Welcome to our Webinar :
New Tools for Creating a Vibrant, Engaged
and Energized Board of Directors
in the 21st Century
To listen to today’s webinar please dial:
1.866.740.1260
and enter access code:
5155012
*There will be NO AUDIO via the computer today.
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New Tools for Creating a
Vibrant, Engaged and
Energized Board of Directors
in the 21st Century
Presented by
Andrew Marietta, Regional Manager, CNY Office
Valerie Venezia, VP of Membership & Marketing
New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.
www.nycon.org
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Today’s Learning
Objectives…
What’s old is new again….
• Recognize traditional motivating factors for board engagement
• Identify challenges and obstacles to board involvement
• Explore traditional methods for overcoming challenges (old dogs/new tricks)
What’s new is new too…
Increased use of online tools to:
• Identify new motivating factors for board engagement
• Recruit board members, orient new members, engage in dialogue, manage
board progress, distribute materials, and on-going assessment board
performance.
• Help retain board members.
What’s old and new can help you...
• Identify priority areas that need to be improved and introduce new methods that
will engage and energize your board members.
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Traditionally,
What Motivates Board Service?
Traditionally, What Gets & Keeps Board Members
“On The Board?”
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Our Board Members
Give:
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Get:
Time
Community Perspective
Credibility
Influence
Expertise
Resources
• Directly or Access to
(“Give, Get or Get Off”?)
• Personal Satisfaction
• Commitment to Mission,
Cause, and Community
• Professional Growth or
Networking Opportunities
• Benefit to Employer or Self
• Recognition
• Commitment to Excellence
• Duties of Care, Obedience
& Loyalty
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Has This Happened
To You?
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A lack of qualified candidates interested in board service?
The Nominations Committee meets for the first time two
month before the annual meeting?
New members aren’t meaningfully participating?
No one is willing to become President or Treasurer?
Members not confirming their attendance in advance?
Problems getting a quorum?
Committees not meeting on a regular basis or at all?
A few dominate meetings, while some are quiet?
Members are voting for something they really don’t
understand (a budget, perhaps)?
Inactive members remaining on the board?
A lack of consensus on purpose and goals for the board of
directors in general?
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First, Let’s Define
Board Development
The process of creating, maintaining &
improving the functioning, effectiveness
& productivity of board leadership &
governance.
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Typical Charges for a
Board Development
Committee
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Plan for leadership succession:
 Recruit & nominate
 Design & implement orientation
 Encourage & coordinate ongoing development & training opportunities
Manage communications with existing board members & officers re:
renewal of terms, term expirations, resignations, etc.
Regularly review board & officer job descriptions, qualifications &
performance expectations/standards
Review bylaws and make recommendations (regarding the recruitment,
nominations or skills analysis process)
Develop strategic goals (short and long term)
Analyze strengths and weaknesses organizationally and requirements
needed to meet set goals
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Always Looking
• What are the biggest challenges
you experience finding board
members?
How Easy Do You Make It For Them To Find
You?
• What have been your most
successful strategies identifying
new board members & why?
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How Can Online Technology
Help Your Board?
• Connect to a group of citizens who are already engaged in and
knowledgeable about your mission
• Provide a channel of open communication regarding needs your board
has for particular expertise area
• Provide user friendly application/nomination process
• Provide easily accessible board orientation
• Provide a consistent, accessible platform to share information about
meetings, minutes, ask questions, etc.
• Provide a vehicle for on-going dialogue, community exchange, and
project management
• Venue to survey board members for feedback on appropriate policy
issues
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Are You Ready?
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It’s A Cycle
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Connect to those who care about your cause…
 They are already out there!
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Recruit them..
 If they already know you, it’s much easier
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Inform and educate…
 How much of my time will this take?
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Orient to your board process…
 Robert’s Rules of Order?
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Engage in board process…
 The more ‘user friendly’ the more you will have friendly users!
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Assessment
 Can be on-going and informal
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Identify changes, adapt, recruit new members with different skills
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Connect With Those Who
Care About Your Cause
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Social Networking: Create a Page for your organization on
Facebook. Promote and post board opportunities; showcase your
board
Professional Networks (LinkedIn, YNPN): Let your contacts
know that your organization is searching
• Utilize LinkedIn Board Member Connect to recruit
Google Grant & Google Alerts: Get visibility and stay
connected
Web Resources: Share, post and promote board openings
with example tools like BoardAssist or Idealist.
Website: Promote board openings and invite inquiries. Have an
ongoing survey for interested board members
E-mail: Send a Constant Contact message to your contacts to
alert them of the board opening
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CONNECT, RECRUIT, INFORM,
ORIENT – DO IT ALL ON
YOUTUBE!
YouTube: Make a video and post it (with or without
creating a customized channel for your organization),
let potential members know why they would want to
be a part of your organization, what involvement
would entail, how they can learn more (Example).
• Share your passion for the mission
• Tell personal stories about organization’s impact
• Highlight your programs and events
• Show your impact
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Now What?
Board orientation, meeting
management and feedback online.
Immediately.
• Streamline your orientation process
by making it virtual
• Keep board members organized by
giving them access to necessary
documents, dates & info
• Give board members the tools and
info they need to fulfill their roles and
responsibilities
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Orientation Tools
• Welcoming, inclusive participatory environment
• Training
• In-person orientation to board service
• Webinar
• Screencasts
• One-to-one meeting with leadership and staff
• Pre-board service
• Board Mentor or “buddy” system
• Annual Retreat
• Access to Board Resources
• Access to virtual Board Manual (Google Drive)
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MAKE YOUR ORIENTATION
MANUAL VIRTUAL (AND
ACCESSIBLE)!
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Organization history/background
Strategic Plan
Governance documents (bylaws, other)
Official mission and approved marketing message(s)
Complete fiscal information (and summary “in plain english”) Audited
financial statements, IRS Form 990
Budget, typical financial report & investment
policies
Program descriptions
Minutes (last 6 months) of board & other committees
Board roster & committee structure
Annual reports
Personnel policy & roster
Insurance coverage overview
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Engaging Current Members:
Communication is key
• Ongoing, open communication active
involvement
– Build a platform to make it easy to engage and
reduce your reliance on meeting in person
• Integrate virtual meeting tools:
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Anymeeting
ReadyTalk
Free Conference Call
Skype
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Keeping the Board
Engaged
• Encourage working outside of Board meetings
– Integrate online tools to provide support
• Project Management – Online Group and more
• Blog – WordPress Nonprofit Board Management plugin
– Showcase board and committees
– Post events and make invites
– Post documents
• Wikis – Share resources, edit documents
• Create a Group for your organization on Facebook.
– Open; Closed (public, but only members see posts); Secret (only
members can see and post)
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Committees in Action:
Empowered and Making
Decisions
• Schedule meetings when people are available
– Doodle; ScheduleOnce; MeetingWizard
• Online calendar for committee meetings
– Google
• Online resources for committees
– Mycommittee
– Blog
• Feedback
– Surveymonkey
• What does your board need? Ask for it!
• Synthesize information and then act on it.
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Are People Staying?
Make it rewarding and easy.
People will stay.
• Respect & use each members’ skills, contacts &
time as effectively as possible
• Build structures & processes that are effective
& efficient
• Provide growth & leadership development
opportunities
• Strengthen working relationships
• Foster ties to mission
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Retention Strategies
• Leadership stability: succession planning,
grooming & mentoring officers and committee
chairs
• Support effective communication
• Strategic planning
• Working committee structure
• Express Appreciation, say Thank You!
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Retention Tools
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Board Meeting & Committee Calendar
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Board Retreats
• Use shared Google Calendars to inform of meeting dates and events
• Use E-vite to remind of meetings and confirm attendance
• Touch base virtually using webinars
• Routine Board Assessment & Training
• More accessible trainings online
• Recorded trainings
• Online assessment
• Strategic Meeting Agenda
• Keep Well-informed – “No Surprises”
• Make minutes & other important documents more accessible by posting
online
• Keep board updated by posting to a private blog/ updating through email
(Constant Contact, etc)
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Are We Making a Difference?
Ongoing assessment and
constant change.
• Use online survey tools to:
– Obtain feedback
– Assess board composition, structure,
performance and process
• With SurveyMonkey you can:
• Create a survey
• Gather responses via email
• Analyze and download the results
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Key Areas for Assessing
Board Performance
• Individuals
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Attendance (# or %)
Participation/ engagement rating
Influence (activities or results)
Donations (give or get)
Attended training/ development opportunities
• Board
• Progress with strategic goals, objectives and
work plans
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Assessing Board Structure
and Process
Key structural areas to assess
• Operational committees
• Committee charges
• Committee minutes
Key process areas to assess
• Minutes
• Motions
• Strategic Plan
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Assessing Board
Composition
Perform an Assets & Needs Inventory Online
• Knowledge of/commitment to mission &
org.
• Talents, Specialized Knowledge & Skills
• Board & Leadership Experience
• Influence, Contacts, etc.
• Diversity & Representation
• Ethnic, racial, religious, etc.
• Geographic, consumer/community,
sector or industry, etc.
• Age
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What’s Next?
 Use
assessment findings to put needs back
out there and recruit based on this
information
 Stay focused and implement what is realistic
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In Summary….
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Make your first step towards Board 2.0 simple
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Put an application for board service online
Record a board orientation and send link to current and incoming board members
Create a simple online space for meeting materials & dialogue (range from Drop box to custom solution)
Create and email newsletter for board members
Record your “Mission Moments” and send them to board members (can be cross utilized fro marketing,
fundraising, etc.)
6. Allow for meaningful engagement via electronic medium(s) at board meetings.
Create a Board Development Committee to manage these efforts
Set up a Google calendar for your board and committees
Set up a blog and invite your board members
Send an e-vote to your board for your next board meeting
Create a Facebook account for your nonprofit
Set up a Google account and post your orientation Google Drive
Bookmark board and nonprofit resources in Delicious
Develop a board assessment/evaluation with Survey Monkey
Celebrate board leadership, participation & achievements
Share them online in Facebook, YouTube, and more!
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RESOURCES FOR
“BOARD 2.0”
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www.mycommittee.com
www.5pmweb.com
www.google.com/groups
www.google.com/apps
http://www.wiggio.com/
http://projects.zoho.com/jsp/home.jsp
http://wordpress.org/plugins/nonprofit-board-management/
http://www.basecamphq.com/
www.surveymonkey.com
www.youtube.com
www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
www.linkedin.com
www.blogger.com
http://www.votenet.com/
http://www.doodle.ch/main.html
http://www.meetingwizard.com/
http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp
http://secondlife.com/
http://www.wikispaces.com/
www.evite.com
http://delicious.com/valeriev
http://delicious.com/amarietta
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