What we hear most from nonprofit fundraising consultants is the need for our clients to improve their boards – to keep them engaged and focused on fundraising. If you are serious about improving your board in this new year, your leadership must create a strategic approach and be flexible in changing old habits. You should also consider bringing in an outside consultant to assess and make recommendations. In our combined 50 years of working shoulder-to-shoulder with nonprofits as they improve their board structures and processes, we have learned how to build stronger, more engaged boards that better support the nonprofits they serve. While fixing your board’s biggest problems is not going to happen overnight, you will walk away from this webinar with ideas for how to kick off the new year with an approach for how to begin to make the adjustments necessary to give you strong board leadership in support of your mission. Presenters: Stephen K. Orr, Managing Partner, Orr Associates Inc. (OAI); Kelly Dunphy, Vice President, Fundraising and Development, Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI); and Jenny Taylor, Marketing Specialist, GuideStar USA (moderator)

1. Overcoming Your Less Than Perfect Board
January 9, 2014
Steve Orr, Managing Partner, OAI
Kelly Dunphy, Vice President, Fundraising and Development, OAI
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2. Introductions
Steve Orr
Managing Partner and Co-Founder, Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI)
Founder and Executive Director, Youth, I.N.C.
Kelly Dunphy
Vice President, Fundraising and Development,
Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI)
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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3. Current Situation*
• 75% of executive directors call board member
engagement insufficient
• 17% of executive directors reported that their boards
have no involvement in fundraising at all
• Only 48% of development directors at high-performing
organizations reported having “a lot of influence” on
board member participation in fundraising
• 25% of organizations have no board fundraising
committee
* From Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit
Fundraising., Compass Point. http://www.compasspoint.org/underdeveloped
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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4. Agenda
• Elements of an Excellent Board
• Common Board Issues and How to Overcome Them
• Five Changes to Make to Your Board Now
• Q&A
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
4

5. Agenda
• Elements of an Excellent Board
• Common Board Issues and How to Overcome Them
• Five Changes to Make to Your Board Now!
• Q&A
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
5

6. Elements of an Excellent Board
Active Nominating or
Governance
Committee
Job Description
Effective Chair
Performance
Assessments
Diversity
Commitment
100% Participation in
Fundraising
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
6

7. Elements of an Excellent Board:
Active Nominating or Governance
Committee
• The Nominating or Governance Committee should work
consistently throughout the year to:
– Identify, cultivate, recruit, and orient new members
– Identify board leadership through a well-considered succession
plan
w ww.oai-usa.com
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7

8. Elements of an Excellent
Board: Job Description
• Your organization’s board member job description should
include expectations in all or most of the following categories:
− Advocacy for the organization and its mission
− Service/attendance
− Fundraising activity/financial support
− Governance
− Knowledge of the organization
− Access to information and confidentiality
− Accountability
w ww.oai-usa.com
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8

9. Elements of an Excellent
Board: Effective Chair
• The Board Chair should work effectively with:
– The board, both as individuals and as a group, during formal meetings
– The CEO and other members of the management team
– External stakeholders
• Key Skills/Qualities include:
– Builds and maintains strong relationships
– Committed and proactive
– Supports the vision and helps set strategies
– Problem-solver
– Has and uses connections to advance the organization
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
9

10. Elements of an Excellent Board:
Performance Assessments
• Each year, the Governance Committee should:
– Evaluate the board’s performance
– Evaluate the performance of individual board members
• A board self-assessment:
– Gets input from all board members on how the board is performing
against best practice standards
– Measures performance against the board job description
• BoardSource recommends that boards conduct board selfassessments and individual member assessments in
alternating years
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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11. Elements of an Excellent Board:
Diversity
Sectors
Skills
Demographics
Other Factors
Defense
Legal
Age
Nonprofit Board Experience
High Tech
Finance & Accounting
Gender
Personal Wealth
Government
Investment
Race
“Plays well with others”
Developers
Human Resources
Residence
Corporate or foundation ties
Legal
Government Relations
Education
Marketing
Health Care
IT
Banking
Fundraising
Ties to other organizations
Retail
Nonprofit
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
11

12. Elements of an Excellent
Board: Commitment
• Your organization should be one of the top three philanthropic
causes for each of your board members
• Consistent meeting attendance
• Committee participation
• Event attendance
• Willing to make hard decisions and address complex issues in
order to advance the organization
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
12

13. Elements of an Excellent Board:
100% Participation in Fundraising
• Give generously
• Be an advocate
• Participate in fundraising
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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14. Elements of an Excellent Board:
100% Participation in Fundraising
• Give generously
– Set give/get expectations
– Provide board members with an annual commitment form that covers
annual giving, events, and any other fundraising activities for which you
solicit your board members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
14

15. Elements of an Excellent Board:
100% Participation in Fundraising
• Be an advocate
– Tell your own personal story related to the organization
• How did you get involved?
• Why do you stay committed?
– Know the organization’s case for support
• What are the fact and figures?
• How is philanthropic support used by the organization?
• How can people give?
– Have an “elevator speech”
• Compose your own 30 second summary to be used when asked about the organization
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
15

16. Elements of an Excellent Board:
100% Participation in Fundraising
• Participate in fundraising
– Identification
– Cultivation
– Solicitation
– Stewardship
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
16

17. Elements of an Excellent Board:
100% Participation in Fundraising
Identification
Current supporters,
personal networks,
screening, rating, research
Stewardship
Thanking, recognizing,
communicating, involving
Cultivation
Building the relationship
through communications,
events, personal visits
Solicitation
Asking the right person, at
the right time, by the right
asker, for the right amount
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
17

18. Agenda
• Elements of an Excellent Board
• Common Board Issues and How to Overcome Them
• Five Changes to Make to Your Board Now!
• Q&A
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
18

19. Common Board Issues and
How to Overcome Them
1. A founder's board
2. A board in need of transition
3. A board recruited without performance expectations or a
job description
4. An unengaged board – except for a few members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
19

20. Common Board Issues and
How to Overcome Them
1. A founder's board
2. A board in need of transition
3. A board recruited without performance expectations or a
job description
4. An unengaged board – except for a few members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
20

21. A Founder's Board
• Case Study: Youth, I.N.C.
– 20-year old organization
– Founder is still Executive Director
– Potential issues:
• Used personal network to recruit board – lack of turnover
• Failure to adapt to changing needs/directions
– How they made it work:
• Board recruitment is a constant priority
• Board members are moved off the board due to non-performance
• Created a separate “Sustaining Board” to keep “non-performers” engaged
• Involved board members in strategic planning process
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
21

22. Common Board Issues and
How to Overcome Them
1. A founder's board
2. A board in need of transition
3. A board recruited without performance expectations or a
job description
4. An unengaged board – except for a few members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
22

23. A Board in Need of Transition
• Case Study: NYC-based youth social services organization
– 30-year old organization
– Issues:
• Board membership included several non-performers
• No established give/get amount
• Gap in industries and skill sets, particularly in finance, which is a key industry in NYC
from which to target board members
• Same donors year after year – needed access to new networks of potential donors
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
23

24. A Board in Need of Transition
• Case Study: NYC-based youth social services organization
– How they improved:
• Recruited a special committee from existing board members, with an objective to identify
and recruit new board members from the finance, media, and real estate industries
• Established a minimum give/get of $25,000 for new board members
• Adopted a new board job description
• Board Chair and CEO were highly engaged in the project and acknowledged that the
process could take at least a year
• Recruited 9 new board members in 12 months, all committed to the new give/get policy
and job description
• The project injected much-needed energy into the board overall, and helped improve
existing board member participation as well
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
24

25. Common Board Issues and
How to Overcome Them
1. A founder's board
2. A board in need of transition
3. A board recruited without performance expectations or a
job description
4. An unengaged board – except for a few members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
25

26. A Board Recruited without a Job
Description
• Potential issues:
– No giving and fundraising requirement
– No ability to measure board members against responsibilities
– Greater likelihood of non-performing board members since expectations
were not provided in writing during the recruitment process or once onboard
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
26

27. A Board Recruited without a Job
Description
• Recommendations:
– Work with the Governance or Nominating Committee to craft and adopt a
job description using industry best practices as well as any customization
for your organization
– Have board members sign an annual “contract”, committing to the time
and financial/fundraising expectations
– Conduct annual assessments of board members using the expectations
to which they agreed
– Have honest conversations with any members who consistently don’t
meet their commitments
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
27

28. Common Board Issues and
How to Overcome Them
1. A founder's board
2. A board in need of transition
3. A board recruited without performance expectations or a
job description
4. An unengaged board – except for a few single members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
28

29. An Unengaged Board
• Potential issues:
– A few members, by being most engaged with their time and financial
capacity, control the agenda and the strategy for the organization
– Risk losing the voices of members from different industries, with different
skill sets, etc.
• Recommendations:
– Consider term limits if you don’t already have them
– Conduct a board assessment of both the board as a whole and individual
members
• Use the results to make changes
• Have honest conversations with disengaged members
– Launch a robust board recruitment effort
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
29

30. Agenda
• Elements of an Excellent Board
• Common Board Issues and How to Overcome Them
• Six Changes to Make to Your Board Now!
• Q&A
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
30

31. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and require each board
member to sign it annually or at the beginning of each term
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
31

32. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and require each board
member to sign it annually or at the beginning of each term
2. Retire non-performing board members
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
32

33. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and require each board
member to sign it annually or at the beginning of each term
2. Retire non-performing board members
3. Require 100% of board members to participate in
fundraising
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
33

34. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and require each board
member to sign it annually or at the beginning of each term
2. Retire non-performing board members
3. Require 100% of board members to participate in
fundraising
4. Ensure your CEO/Executive Director is spending at least
30% of his/her time with the board
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
34

35. CEO Working with the Board
• Board responsibilities of the CEO:
– Train your board on how to fundraise
– Provide administrative support to your board (e.g., marketing materials,
supporting documents, donation processing, etc.)
– Throughout the year, meet with each board member to ensure their
needs and goals are being met
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
35

36. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and get each board member
to sign it now
2. Remove weak board members by placing them on
committees
3. Get your board engaged in fundraising ASAP
4. Ensure your CEO/Executive Director is spending at least
30% of his/her time with the board
5. Identify your board needs and begin to recruit new board
members to fill the gaps
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
36

37. Board Recruitment is a
Year-Long Function
Identify needs for the next several
years using a profile of your current
board
Approve the slate - inform new and
renewed board members
Orient new board members
Determine renewals and
retirements and have
conversations with both; Identify
candidates who meet identified
needs
Interview candidates using a job
description - determine a “slate” to
be presented to the full board;
cultivation could take several steps
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
37

38. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and get each board member
to sign it now
2. Remove weak board members by placing them on
committees
3. Get your board engaged in fundraising ASAP
4. Ensure your CEO/Executive Director is spending at least
30% of his/her time with the board
5. Identify your board needs and begin to recruit new board
members to fill the gaps
6. Consider working with outside counsel for an objective
voice to help steer the board toward needed transition
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
38

39. Six Changes to Make to Your
Board Now!
1. Create a board job description and get each board member
to sign it now
2. Remove weak board members by placing them on
committees
3.
4.
Remember: Changes to
Get your board engaged dofundraising ASAP
your board in not happen
Ensure your overnight – could take
CEO/Executive Director is spending at least
months, even years
30% of his/her time with the board
5. Identify your board needs and begin to recruit new board
members to fill the gaps
6. Consider working with outside counsel for an objective
voice to help steer the board toward needed transition
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
39

40. Agenda
• Elements of an Excellent Board
• Top Board Issues and How to Overcome Them
• Six Changes to Make to Your Board Now!
• Q&A
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
40

41. Q&A
Thank you!
Steve Orr
sorr@oai-usa.com
(202) 719-8080
Kelly Dunphy
kdunphy@oai-usa.com
(212) 424-1933
w ww.oai-usa.com
Copyright © 2014 Orr Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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