Amid these "Difficult Economic Times" (a term nearing cliché status), organizations are suffering - money lost through investments, down-turn in annual gifts and everyone pointing fingers; "Our Board Members won\'t provide names or ask their social network for support" OR , "Staff isn\'t hitting fund raising goals, we need to trim budgets, cut staff and management will take up the slack". A perfect storm for conflict, a family conflict. In my eyes, staff and board are family, and family dysfunction makes everyone uneasy and stagnant.

1. Family Feud: How to Prevent Falling into the Board Member Conflict Trap.
Amid these "Difficult Economic Times" (a term nearing cliché status),
organizations are suffering - money lost through investments, down-turn in
annual gifts and everyone pointing fingers; "Our Board Members won't
provide names or ask their social network for support" OR , "Staff isn't
hitting fund raising goals, we need to trim budgets, cut staff and management will take up the
slack". A perfect storm for conflict, a family conflict. In my eyes, staff and board are family, and
family dysfunction makes everyone uneasy and stagnant.
The crux is, there seems to be more chatter about board/staff conflict than ever. It's
understandable, fundamental changes are required during times like these. More than ever
before your Board and staff must bond together and find ways to change, remain relevant and
effective. People are watching, particularly donors.
All the same, we know "change" begets discomfort and discontent. Undoubtedly at the turn of
every corner you will be reminded of and faced with resistance as
you delicately mold your organization into a trimmed-down, lean-
and-mean machine. Did I just use "delicate and mean machine" in
the same sentence? Yes, I did. Considering your best bet in
delivering the goods is walking that fine line between diplomacy
and standing strong on firm ground. What you must avoid is
ignoring those grappling with the transformation. Your organization requires everyone moving
in tandem. The unfortunate truth? It's extremely unlikely that everyone will; including board
members. Internal conflict is brewing.
Board conflicts are among the most challenging a nonprofit executive faces. They generally
come in two forms—conflicts among board members and conflicts between the board and
management. Both of these difficult situations require special consideration. Oftentimes, the

2. Board and Executive Team are aware of the conflict, take sides and continue on as if all is well;
until income dwindles and despite all efforts, recovery is unattainable.
If this sounds familiar; let me tell you, it almost always takes a third party (preferably a
professional fundraising consultant) to come in and fix the "fundraising" problem. Any good
consultant will suspect, fairly quickly, that internal
conflict launched the loss of funding. Yet, there is
confidence in a brighter future. I'll tell you why. When
greeted with this situation, I'm mindful of the job at
hand. I am there to fix fundraising; the internal conflict
is a vexing side-effect. But you do need to care for the side-effects before you can fix the
fundraising. Here's how:
UPON ORGANIZATION APPRAISAL, KEEP THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN MIND
)
1) Identify your key stakeholders. Who "gets" it and will work hard
to salvage relationships.
2) Don't get pulled in. Assumptions will be made that you've taken a side. The solution is to
not have "side" conversations. Whenever possible involve those key stakeholders in all
conversations and decisions.
3) Understand the relationships among your board and staff. Who is aligned with whom?
4) Understand the genesis of the problem. Once you have create a value proposition
(reciprocal benefit) for each of them.
5) Address problems immediately. Determine the best person to address those brewing issues.
6) Specifically Align your Key Stake Holders to the organization’s "Fundraising Recovery Plan"
7) Ask for help, and show that you are willing to listen and change

3. Once you have appraised the situation, put your recovery plan (this isn't
the blog on the resurrection of an annual fund - look for that in April) into
place understanding that it MUST bring the staff and board into
alignment. The money will follow. Here's how:
BOARD AND STAFF ALIGNMENT
1) Policies: Do Board member policies need to change? What are their
expectations? Are they aware of their expectations? Are board members
trained and given the organization "elevator speech"?
2) Job Description: If the answer to Q1 is NO, then are Board Member Job descriptions in place?
Are Management Job Descriptions in place OR up-to-date?
3) Giving: Is it abundantly clear that "Family Gives First"? We are not just talking about our
volunteer board members; staff must contribute and that should be clear (the amount for staff
giving is less important than the simple act of giving any amount). 100% participation - Right?
Right!
)
4) Recruitment Practices: Is the Board diverse, representing all aspects of the organization:
Legal, Finance, Community Volunteer (with a strong social network), Member's Representing
the Mission, and Money Managers.
5) Board Meeting Inclusion: Are board meetings open to staff members? If not, open the door.
While it is appropriate to have a portion of the meeting "closed" as an Executive Session; but
then open the doors to those on the front line, your staff.
6) Relentlessly communicate the same vision, values and mission. Whether you ask the person
vacuuming the floor or the President of the Board, "What is this place? What do you do?", all
will respond will the same answer. Everyone understands why they are there and they are
PROUD
7) Provide multiple opportunities for staff input
8) Issue staff progress reports and successes regularly
9) Create a culture of openness, you are a family
10) Be present – both physically and emotionally

4. 11) Motivate, energize, and reward staff
quickly for positive results in moving forward
12) Gather Board and Staff together whenever
possible, eliminate division and unite your
family
If the above practices are put into place as part of the "Fundraising Recovery Plan" you will have
the Board and Staff aligned and working together with joy and a renewed sense of enthusiasm.
For those who do not "get it"; they must be cycled off the board or if staff, they must be let go.
se
Just as Enthusiasm Breeds Enthusiasm. Poison Containments the Well. And that Well is money.
What can you expect when Board and Staff are aligned?
! Your resources (fundraising) will grow
! Your Brand and Name Recognition is Amplified
! Synergy equals sustainability and growth
! Energy is spent on creating a fun environment rather than conflict resolution
! It offers credibility to new board members and revitalizes current board members as they
understand they are a part of the organization's family.
! It gives you a structure and system to foresee and better manage discontent before
ure
escalation
Once you bring the team together (each with a designated
role) working alongside you to implement the plan to
jump-start fundraising, your byproduct is the group
working together. As your Board and Staff watch the plan
work, with funds flowing in not out, moral increases and
bad feelings wane.