Eight Things to Consider When Diversifying Your Board

Categories: Board Diversity · Board Member Roles · Prospective Board MembersTags: · · 1 Comment

Everyone wants to diversify their boards. Having a diverse board, especially one with people who have lived experience around your mission, will help you make better decisions. Here are some things to think about: Think Broadly. Think of diversity in the broadest sense – ability, age, ethnicity, gender identity, geography, race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. All of these areas can enrich your discussions and add important perspective. Depending on your mission, some may be more critical than others. Remember too that just because someone is white, male, or older does not mean that they are bad board members.… Read more

Protests and COVID Will Change Nonprofits Forever

Categories: Board Diversity · Board Member Roles · Good Board Practices · LeadershipTags: 2 Comments

In this story, I talk to a long-time corporate executive who joined several boards after retiring. He reflects on how last year’s protests have advanced his journey around understanding bias and the need of board members to champion social justice and systems change — because the system treats people differently. He also discusses how he thinks COVID will change nonprofit boards in the future. Every Board Needs to Stand up for Social Justice Told by a board member somewhere in the US. I was in the corporate world for a long time and served on many corporate boards. When I… Read more

Racial Equity and Antiracism Live in Our Missional Work

Categories: Board Diversity · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Good Board Practices · LeadershipTags: Leave a comment

For this post, I spoke to a CEO who started just before we all went into COVID lockdown. Being new, her board asked for regular reports on her activities which became even more important once COVID hit. She realized that board members cannot truly appreciate the importance of equity and antiracism if they don’t understand the day-to-day work of the organization. She also observed that holding meetings online became an equalizer for a diverse board. CEO Reports Leads Board to Better Understanding of Equity As told by a CEO somewhere in the US I was Chief Program Officer before I… Read more

Reimagining Governance – Interview with Co-Leads

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We all know that the standard, one-size-fits-all model of governance does not work for every organization. In fact, it probably does not work for most organizations. In my reading, I came upon the Reimagining Governance Initiative of the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) in Toronto. I reached out to the co-leads, Linda Mollenhauer from Ignite NPS and Erin Kang from ONN to hear more. Here is what I learned: How did Reimagining Governance get started? Linda: About three and a half years ago, a few governance consultants were talking about our frustrations with the way governance was working and it occurred… Read more

A Year of Pandemic, Protest, and Propaganda — What Now?

Categories: Advocacy · Board Diversity · Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Executive Session · Fundraising · Good Board Practices · Leadership · Nonprofit FundingLeave a comment

We made it to 2021 — happy to get beyond 2020 – the year of pandemic, protests, and propaganda. There is a light at the end of the tunnel as COVID vaccines are approved and distributed. We will have a new president who believes in science and real facts. Our journeys toward racial equity are accelerating. What now? Seize the opportunity. Now is the time to make changes – some long overdue, some bold. Center Equity The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others plus the subsequent protests have – hopefully – catalyzed our country to… Read more