I turned 65 last month.  Part of me is in denial-so much so that I still haven't registered for Medicare.  The other part of me is defiant.  Sixty-five-pshaw! So I announce my age and wait until I'm told that I certainly don't look 65. Which brings up other feelings:  pride, distrust, and I channel Gloria Steinem and think, "But this is what 65 looks like."  And then I wonder why it matters at all. 

    All of which makes me appear more insecure about my age than I think I am.  I actually like this age.  I really like that I have experiences on which to draw so that most situations-at least most situations involving fundraising, boards, and such-don't find me flatfooted.  I have been there before.  

I also hope that at the same time I am flexible and secure enough to continue looking at the world with eyes of wonder-always seeking to discover new things and different ways of approaching things.  

   Discovering new things and approaching old things in different ways, of course, is what nonprofits really need to do-especially as it relates to raising money.

   What are the ways you've been fundraising?  How can you build upon what you've been doing?  What things should you be doing differently?  What new things should you be adding?  What things perhaps have grown stale and need to be retired or completely retrofitted?

  Take a look at your donors.  Who are your regular supporters?  How and when do they give?  Can you move them in new ways and-perhaps-excite them so much they make new, additional gifts or increase the amounts they have been giving?  Who don't you have on your donor list?  How can you involve them?        What kinds of outreach do you need to do?

   At 65 I see that the world is a very different place than it was when I was in my twenties, thirties.  Heck, it is different this year than it was last.  Despite change, some things remain.  A few deservedly so, and those are the ones that should be nurtured.  But embracing the new things-that's what makes 65 feel young.  Learning new skills, doing things in new ways, seeing things in new light are all daunting.  But they are what keeps us fresh and gives us the energy to go on.  And it works at all ages.

   So as somebody somewhere must have said:  Honor your past, live in your present, embrace your future.  And think what all this has to do with raising funds.

 Fundraising capacity not where you want it to be?

  Need help in making Board members comfortable with fundraising?    

Oh No!  Not Another Meeting

By Mitch Dorger

  If the title of this article is how you and your board members feel about meetings, then things are not being done well in the organization. Let's face it. Because the authority of the board is a collective one, boards have to have meetings. And in these meetings, they need to effectively interact with one another to make things happen for the organization. Unfortunately, I find that board meetings are often one of the biggest sore points for board members. Why is this?

Among the biggest reasons for poor board meetings are:

1. Poor attendance by board members
2. Lack of interest and engagement
3. Inappropriate human relations in the meeting
4. Lack of preparation
5. Breaches of confidentiality
6. Poor meeting control and management
7. Wasted time
8. Parliamentary foolishness
9. Agonizing length
10. Addressing unimportant topics

If any of these problems (or others) plague your board meetings, I want to recommend a simple model for thinking about future board meetings. For simplicity, I call it the "PME" system.

In the PME system, the "P" stands for plan. All board meetings should be well planned. This seems rather obvious, but what does this actually entail?

1. Attendance. The first step in planning any meeting is determining the right people to be in the room. For a board meeting, this obviously includes all board members as well as the supporting staff necessary to properly inform the board or execute their decisions. To the extent possible, meetings should be planned well in advance. Scheduling in advance significantly increases the prospect that board members can adjust their other commitments to enable their attendance. You may also want to consider having a board attendance policy that makes it clear to board members the importance of meetings and their attendance. The repeated failure of a member to attend meetings may warrant removal from the board for that individual. Continued absence on the part of several board members is in indicative of much larger issues than just meeting management, and a thorough evaluation of causation should be undertaken.
2. Time. The planned time for each meeting should be thought about in advance. This requires an understanding of the goal(s) of the meeting and the complexity of the topics. As a general practice, I like to use a 90-minute rule. My own personal experience is that you can hold people's attention for 90 to 120 minutes. After that, minds seem to numb a bit, and restlessness begins to develop in the group. That is not to say that in unusual circumstances meetings cannot be scheduled for longer, or run longer, I just find that group interactions are not as crisp and effective after the meeting has been going too long. If meeting are going to run beyond 90 minutes, plan breaks in the schedule to allow the members to refresh their minds.
3. Topics. Effective planning involves the proper selection of topics. This task should not be left to staff assistants. This is something the board chair and the chief executive need to work on together. The board needs to address the right topics at the right time. An annual board work plan helps in this regard. The board should know what it plans to accomplish during a year and then periodically check to see that the right things are getting on the agenda. But agenda setting should not just be rote. The board chair and chief executive need to make sure that critical emerging issues for the organization are getting in front of the board. This requires thought and reflection on the part of those assembling the agenda. Another step in ensuring the right agenda topics is polling the board members to ensure that their issues are receiving appropriate attention.   Don't let them feel disenfranchised by excluding their issues. If there are too many issues on the table -- as may well be the case for some meetings -- there needs to be a screening of topics. The board chair and chief executive should work together to ensure that the list of agenda topics contains the issues that are the most crucial for the board to address. Try not to let minor issues or issues not related to governance (read operational issues) intrude on the precious time of the board.
4. Information. The final element of planning is assembling, in advance, the information that the board members need to make informed and rational decisions. Too many times boards will consider pop-up topics and then proceed to pool their ignorance on the matter before reaching a decision that may or may not be a good one. The effective board demands and receives the information it needs to consider the issues surrounding any upcoming decision. Pop-up issues may still happen but more often than not they can be avoided by good planning and preparation. As a matter of policy, board chairs should try to refer any pop-up matters to staff or a board committee for further consideration outside of the meeting rather than trying to decide a matter with insufficient background. (READ MORE)