On October 8, 2024, Spokes board member Liz Summer and CEO Michael Simkins had the opportunity to talk with long-time radio host Dave Congalton on KVEC’s The Dave Congalton Show. Topics that came up included the difficulty nonprofits are having replenishing their pool of volunteers, efforts to help nonprofits diversify their boards, and how people can get involved with board service. Listen below!
Serving as a director on a nonprofit board offers valuable benefits to both you and your community. You’ll develop leadership skills, expand your network, and make a meaningful impact on a cause you care about. Your volunteer service ensures the organization stays mission-focused and effective, supporting positive change and enhancing the quality of life in your community.
Topics in this short introduction include:
Your responsibilities as a director
The three “duties” of a nonprofit director
Finding the right board for you
Typical time and financial commitment
In his blog Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector, Jim Morgan emphasizes the importance of complementary strengths when you are looking for a collaborative partner organization. As general examples, he cites implementation skills, innovative program design, connections to diverse communities, or strong donor relationships.
That makes sense to me, but I wanted some examples. I’ve been using chatGPT quite a bit lately, but today I decided to try out Microsoft’s Copilot. When I asked for examples, it actually started by elaborating on Morgan’s blog post! I followed up by asking it to provide a couple specific examples of actual nonprofit collaborations. It did a great job!
Feeding America is a nationwide network of food banks that provides food to millions of people. Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) offers after-school programs for young people. By collaborating, Feeding America supplies nutritious meals and snacks to children attending BGCA programs. This partnership ensures that children not only receive educational and recreational support but also have access to healthy food, addressing both educational and nutritional needs.
Habitat for Humanity is known for building affordable housing for families in need. Thrivent Financial is a financial services organization with a strong volunteer base and financial resources. Through their collaboration, Thrivent provides funding and volunteers to support Habitat for Humanity’s home-building projects. This partnership combines Habitat’s expertise in construction and community development with Thrivent’s financial support and volunteer mobilization, resulting in more homes being built for those in need.
Recently I received an announcement that our local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals is having a showing and discussion of Uncharitable, a feature-length documentary that “exposes the dark side of philanthropy and introduces a radical new way of giving.” That intrigued me. I learned the title comes from a book of the same name by Dan Pallotta, which led me to this TED Talk.
It’s fascinating and I wanted to share it! See what you think.
Many of our local nonprofits have put considerable effort into diversifying their boards of directors. That’s good work toward the “D” in DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion. Today, let’s give some attention to the concept of equity.
First, let’s differentiate equity from equality. Equity refers to fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all individuals. Unlike equality, which implies treating everyone the same, equity recognizes that different people have different circumstances and allocates resources and opportunities accordingly. College scholarships based on need are one classic example of equity. The Americans with Disabilities Act is another.
There are numerous visual depictions to contrast the two concepts. I like this one, from Sketchplantations, used by permission.
One powerful way for nonprofit leaders to promote equity is to identify and remove barriers. Attorney Heidi Christianson suggests two places to start. One is barrier language. She recommends eliminating “language that feels like ‘legalese’ and processes that are unnecessary. For example, “If Bylaws and policies are to represent an organization’s collective expectations, they need to be welcoming to all people.” In fact, composing such documents in clear, straightforward language may make it easier for everyone to understand and comply with them!
The second is barriers to service. For instance, Christianson encourages us to “think about meeting times, prohibition on board compensation, and length of board terms.” Look at your list of board expectations or your board member job description. Though not intending to, do they automatically put hurdles in the path of board service for some people but not others?
Here are additional resources for advancing equity in the nonprofit board room:
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