How to be an Effective Non-Profit Board Member

Hey guys, Matt Paulson here. There are more than 500 nonprofits that have 501 status in the Sioux Falls metro. And the IRS requires each 501 to have a governing board of at least three members to kind of maintain their tax exempt status. You know, some of these exist in name only. Some of these boards are very high profile, high effort volunteer roles that require a significant time commitment but also allow you to make a real impact. And I've served on several nonprofit boards and committees over the last 10 years, from as small as a two person fundraising effort for a church up to kind of a board of trustees for a cybernetary that has 400 students. And I've really kind of seen firsthand how nonprofit boards operate, what makes them work, what makes them doesn't. Sorry for the background noise, there's some construction going on outside if you hear that. But here are. In this video I want to share five tips that will help you be a more successful nonprofit board member. So I assume that you are in a business community, maybe you're a business leader, maybe you're an upcoming person, maybe you're already a leader or manager, maybe you're already on a nonprofit board. So I've got some tips that will kind of help make you be more effective as a nonprofit board leader or non profit board member. First is to make a generational commitment to a cause. So a lot of people kind of hop board to board as their terms expire, but I think you can be a lot more effective by picking a couple of organizations or causes that you can just stay committed to for a very long period of time. So as you gain more experience in institutional knowledge, you're just going to become an expert in your organization's history and mission and just have a better understanding of what your organization needs to do to move forward and be successful. You probably are not going to serve on a board for a decade or more, but maybe you find ways to stay involved and volunteer or give to an organization. I just think you're going to make a much greater impact in your community by going deep with one or two organizations than you will be by going wide and spending two or three years at a time with different organizations consecutively. To really move the needle on a non profit mission and community, it just takes time. It takes years of learning, leading, doing and giving. You know, a nonprofit board typically only meets once a month. You have a small team of employees to run a non profit typically. And it just takes time to fully execute on the vision and mission of an Organization. So you should stay committed to an organization for a long period of time. Number two, going to board meetings is just not enough. I am amazed at how many nonprofit board members in our community will agree to sit on a board. They'll attend most of the board meetings, but otherwise just won't have a lot of involvement in the organization. You know, the board meeting really just exists to make sure that the organization remains on track. It's not where the actual meat and potatoes of division and mission occur. So if you are committed to a specific nonprofit one, you should give it your time by volunteering. You should give it by. Give your talent by attending board meetings and providing leadership organization. And then finally, you should give some of your treasure. So you should give to the organizations whose boards you serve on. You know, most of these are all funded by, you know, donations. So if you are not donating to an organization that you're on a board of, there's probably a problem there. You know, if you're volunteering in an organization, you can have a better understanding of it, of the work of the organization, including, you know, it's probably going to be personally beneficial to you as well, because you're seeing the benefit of the impact that your organization is making. And you don't always see that in a board meeting. Number three is you should encourage collaboration with other nonprofits. So the former Sioux Falls School for Death is soon to become the Empower Ministry campus. It will be a ministry mall that will encourage nonprofits to work together to tackle poverty. So Richmond Kuris, who is kind of the head of this effort, he said recently that the average person receives help from at least six different nonprofits in our community at the same time. Just imagine how much more effective nonprofits that work with poor people in our community would be if they work together to help meet a person's need and set them up for success. So Rich will encourage nonprofit boards to ask themselves, what is something that we are doing that someone else is doing better and can we partner with them? As a nonprofit board member, look beyond the silo of your organization and look for ways that you can learn from other nonprofits and collaborate with them. Just when possible, find related nonprofits that you can collaborate with to reduce the duplication of services and just increase your organization's overall effectiveness through partnerships. Number I think number four, limit yourself to two nonprofit boards at a time. You know, you only have so many hours in a day and you just can't be everything to everybody. So between a full time job and family responsibilities, you May have. You also need to sleep. You know, you can probably only effectively serve on a couple of nonprofit boards at once if you are truly committed to them. I'm on a board of directors for the Zio center for Entrepreneurship and on the board of trustees for Sioux Fall Seminaries. And that's really it. And I probably put it between five and eight hours a week between these two different nonprofits. And I've had to say no to at least four other nonprofits that have asked me to serve in their boards this year, including some organizations that I really would have loved to say yes to. But I knew that if I said yes to them, I would be robbing time from the two organizations that I've committed to and I would just be a less effective volunteer and board member overall. I happen to be a Christian, and living out my faith is an important aspect of my life. So I've kind of chosen to serve on one board at a time that has kind of a ministry focus and one board that has a kind of a business or a community focus. So by serving on the board of Sioux Falls Seminary, I'm helping lead the next generation of pastors, missionaries, therapists, and nonprofit leaders to prepare them to do Christian ministry work. And then by serving at the Zeal Center, I have the opportunity to help small business owners and startup founders grow, start and grow their businesses. So by serving on one faith based board and then one non faith based board, that's worked out pretty well for me. It's not a hard and fast rule for everyone, but it is kind of a personal rule that's worked well in my life. Next, don't passively participate in board meetings. So when your organization has its monthly or bi monthly board meeting, be willing to speak up and share your mind on agenda items. So if you attend a board meeting quietly, listen to each agenda item and don't weigh in on anything, you probably could have just skipped the meeting and got the same amount of work done. As a board member, it is your responsibility to contribute to the organization's ongoing dialogue and just help steer it in the right direction. This point might seem a little bit basic, but you'd be surprised how many volunteer board members just don't speak up in meetings. Finally, leverage your relationships for your nonprofit. So for a nonprofit to be successful, it needs a network of contributors and volunteers that can really execute on the mission of the organization. And one of your roles as a nonprofit board member is to help grow that network. You have a unique set of relationships that other people don't. Have and those relationships can be leveraged to help grow and sustain your nonprofit. So you should encourage your friends and family members and business acquaintances to get involved with your nonprofit by coming to your events, by volunteering, and by making donations to your organization as well. So those are the key things I'm going to run through them quick again. 1. Make a generational commitment to a cause. 2. You need to do more than just attend board meetings. 3. You need to encourage collaborations with other nonprofits. 4. Limit yourself to two boards at a time. 5. Don't passively participate in board meetings and then I guess 6. Leverage your relationships with your nonprofit. Leverage your relationships for your nonprofit. So if you aren't volunteering now and you want to find something to do, the Helpline center is a good resource that will help you find a non profit to volunteer with that kind of matches your personal passions. Nonprofits and Sioux followers They do really amazing work that can literally mean the difference between life or death. From sheltering the homeless to providing therapy to the mentally ill to feeding the hungry to helping people find jobs and get them work. There are non profits that really make sure people's basic needs are met and set them up for long term success. So if you're not involved with a nonprofit right now, I'd encourage you to pick one and get involved. It'll be good for the community and it will be engaging to you personally as well or encouraging to you personally as well. So if you're interested, just go to the Helpline center website. They've got a list of volunteer opportunities in Sioux Falls. That's a good starting point. Or you're also just feel free to reach out to a nonprofit that interests you. And most of them are pretty much always looking for help. Think about doing that too. Hopefully this video is helpful and encouraging you. If you want to see more videos like this, check out mattpolson.com for the latest posts and videos.