connecting your mission and your money is not a dark art!
A complaint I often hear from leaders of small nonprofits is that their volunteer board is not working — not contributing constructively, not raising funds, not using their networks, lacking the skills you need … so they get lost in the detail and meddle in stuff they don’t fully understand.
A common theme for cash-strapped nonprofits is a failure of board members to connect their mission with their funding model – no financing plan, no case for support, and no involvement in resourcing your strategy. Or worse, board members who believe asking for money is a form of the ‘dark arts’!
At the end of the day, there is no mission without money. A board can’t make strategic decisions about your nonprofit’s operations without fully understanding and contributing to its financial model.
Every board member should – in some way, however small – help money flow to your mission. It could be giving within their means, sharing funding prospects, meeting donors, turning up at events, calling donors to say thank you, or working as a public advocate for your mission on social media.
For donors who are invested in your nonprofit’s mission, meeting a board member sends a very powerful message: you have an engaged board that is actively working to fund your mission. Even better, if the board member also donates!
If your board is not fully engaged and contributing to both your mission and your money, it’s time to bring the issue into the open and turn it into something positive.
A board evaluation is a great place to start a respectful, honest conversation about what you really need. It will also help to give board members a clear roadmap for how they can utilise their skills and strengths to help your nonprofit:
- operate more effectively
- focus on the big picture strategy
- articulate your nonprofit’s social change in a compelling way
- understand how money flows and funds programs
- raise more money (meet donors, say thank you etc.)
If that doesn’t work, find new board members who will connect your mission and money!
better charity exists to help nonprofits master their strategy, money and risk and scale your social impact. If you want to chat please reply to this email or get in touch to book a FREE consultation. Let’s kick off a conversation about nonprofit strategy, finance and governance.