadors for the mission? Enjoying a great day with the talented Board and Staff leaders of Evergreen Life Services leading a workshop on “Developing Board Ambassadors.”
Excited to share that I will be participating in 2 FREE web events this week!
On Tuesday, February 18 from 7 - 7:30 PM eastern time, I will be joining host Janeal Ford on “Adventures in Fundraising.” The topic will be Building a Board Orientation Program for Excellence. Learn strategies for developing an orientation program that places your Board members in the best position to succeed in advancing your mission. We will cover the roles of Board and staff in the process, questions and topics to address, and learn a vastly underutilized orientation strategy to elevate the performance and engagement of your Board members. You can participate on Facebook Live HERE.
On Thursday, February 20 from 2-3 PM eastern time, I will be leading a FREE live webinar for Bloomerang entitled “Demystifying Donor Advised Funds.” This workshop discusses donor advised funds, how they differ from private foundations, tips for engagement, critiques and potential reforms. This webinar will be recorded for future viewing. If you can't make it, go ahead and register anyway. You'll receive the recording a little later. Click below to register for this FREE webinar!
Join the conversation!
A Board retreat can serve as an inspiring bridge from the present to the future for a nonprofit, providing an opportunity for the Board and staff team to reflect, reimagine, and prioritize. Honored to facilitate the Board retreat for Harbor House this weekend. The mission of Harbor House is empowering individuals with disabilities and their families to lead fulfilled and productive lives.
Have you ever attended a retreat or strategy session and left feeling empowered and inspired? Charting a course for the future of an organization can and should be informative, engaging, and inspirational. Honored to facilitate the strategic planning retreat this past weekend with the amazing Board and staff team of Kentucky to the World, led by visionary founder Shelly Zegart. This organization enhances Kentucky’s image by showcasing the talent, ingenuity, and excellence of people with strong Kentucky ties. Exciting times ahead!
The ability to build an effective and cohesive Board/staff partnership is frequently the most significant predictor of success or struggle for an organization. This includes everything from how you define the expectations of the Board, the support you will provide them, and the manner in which you will recruit, orient, and evaluate them.
One question I am frequently asked is, “Should our nonprofit CEO also be a member of the Board?” On the one hand, this question recognizes the critical role of the CEO/Board partnership and the need for the CEO’s voice to be heard and valued in Board discussions. On the other hand, my encouragement is to think very carefully about the different roles of Board vs. staff in evaluating this question. Boards govern strategically and at a high level, while CEOs and Directors operationalize plans and lead the day-to-day functions of the organization. Mixing those two can present boundary challenges down the road. Additionally, the Board is charged with evaluating the CEO, which can be tricky if he or she is a member of the Board. My typical recommendation is to keep CEOs off the governing Board, or if you choose to offer them a seat, consider an ex officio role. For more on this important topic, BoardSource recently published a blog that I thought was quite good and you can find it HERE.
Developing a Board team that is engaged and effective in their fundraising role requires expectations, support/training, and accountability. Some excellent tips to help in developing your Board's fundraising effectiveness in this free e-book from Rachel Muir and Bloomerang.
Highly effective nonprofit Boards embrace strategic conversations around critical issues relevant to the mission of the organization. They recognize that the limited time the Board spends together as a team is valuable, and devote that time to discussion rather than simply a recitation of reports.
What has the attention of nonprofit Boards these days? Here are just a few critical issues that highly effective nonprofit Boards are discussing as a team:
Bloomerang recently released the 2018-2019 State of the Nonprofit Workplace Report. Among the key findings:
Salary was among the top 5 most important employee benefits, but employees ranked paid time off and paid family leave even higher.
Approximately 30% of respondents report working multiple jobs to make ends meet
Women earned less in salary than men across all categories, including based on years of experience and organization size
About 35% of nonprofit employees predicted they wouldn’t be working at their current organization 2 years from now.
According to a recent survey from Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), 25% of fundraisers report confronting ethical dilemmas at least 6 times per year.
"From a list of common ethical challenges, respondents also identified ethical issues on which they need more guidance and resources. Donor control and restrictions on how gifts can be used was identified by almost half (48%) of respondents as a critical issue, followed by conflicts of interest (41%) and “tainted” money from donors (40%)."
The National Philanthropic Trust released their annual Donor Advised Funds Report. Key findings include:
The number of Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) grew 55.2% in the past year. The actual number of DAFs in the United States is now 728,563. This total should surpass one million in 2020.
Grants made from DAFs increased 18.9%, making them philanthropy's fastest growing vehicle.
Imagine the dynamic conversations your Board could be having as they grapple with these or the countless other issues critical to translating your vision into reality. If your Board is ready to take the first step towards towards elevating its effectiveness or bringing these discussions to your Board room, let's connect!
A flourishing community is one in which nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, and corporations thoughtfully and authentically partner in service of a compelling vision. Honored to develop the curriculum and facilitate the Next Gen Board Leadership Academy this week in partnership with Welborn Baptist Foundation. It was so inspiring to see this cohort of talented and passionate community leaders inspire a vision of a flourishing community, equip themselves to be effective Board leaders, and engage with nonprofit service.
A Board retreat offers members an opportunity to elevate their gaze, evaluate their strategy, and plan courageously for the future. Honored to spend today facilitating a retreat for the talented and committed Board members of CASA of Lexington. Their vision is a community where every child lives and thrives in a safe, caring and permanent home. They are getting there one child at a time!
Evergreen Life Services changes lives for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Honored to be in Dallas this week facilitating a Board and staff retreat for this amazing team!
Did you know that when fundraising expectations are clearly articulated during recruitment, 52% of CEOs report their boards are actively engaged in the organization’s fundraising efforts?
Enjoyed discussing this and more while leading 2 workshops in Miami this week:
From “Survivor to “Amazing Race:” Board Champions
Engaged Board, Effective Fundraising.
As summer turns to fall and leaves change, we have ushered in one of my favorite seasons of the year — college football season. In addition to the game itself, many are drawn to college football because of the traditions and pageantry that accompany rooting for your favorite school.
This past weekend, my family made our annual football weekend trip to Notre Dame. This is an extremely meaningful tradition for us, and one we look forward to every year. As we walked around campus, I was reminded of the value of traditions. From listening to the band play the fight song, to eating at a favorite dining hall, to donning your team colors, traditions bind us together. Likewise, traditions also hold special meaning for organizations and team members:
Traditions build a sense of belonging.
People possess an innate desire to be part of something larger than themselves. It compels each of us to serve in our own way, from Board members to staff members, volunteers to donors. Traditions cultivate that sense of belonging and higher purpose.
Traditions build bridges linking the past, present, and future.
Through the stories, rituals, and habits passed down over time, people gain a unique appreciation of an organization’s history, evolution, and vision as well as a connection to those who have come before, serve now, and will serve in the future.
Traditions both reflect and reinforce values and culture.
The primary way in which individuals experience the values and culture of an organization are through the actions of those they serve with. Traditions serve to illuminate these values and bring the culture of an organization to life.
Traditions hold space for reflection.
It is easy to get carried away with daily routines and challenges. Traditions provide an opportunity for each of us to pause and reflect, while reconnecting to our vision and the ideals that underlie our commitment to the organization and our teammates.
When was the last time you asked your team about the organizational traditions they value? What is the equivalent of the “fight song” and treasured campus memory for your organization? I invite you to reflect with me this month on the traditions that inspire your organization and team.
Exciting weekend in Minneapolis facilitating a Board/Staff retreat with the team of Camp To Belong. Camp to Belong is an international organization dedicated to reuniting brothers and sisters who have become separated in foster care through a week of camp in the summer and other events throughout the year. Exciting things to come from these talented and passionate leaders!
#Nonprofit #Board #Philanthropy #Charity #BoardChampions
Last month, we celebrated the 1 year anniversary of the launch of Nielsen Training & Consulting. Over the past year, I have been honored to work with nonprofit organizations from New Jersey to San Francisco, Miami to Denver, and of course here at home in Kentucky.
As we begin year 2, I recognize that developing a highly effective Board doesn’t happen overnight, but is the product of intentionality, engagement, and effort.
That is why I am thrilled to announce the launch of Board Champions.
This is a year-round, fully customizable Board development program, designed to partner with you in building a Board team capable of translating bold vision into reality.
Flexible enough to meet the needs of your nonprofit, Board Champions begins with a customized Board Self Assessment and facilitated Board retreat and subsequently may include the following services:
CEO or Board coaching
Defining Board expectations
Assessing the skills and diversity of your Board team
Building an effective orientation program
Aligning committee engagement with strategic objectives
Click the button below to learn more or connect with Greg to set up a consultation. Let’s work together to develop your team into Board Champions!
When I facilitate a #nonprofit #Board or staff retreat, I focus on 3 key goals -- to inform, to engage, and to inspire those who attend. It is truly one of the most rewarding and enjoyable areas of my work. When planned thoughtfully and executed well, a Board retreat can be a key step in transforming or elevating a team. Check out the article below for some additional tips. If your Board or staff would benefit from this experience, let's connect!
https://boardable.com/blog/nonprofit-board-retreats-tips/
Nonprofit Board governance requires hard work and commitment, but it can be fun too! Honored to facilitate the Board retreat this weekend for Fuller Center for Housing.
As the calendar year draws to a close, this article from Propel Nonprofits provides a great reminder that #nonprofit #Boards require frequent care and attention. Let's chat about tangible and practical ways to enhance the performance of your Board!
https://www.propelnonprofits.org/blog/is-it-time-for-a-board-tune-up/