Is Your Board Built For Maximum Impact?

Great Nonprofits Have Great Boards

“Get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.”

- Jim Collins Good to Great

How Do You Do It?

• Reaffirm your Mission, Vision, Values• Identify 3-5 Key Strategies to pursue• Identify the organizational gaps between now

and the desired future• Determine what is need from the board • Recruit board candidates strategically • Embrace and adopt Best Practices

Critical Elements• Having a clear strategic plan• Identifying, qualifying, and recruiting the “right” candidates• Clarifying expectations, orienting and immediately engaging

new directors in board work

• Assigning an experienced board member as a mentor to each new one

• Maintaining high-touch with the new director as he/she begins their service

Critical Elements• Fulfilling their fiduciary duties• Conducting effective meetings• Holding the CEO and board

members accountable• Conducting periodic

assessments of• The organization• The board• Each director• The CEO

Some Boards Are Not Ready…• However, some boards are not put

together for maximum impact:– Skills and talents do not align with

strategy– Too many friends and family involved– A lack of skill set and experiential

diversity– Too many like-minded thinkers– A lack of passion for the cause– Too few gifted with critical thinking

skills

How To Build a Great Board• Update or create a 3 year

strategic plan• Look for good candidates all

year long• Maintain a list of potential

directors• Don’t wait until year-end to

begin searching• Find candidates who bring skills,

connections, and experiences that complement the strategy

How To Build a Great Board– Fully brief candidates on why they are

being considered and clarify expectations—no surprises!• Attendance • Donations • Skills or relationships to be leveraged

– Provide in-depth orientation for new directors, ie• Key issues facing the agency • How the board works and its relationship

with the CEO• Established board protocols, practices,

procedures

How To Build a Great Board– Provide in-depth orientation for new directors, ie• Key issues currently facing the agency • How the board works and its relationship with the CEO• Established board policies, practices, protocols

Orientation and Training

1. Why2. Roles3. Operations4. Funding5. Impact

Bitly.com/board-orientation

Download The Board Orientation e-book

Great Nonprofits Have Great Boards

To learn more about how to build, maintain and lead a board that delivers maximum impact, visit tomokarma.com or check out the top-rated book.