Gail Perry 23 Habits of High-Performing Nonprofit Boards

By Gail Perry

Without term limits, your board may evolve into more of a social club—which is clearly not in the organization's best interest!
Having term limits helps bring in new members with fresh ideas and energy—something we all want!

8. Giving. All board members make a "proud, personal" gift individually each year, putting their money where their mouth is. They encourage all other board members to give.

The total amount of board gifts to date is proudly announced at board meetings, reminding everyone how important it is.
Board members who have not yet given are gently reminded with pledge envelopes under their meeting agendas.

9. Annual planning retreat. Great boards have annual retreats to discuss strategic issues and forge closer working relationships among board members. The planning retreat helps them establish and know what their goals are.

The annual retreat can have a theme, such as getting everyone organized for fundraising.
Or the retreat looks at where the organization is and where it wants to go, emerging with specific plans for next year.

10. Social time. High-performing boards make social time a priority because they know it helps create closer personal relationships among board members, which in turn engenders trust and a sense of team.

Board meetings always include optional social time such as dinner, lunch or snacks.
Board meetings are designed to help members get to know each other better, via discussion groups, task forces or teamwork.

11. Fun. Great boards have fun together, which establishes camaraderie. They want their board members to enjoy their time on the board. They know that having fun together builds disparate individual board members into shared mission and better teamwork.

The board can enjoy outings and site tours together.
They can get together for a holiday social at someone's home.

12. CEO. All boards hire and manage their CEOs as one of their principal duties. In addition, the best boards have strong CEOs whom the board members like and trust.

« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 All Next »

0 Comments

View Comments

Gail Perry Author's page Gail believes in parties first, rabble-rousing second, and having fun while changing the world. Gail Perry CFRE is an international fundraising coach, speaker, trainer and thought-leader. She is a leader in a new breed of fundraisers who are on the cutting edge of fundraising today. Her Fired-Up Fundraising approach, developed over the past 25 years as a nonprofit philanthropy expert, has helped organizations raise hundreds of millions in gifts. Gail's practical and refreshing approach to raising money in today's world is based on the very latest innovative fundraising strategies. An inspirational and popular speaker, she leads energizing fundraising workshops and board retreats around the globe. She particularly enjoys working with nonprofit board members, introducing them to a new perspective on fundraising and ways they can be successful at it. Gail's book, Fired-Up Fundraising, has been called the "gold standard guide to building successful fundraising boards." Gail got her start in fundraising at Duke University, and then went on to lead fundraising at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can read Gail's weekly blogs at FiredUpFundraising.com, and also find her provocative articles at FundraisingSuccess, Guidestar, and Capital Campaign Magic.

The Role of the Board in Nonprofit Success