Board Development is of paramount importance in organizations, as it ensures that board members possess the necessary skills, knowledge, and capabilities to fulfill their roles and responsibilities effectively. Their collective expertise and guidance contribute significantly to the success and sustainability of nonprofit entities.

Find below our articles about Board Development best practices.

Top 10 Things to Look For in New Board Members

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How do you determine who to ask to join the board of your wonderful cause? If you really want to enlist a Dream Team Board, look for folks with these qualities. And if you’d like a recruitment guide - you can use my 24-page Recruit Your…

How to Stop Meddling Board Members

Last week I heard two people suggest that many Executive Directors don’t really want their board members engaged. Why? Because they are afraid their board members will “meddle.” What do I mean by meddling? It’s when a well-meaning…

Manifesto for a Fundraising Board

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Is your board ready to assume real leadership for your organization's future? If your board is ready to move from "managing" to "leading," here's a Manifesto for them to embrace. Wikipedia defines "manifesto" as "a public declaration…

How to Unleash Your Board Members’ Energy for Fundraising

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I had the pleasure of talking to the very smart and wonderful Michael Chatman yesterday on his popular live radio “Giving Show.” We were talking about my favorite subject – how to get board members fired up and active in fundraising. You…

4 Questions To Rev Up Your Board’s Energy and Enthusiasm

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Do you want to get the most out of your warm-hearted, wonderful volunteers? Do you wish you could generate more enthusiasm among your board members? In my work with boards around the country, I've found some magic questions that can awaken…

5 Fundraising Mistakes We Make With Our Boards

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Do your nonprofit board members avoid fundraising? If your board members back off when they should be pitching in, this may be why! Don't make these mistakes that hurt, rather than help, our cause. Mistake #1: Thinking that fundraising is…

Why Your Board Needs Term Limits

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Is your board reluctant to enforce term limits? If so, the board is in danger of becoming stale and set in its ways. And when that happens, your entire organization may be at risk - sooner than you think. This is a very, very dangerous place…

14 Easy Ways Board Members Can Raise Money

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Board members can be enthusiastic fundraisers if you make it easy for them. Here are 14 examples of very specific natural, comfortable formats for asking. It's so helpful to board members when we can show them easy ways to make the ask. Offer…

Checklist for a Top-Level Board Governance Committee

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Who is looking out for the care and feeding of your board? You really, really need a Governance Committee to do this important work. In fact, we can't think of anything MORE important. Because if you want to have a high-performing board,…

26 Practices of High Performing Boards

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So many nonprofit boards are stuck in one way or another. Whether the nonprofit is large or small, I see so many of the same challenges with board governance. I'm thinking a lot about boards this week, as I prepare for a big workshop on boards.…

How to Enlist Your Dream Team Board

Wouldn't you love to enlist the right team of people who can catapult your organization to a whole new level? Yes, that's the Holy Grail for lots of nonprofits. Getting the boards we need and deserve. Getting the leadership, the…

3 Tips for Managing “Up:” How to Get Your Board To Do What You Need Them To Do

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Managing your board is one of the greatest challenges for every nonprofit leader. And talk about a pain point! Lots of my nonprofit friends are wildly frustrated by their relationship with their board members:  "Tell me what to do with…

What You Can Count on From Your Board – And What You Can’t

Whenever I bring up the subject of boards, so many fundraisers roll their eyes. Why are our boards such a huge pain point and what can we do about it? I say we have to face reality about some sensitive topics: people, motivation, volunteers…

10 Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards Members

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There's so much confusion about the appropriate job of a nonprofit board member.

Lots of boards ask me to help them understand what their work really is. I often refer to a list that BoardSource created a few years ago that has become a reference in our sector.

Here's the list. I'll be discussing these responsibilities in my upcoming blog posts. There's lots to talk about here! What do they really mean? How do you implement them?

Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards From BoardSource

  1. Determine the organization's mission and purpose. It is the board's responsibility to create and review a statement of mission and purpose that articulates the organization's goals, means, and primary constituents served.
  2. Select the chief executive. Boards must reach consensus on the chief executive's responsibilities and undertake a careful search to find the most qualified individual for the position.
  3. Provide proper financial oversight. The board must assist in developing the annual budget and ensuring that proper financial controls are in place.