This document discusses best practices for nonprofit board governance, including recruiting qualified board members, orienting and educating new members, and ensuring board members fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. It emphasizes the important role of the governance committee in leading these efforts year-round to develop an effective board that can help advance the organization's vision and fundraising goals. Regular board evaluation is presented as key to maintaining a high-functioning team.

1. Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
President, Linda Lysakowski, LLC

2.  Planning
 Governing
 Creating vision
 Working with staff
 Fundraising
 Board giving: Is it the three G’s?

3.  Give,
 Get, or
 Get Off

4.  Gather,
 Get Ready, and
 Grow

5.  Too little, too late!
 Weak Leadership!
 Lack of understanding of the governance
role!

6.  The Governance Committee

7.  Meets year round
 Chaired by the strongest board
member
 Assesses board performance
 Develops or refines board position
descriptions

8.  Evaluates needs of the board
 Finds the right people to fill board vacancies
 Plans board orientation
 Responsible for ongoing board education

10. Do We Have the Right Board Members
 Choosing candidates that will meet
our needs
 Identifying candidates and
evaluating commitment
 Building a sense of ownership

12. Interest
Once a prospective candidate has expressed interest in your
organization, the first step is research.
• What do they do for a living?
• Are they successful?
• Do they know “people?”
• Can they help build your board/organization?
• Are they willing to give their time and money to your
organization?

13. Involvement
◦ What do they expect to get out of their involvement?
◦ Do they have a good/bad past history with other organizations?
◦ Do they want hands on, or is this just a resume booster?
Qualifications
◦ Are they qualified to join the board?
◦ Remember: Board members are the decision makers of the
organization…interview them as if you are paying them a salary!

14. Education
◦ Educating a board member on the vision, direction,
and ultimate goals of your organization is the single
most important mission of your organization’s
executive staff. This will keep the board on the right
track.

15. Evangelism
When the board takes ownership of your organization,
they, in a sense, become evangelists for your cause.

16. Belief in and support of the
mission of the organization is
the most critical requirement
for serving on the board

17.  Overall responsibilities
 Term of office
 Attendance requirements
 Requirement to be informed about organization
 Participation in meetings
 Committee requirements
 Financial commitment
 Conflict of interest disclosure
 Fiduciary responsibility

18.  Never done by individual board
members on their own
 Names are given to Governance
Committee for consideration
 Executive Director is involved in
recruitment

20.  The “Tin Cup” mentality?
 A necessary evil?
 We don’t need it.
 Not my job!
 I don’t know how.
 I don’t want to bug my friends!

21.  Board Recruitment/Governance Committee
 Board Orientation/Governance Committee
 Board Education/Governance Committee
 The Board Appeal/Development Committee
 Identifying/The Development Committee
 Cultivating/The Development Committee
 Fundraising/The Development Committee
 Stewarding/The Development Committee

22.  But we give our time…..

23.  Each board member invite three people
to have lunch with the CEO
 Board members host an event
 Board Thank-a-thon
 Speaking engagements
 The elevator speech
 Birthday/anniversary gifts
 Opening doors

24.  Do we have a large enough board?
 Do we have the skills we need on the
board?
 Do we have a diverse board?
 How do we plan to build the board we
need to succeed?
 What one thing will we do tomorrow to
get started?

25.  www.4Good.org--Board Recruitment Kit
 Email Linda for Board Evaluation forms

26.  15 percent discount on Linda’s books (and
other CharityChannel books)
 Use discount code: linda2014books

27.  www.LindaLysakowski.com
 Follow me:
Linda Lysakowski, LLC
@LLysakowskiLLC
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
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Email me: Linda@LindaLysakowski.com