Most Small Nonprofits are Screwed
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No matter the size, you’re still screwed.
There’s something wrong in the nonprofit sector. Really wrong. It’s a problem that can seem unsolvable because it’s so pervasive. Almost every executive director, CEO, development director, and consultant I talk to bemoans this problem. What is it? It’s this:
Your board of directors has lost sight of its primary responsibilities: they don’t act like they own the place.
Maybe it’s a structural issue with how boards are organized under the IRS code. Maybe it’s because executive directors are given the authority and responsibility to act like owners when they really aren’t. Maybe it’s because board members serve on too many other boards. There are probably many reasons for the situation in which we find ourselves. Does that make it less likely we can find solutions? I’m not sure.
What I do know from first-hand experience is that serving on a board of directors is usually not given the priority and significance it deserves or requires.
When filling a board position, the expectations and time requirements are downplayed if not dismissed altogether. A nominating committee will do anything to fill an empty board position whether the person they choose is a good fit, has experience, can give money or none of these. Sometimes they don’t even conduct an interview.
I asked members of a board of directors a few weeks ago who wanted to significantly advance the mission of their organization. Everyone raised a hand. Who wouldn’t? Don’t you want to significantly advance your mission?
But time after time after time, when faced with the opportunity to get more engaged in the life and philanthropy of the organization, a board will choose to defer or hand off to the executive director. That’s a recipe for mediocrity. It’s supposed to be a team sport. But when someone on the team won’t fill their role, you run the risk of failure.
After decades of neglecting the fundamentals of board governance and minimizing its role and importance, we’re left with organizations that can’t sustain even the simplest annual giving program let alone a complex strategy to advance the mission. Start talking about strategic or investment philanthropy and eyes glaze over really fast.
What can you do? If you care about your mission and are invested in trying to move your board beyond its current state, here are 7 things that can help.
1. Start talking to your board chair about these issues and help them learn more about creating a culture of philanthropy. What’s that? I wrote a post about it that you and your board chair can read here.
2. Bring in a consultant (like me) or someone from your community as a respected third-party to lead a conversation with the board about creating a culture of philanthropy. Find someone who can challenge them, not just inform.
3. Stop minimizing the responsibilities of board membership just to get someone to agree to serve.
4. If you already have an approved list of board duties, hold each person (and the board as a whole) accountable to them. Review the list at your next board meeting. Go over the list with any potential new board members.
5. If you don’t have an approved list of board duties, find some, give them to the board chair, and suggest they adopt them.
6. Find a mentor to help you through the process.
7. It has to start at the top. If you’re a development director or officer and you don’t have the buy-in of the CEO/executive director, you have to get that first or you’ll waste your time. If you’re the executive director and the current board chair isn’t willing to be your partner in the changes that need to be made, you may have to wait until there is a leadership change.
Bottom line: it’s the board’s responsibility to not only be concerned about and address these issues, but to be instrumental in creating the procedures and practices that ensure that the organization is moving forward.
How are you addressing the challenges of a disengaged board of directors?
Clay Myers-Bowman 
Unfortunately, executive directors and other key staff have no idea what the board should be doing. The board itself has not idea. As a young ED, I had no clue. It takes time to change the culture of an organization. Learning and leading are the best antidotes. Someone has to make the first step to learn and educate. Ideally, the ED and a few board members (especially the board chair) can be a small committee that educates current board members, selects new members and educates them. Every year and with every new board member, take the time to orient them to the “new culture” as being the way we have always done it. They do not know anything different.
Excellent post Clay. You’ve really hit the nail on the head. Of course, not all nonprofits are in this mess. But many are. Often I find the problem is similar to the problem of board members not wanting to ask for money. They’re afraid to talk about board responsibilities (including giving/getting) when they invite folks to join the board for fear of rejection. It’s not rational (because who really wants a board member who doesn’t want to help?), but we do it all the time nonetheless. We want to be successful! Sadly, we forget to first ask ourselves what success will look like. It’s a real problem, and the first step to fixing the problem is identifying the problem. So having this article to share should be really useful to folks where no one will talk about the elephant in the room.
Thanks for your comments Claire. I’m hopeful that this can start some conversations that should have occurred years ago.
Natasha, Spot on , as usual! Ericka Kurtz’s comment is also well taken as boards can quickly become incestuous and no one wants to hold their “friends” accountable for their apathy. I feel it’s important to do board evaluations both on governance as well as personal self-assessments. Bring people on board with specific skill sets that are needed by the organization.
Clay, I appreciate your candor. I think all of these issues are also a result of people asking friends to be on boards rather than inviting people who actually bring a benefit to the table.
That certainly happens all the time!
I think as a culture we heap so much praise on those who can say “board member at xyz org” on their resume. I sometimes wonder if too much ego has gotten in the way of being committed to actually bringing some value to the board.
Well Done!!!