This is the Nonprofit Water Cooler, unleashing knowledge about the real nonprofit world.

Today’s Spill

• How to be a quality board member

• Bad debt

• “1 hand, $1M, No Tears”

The Five Elements of Top Performing Board Members

My last post was focused in on creating a quality board of directors from the seat of the CEO.

Now let’s shift gears and talk about being on the board - what to do and what not to do.

1. Don’t be a jerk

Simple statement.

Seems obvious but the amount of jerks on boards is wild to me.

Use your experience in whatever line of work you are coming from to help solve problems/influence outcomes. Don’t use this experience to show how much better you are than the organization.

Here are a few gems over the years to help identify your jerks:

• Pointing out a typo in materials in a live board/committee setting.

• Using your volunteer position to jockey business - either from the nonprofit itself or from fellow volunteers.

• Asking for additional work to be performed for your own benefit/desire, not at the benefit of the entire board and/or committee you serve.

• Starting any commentary with “well in my experience at [mega corporation], we do things this way.” We get it, you’re awesome and you want us to know it. But be aware that your local nonprofit has less resources than Apple.

• Seeking expert advise from professionals serving the nonprofit - i.e. - being on an investment committee and asking for personal portfolio advice.

My biggest advice to incoming or active board members - leave your ego at the door. Come with an open mind that you were called upon to help the organization. They want your expertise and influence. Use your talents to move the organization forward, not to flex your muscle for ego’s sake.

2. Show up

Absence from your obligations to the board/committee you serve on is inexcusable.

If you aren’t going to honor the time, don’t volunteer it.

3. Donate or get donations

Board members should all be required to donate a certain amount of money or generate a certain amount of money through their contacts (preferably both).

This is important for two reasons:

1. Grantors actually look for 100% board participation in grant applications

2. If you are not donating and committed to the organization, it sends a terrible message to the community you are trying to fundraise through.

For small to mid size organizations, there should be a $5K-$10K minimum for “give or get.” “Give or get” simply means give the money yourself or be willing to get those donations through your contacts (see “Influence or Affluence”). The board is equally responsible with the management team to cultivate donors and dollars to meet fundraising goals.

I once saw a board member of an organization donate $100, and asked to spread it over a five year period. For those struggling with the math, that’s $20 a year. This person actually drafted this “pledge” in a letter. The administration alone of such a multi year commitment would not cover the cost of the donation itself.

I know not everyone can meet such a recommended $ demand. But, the organization needs its volunteers to be able to do so.

If you cannot meet the “give or get” criteria, wait to join a nonprofit board when you can.

4. Bring something to the table

There are certain instances where a board member isn’t a jerk, they give, get and show up, but also bring an expertise that is irreplaceable.

I once worked with an organization whose board chair was a very successful developer/general contractor. The organization was near the final stages of completing construction for its capital campaign. This volunteer proceeded to act as the GC on the project, saving the organization hundreds of thousands of dollars - and did not ask for a penny in return.

Offering your expertise ego-free is one of the largest contributions you can make to your NPO. Other examples I have seen volunteers contribute:

• a CPA taking over the bookkeeping for an organization that did not have one - free of charge

• a lawyer providing pro bono work on legal matters

• an HR expert providing consultation/materials to help mitigate potential risks - at zero cost

The reality is that most nonprofits can benefit from your professional experience. Offer it to them without expecting something in return.

5. Avoid self-interest

**Example time - leaning into the last post, you are a volunteer for the Boys and Girls club.

Due to lower participation, the CEO determines that staying open from 4PM to 6PM is losing the organization money. 4 PM is now the new service end time to preserve profitability (and thus sustainability of the program).

But - your kids attend this program every day until 6 PM because you and your wife are both working parents. This financial decision by the CEO is negatively impacting you as a participant in the program.

Rather than lean into finding a solution to the low enrollment, you threaten to quit the board because of the change to fulfill your own self-interest. The CEO feels pressured by you as a donor/volunteer, and changes their decision. The organization proceeds to lose more money, but hey you got what you wanted.

Acting on self-interest is not being a board volunteer. If you cannot separate you as the individual from the greater good, you should not be on the board.

Do not ever put yourself in a conflict of interest position. If you are directly impacted by something like this story, recuse yourself of any influence over the decision.

Tea Time - The Missing Headcover

One of the first nonprofits I worked with had a very dysfunctional board. It was more of a microcosm of a very erratic CEO, but it still did not make my life easier.

I got hooked into playing in a local golf tournament in a foursome - me/CEO and two other board members.

Day of CEO dips, and now I’m stuck with the two volunteers, solo. One of which I worked with somewhat regularly in his officer role - OK person but definitely guilty of some of the “jerk” examples discussed above.

Let’s talk about what went wrong with this volunteer on this day. Let’s call them John for sake of the story.

• Strike 1 - entering the event, John opted out of paying any money for the add-on package for $100. Keep in mind, John did not sponsor the foursome and John’s nonprofit was a direct beneficiary of proceeds earned.

• Strike 2 - the food offered was simple fanfare - burgers and dogs. While eating my lunch, John read me the riot act about the carcinogens in processed meats. Citing scientific journals with statistics, explained how I would likely get cancer.

• Strike 3 - the other beneficiary of the charity event was the local college golf team. On one of the holes, you pay $20 for a college golfer to hit four shots for you. Being they are college golfers, they are better than the white belt wearing wannabes they are hitting shots for. This is a common fundraising tool at these charity golf tournaments (trust me I know because I’ve played in hundreds of them unwillingly). Rather than chip the kid the $20, John requested they hit the shots first to determine if the result was aligned with the intrinsic value of the $20 to be paid. Unable to handle the awkward situation I gave the kid the $20 (plus a secret tip for handling John), he performed well.

Needless to say, I’m over John. Fortunately, serendipity struck.

On one of the holes, I saw the headcover for their driver drop out of the golf cart onto the course. About to call it to their attention, I stop myself, and decide to let it go unnoticed because I’m bitter about the cancer hot dogs I just ate.

Two holes later, the volunteer sees his headcover missing, and proceeds in a search and rescue style mission to locate it (side note - this was a stock golf manufactured cover, not a family heirloom). They call the pro shop, seek out the marshal, find any able bodied adult to assist in this search.

Playing dumb to the situation, I allow them to go off on the wild goose chase, and get to play two holes by myself. They triumphantly return with the found head cover, with John wiping tears from his eyes for the return of the prodigal head cover.

I’m not super proud of the moment, but after everything that happened, it felt pretty good.

What Else is Steepin’

I just re-read Michael Lewis’ “Liar’s Poker,” after years since my first read.

I forgot how enjoyable his tell-all business books are. Opening scene between John Gutfreund challenging John Meriwether to a game of Liar’s Poker - “one hand, one million dollars, no tears”…freaking iconic.

Most of my reading revolves around business of the for profit nature. I don’t do a ton of reading exclusive to the nonprofit industry for two reasons:

1) There just is not that much out there

2) Nonprofits are still businesses that need to managed as such. They might not create shareholder value, pay dividends, or manage a stock price. But they still have to stay sustainable throughout their years to continuously deliver on their mission. This sustainability management has more learnings via true business content vs. explicit content for the nonprofit space

Keep Dishin,

theNPdubC

PS tell your friends, family, and nonprofit jerks! I’m having a blast writing the content, but want to get more feedback to future topics people might want to know about!