This week, we discuss aspects of nonprofit board membership prospective board members should consider before joining a board. Everyone on the board should be willing to give their time, talent, and treasure to their organization. Be sure to ask plenty of questions prior to joining a board to have a clear understanding of the level of commitment the organization is expecting.
Transcript:
Welcome this week’s episode of i501(c)You the podcast for nonprofit board members. Or perhaps this should be entitled the podcast for perspective Board Members. In my work, a lot of talk with the boards I work with is recruiting and adding new board members. But what’s interesting is I’m out and about and oftentimes I’ll get asked a question.
Well, it’s probably not that often, but I get asked the question, Should I join a nonprofit board? And of course, my standard response is, of course you should. But I realize I probably need to put a framework together to answer that question, to put it in some context so prospective board members can really digest and think through. Does it make sense for them to join a nonprofit board?
Hey, I want to jump in real quick. Somebody asked me the other day, what does the Corley Company do? Well, we do three things for non-profits. One, we facilitate meetings. Yes, like board retreats where we discuss governance and strategy with all the members of the board. Number two, advise CEOs and help them as they make decisions and implement actions to drive their mission.
And then finally, we produce podcasts such as this one, but also for a number of nonprofits to help you get the word out, get your message out. So if you’re interested in any of these services, please feel free to reach out to Michael@thecorleycompany.com. Now back to the podcast.
So this framework you probably all have heard before, but I thought it’s very, very simple. It’s looking at your time, your talent and your treasuries. We’ve all heard that. That’s the three things we have the ability to offer. So let’s talk about time for a second. Do you have the time to be on a nonprofit board? Are you willing to commit the time to attending the meetings, to going to events, to contributing?
Do you have the bandwidth to do that? You may have the time, but do you have the energy and the bandwidth to do it? So I think that starts depending on where you are in your career, what other organizations you’re affiliated with. Time is a significant consideration because the last thing you want to do is join a nonprofit board and then not be able to participate.
Not only does that, you know, does that make you feel not so good, but it really brings down the rest of the organization. So time do you have the time to commit talent? Do you have something to offer to that board? Are you willing to contribute your talents to that board? Kind of ties in with time a little bit, but your area of expertise, is there something that that nonprofit board needs that you’re willing and able to contribute to?
Of course, the standard ones is an account in the CPA. Everybody every nonprofit board looks for a CPA, look for an attorney because of the legal expertise. But perhaps you raise money in another world. Perhaps you’ve got experience in h.r. Perhaps extra strategic planning. Perhaps it’s something related to the operations of the organization. Do you have something to offer that nonprofit based on your talents and your experiences?
And and number three is treasure your money. Are you willing to make this organization your number one funding priority? Meaning when you join that board, is this rise to number one in terms of the organizations you’re going to donate and contribute to every year? If the answer is no, you really get to ask yourself, is this something I want to be involved in?
And I say that because, you know, oftentimes people will join multiple boards and so that dilutes them and their effectiveness and then all dilutes diluted their funding. And all nonprofits need funding, hence the word nonprofit. It means they’re not out earning a profit. And a significant source of funding is donations. And as a board member, that ought to be your priority because one of your responsibilities is to ensure the financial viability of the organization, which is done through fundraising, and that’s through your donations.
And also asking friends, colleagues, etc., to become involved and become donors to that organization, which is a whole nother topic. But I share that with you as you’re considering as we go into 2024 New Year, some of you may have on your to do list or in your goals for next year, get involved with the nonprofit. I highly encourage you to do that.
And board member Board responsibility or board work is just absolutely wonderful from a career development perspective, which we’ve talked about before, but just also for contributing to your community perspective. So ask yourself, do you have the time? Do you have the talent, something to offer? And I’d argue everybody does. So do you have the time? Do you have the talent and do you have the treasures?
Are you willing to do that? If you answer yes to all three of those, then you’re on your way to joining a nonprofit board. And the next step would be to find one that is you’re passionate about the mission, because if you’re passionate about the mission and the time, talent, treasures or something, you’re going to want to contribute.
So there you have it. As you’re thinking about joining the nonprofit borders, you’re out recruiting any board members who are out recruiting. You can even frame your conversation, their time, talent and treasures, to perspective board members. I hope you all have a great rest of the week. This is Michael Corley, I501(c) You – the podcast for nonprofit board members.
We’ll see you next week.
Timestamps:
00:00 The Podcast for Prospective Nonprofit Board Members
01:15 Giving your time
02:08 Giving your talent
02:54 Giving your treasure
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