How to Engage Nonprofit Board Directors

If I had to rebuild a nonprofit board from scratch today, I wouldn’t start with donations, instead I would start with: Decisions. Because most boards aren’t underperforming due to lack of funding. They’re underperforming due to lack of firepower. Here’s exactly how I’d build a board that acts more like a founding team: 1. Recruit for wisdom, not wallets Stop saying: “We need help fundraising.” Start saying: “We’re assembling a strategy team to scale [your mission].” You’ll attract operators, not spectators. Mission-obsessed thinkers instead of passive check-writers. 2. Treat them like co-founders, not cheerleaders Forget the tired “give, get, or get off.” Do this instead: • Assign 90-day micro-committees • Match board seats to real functions (finance, policy, partnerships, etc.) • Give them a problem to solve, not a deck to watch People join boards to build. Not just vote. 3. Build range, not just representation Diversity isn’t only about background. It’s also about capability. Your dream board includes: • A CFO who’s saved a company from collapse • A founder who’s scaled under pressure • A comms expert who can turn your work into headlines • A policy insider who’s worked the system from the inside That’s how you make your board crisis-proof. 4. No more status updates Board meetings should feel like war rooms, not weather reports. • Send a pre-read • Ask one bold question: “What’s blocking our growth this quarter?” • Leave with actions, not applause People thrive when they’re pushed to think, not just sit. 5. They don’t need to raise money. They need to open doors If your plan is “ask their friends for $500”… you don’t have a plan. Instead: • Train them to broker strategic intros • Have them host private briefings • Leverage their name in the room • Get them active on LinkedIn Smart boards don’t just support your work. They scale it. 6. Culture over bylaws The best boards run on: • Candor over comfort • Curiosity over control • Momentum over perfection You can’t build a high-impact board on politeness and PowerPoints. In 2025, a board should feel less like a committee. And more like a startup team. Not a group of donors. A circle of builders. Comment “Board” and I’ll send you a free resource to help you build one. With purpose and impact, Mario

Your board says they want more major gifts. So you give them a list of prospects. They freeze. Not because they don’t care. Not because they’re unwilling. But because we keep handing them tasks instead of roles. A nonprofit I worked with was frustrated. “The board won’t help fundraise,” the CEO said. When we looked closer, here’s what the board had been given: A list of 40 names A vague ask to “open doors” No clarity on what success looked like So we changed one thing. We stopped asking board members to fundraise and started asking them to be themselves—with structure. Each board member got: 2–3 people they already knew well One specific action (thank-you call, intro email, host coffee) Exact language they could use A clear outcome (“introduce,” not “ask”) No solicitation required. Within six months: More donor conversations happened Staff had warmer, faster paths to major gift meetings Board confidence went up—and resistance went down Boards don’t avoid fundraising because they’re disengaged. They avoid it because we’ve made it vague, awkward, and high-risk. Clarity lowers fear. Specificity creates movement. Stop asking boards to raise money. Start inviting them to play a clear, human role in relationships. That’s where momentum starts.

Does the board serve the nonprofit, or does the nonprofit serve the board? Too many organizations think they're doing 'board engagement', when they're really doing 'overboard engagement'. Board engagement is about enabling directors to fulfill their board role in a meaningful and satisfying way. When the board understands their role, is supported in their work, and feels connected to the organization’s core purpose, everyone wins. But often, we take the concept of board engagement too far, and we end up dedicating significant time and resources to cater to the egos and interests of individual board members. I call this ‘overboard engagement’. And if you’re an ED or CEO who has dealt with boards, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Board engagement looks like: ✅ Defining board roles to create role clarity for board volunteers, so they know what to do and how to do it well. ✅ Providing learning opportunities that help board directors better fulfill their role, and hopefully also contribute to personal or professional development. ✅ Providing opportunities for meaningful leadership inside the scope of the board. ✅ Creating a collaborative space where board directors feel like part of a team. ✅ Connecting board directors to the real challenges and purpose of impact work. ✅ Demonstrating meaningful appreciation for board director contributions, and stewarding the relationship over time. Overboard engagement looks like: ❌ Creating or maintaining unnecessary committees that align with a specific director’s skillset just so they feel useful. ❌ Allowing board directors to interfere with staff work. ❌ Writing an unnecessary report to satisfy a board director who is asking questions in bad faith. ❌ Spending significant amounts of staff time to answer calls or emails from board directors (or meeting 1-on-1 for no good reason!). ❌ Tiptoeing around a difficult board director because they are holding their access wealth or resources ‘hostage’. Board engagement benefits everyone. But overboard engagement is inherently harmful. It leaves executive staff stressed and overwhelmed, and sucks up a great deal of time and energy that could be directed toward more impactful work. It leaves board volunteers confused and dissatisfied because they feel disconnected from the real work of the board - nobody feels good about busy work! And it robs the organization of the leadership it needs because governance becomes focused on short-term interpersonal dynamics instead of big picture strategic and administrative decisions. And often, those interpersonal dynamics can be quite toxic! In that context, overboard engagement perpetuates harmful power dynamics which can contribute to staff burnout and drive good people away from the organization. So by all means, be intentional about board engagement, but avoid overboard engagement at all costs! 🤔 Have you seen overboard engagement at play? What other examples would you add to my list?

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀. For many nonprofit board members, the idea of “reaching out to their network” triggers discomfort. Not because they don’t believe in the mission - but because, to them: Outreach = Asking friends for money. But what most organizations need first from their board is not a donation request. It’s an introduction. ➡️ A quick conversation to share why they’re excited about the mission. ➡️ A pulse check to see if the contact might be interested in learning more. ➡️ And if there’s a spark, a warm handoff to the right staff person - major gifts, development, or corporate partnerships - to take it from there. Here’s how fundraisers can make this work: 🔹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸: Don’t say, “Can you ask your contact for a gift?” Instead: “Would you be willing to share what excites you about our mission and see if they'd like to meet our team?” 🔹𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: Share 1–2 sentences board members can use. Make it conversational, not canned. (“I’ve gotten involved with an organization doing incredible work in [area]. Thought it might be worth a quick intro if it sparks your interest.”) 🔹 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲: Emphasize that the goal is exploration, not solicitation. Let the development team guide the next steps, when appropriate. 🔹 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁: A simple intro can unlock significant support - not just financial, but connections, visibility, and community impact. At the end of the day, board members joined because they care. Helping them see that introductions are an extension of their passion - not a pitch - can put them at ease. What’s worked for you in encouraging board engagement in donor or partner outreach? #fundraising #nonprofits #nonprofitboards P.S. An exercise I just went through with one of my clients, after we identified potentially aligned businesses to reach out to, was to research the board of directors for each of those companies and compile a list of names and bios that the Executive Director could share with the nonprofit board simply to see if there were any connections.