Fundraising Strategies for Large Institutions

Categories: Board Member Roles · Fundraising · Good Board PracticesTags: · · · · · Leave a comment

In this post, I share thoughts from a board member who has served on boards for very large, institutional organizations. He correctly reflects that fundraising strategies for these boards differ from those for medium-sized or small, community-based organizations. Still many of his insights can be applied to all boards. This post is the sixth in my series about nonprofit fundraising. In my last post, in contrast to this one, a board member shares several examples about fundraising for small and even all-volunteer organizations. Going back, in the first of the series, I shared a story about a successful capital campaign… Read more

Effective Fundraising: Staff Does Heavy Lifting

Categories: Board Member Roles · Fundraising · Good Board Practices · Nonprofit FundingTags: · · 2 Comments

This is my third in a series of posts about the role of the board in fundraising. In this post, a board member describes their role as Fund Development Committee chair. They also broadly address how board members can be involved in fund development and the necessity of having staff do the heavy lifting. In my last post, a board member explains the importance and impact of connecting an organization’s values to their fundraising plan. In the previous post, a board member outlines ways donors can contribute to a successful capital campaign. Board Members Play Different Roles in Different Size… Read more

How Do You Know That?

Categories: Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Good Board Practices · LeadershipTags: · · · · · · 6 Comments

After my last post which encouraged board members to ask hard questions, several readers asked what questions? Board members need full information to make good decisions. And that means asking lots and lots of questions – the ones that break out of group think, that uncover hidden issues, and that get to the essence of unseen problems or opportunities.  I started brainstorming questions and came up with a very long list. So, I decided instead to share just a few really key questions. I organized them in five areas: finance, program, funding, staff, and board. But you will see that… Read more

The Story of a Controlling CEO and a Weak Board

Categories: Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Good Board PracticesTags: · · · · · 2 Comments

Organizations can have great CEOs and weak CEOs and manipulative CEOs. Organizations can have strong boards and weak boards. In today’s post, a former staff person describes an organization with possibly the worst combination — a controlling CEO and a weak board. The story also raises the question of intersectionality. Is it distracting for a woman’s organization to analyze data about women of color, women with disabilities, gay women, rural women, poor women? Does intersectionality diminish the focus on women? This staff person insists – and I agree – that if you don’t address intersectionality, if you don’t dig deeply… Read more

Board Chairs Should Keep Full Board Informed

Categories: Board Member Roles · Board, Board Chair, ED/CEO Roles · Good Board Practices · LeadershipTags: · · · · · 4 Comments

Challenges arise in every organization and with every board. If you are the board chair, you have to decide what to bring to the full board. As chair, you don’t want to cause panic when a situation can be easily handled. But you also have to remember that the board chair does not have more power than the rest of the board and that the full board has fiduciary responsibility for the organization. Other board members cannot exercise this responsibility if they don’t know what is going on. Plus, we all work to bring great people onto a board. The… Read more