By Tom Colligan, Vice President
Jeffrey Byrne & Associates

Building your organization’s Board of Directors into a “Resource Board” is one of the primary responsibilities of the “Chief Employed Officer,” or CEO.

Recalling from the introduction to this series of articles to assist you in board development (click for Strategies and Tactics For Building A ‘Resource Board’), “A resource board is one that requires each person who serves on the board to bring a minimum level of financial resources either personally or through their direct connections, and often times both. Other qualities will always be required but a candidate for the board must first meet the ‘resource’ qualification to serve.”

Lets talk about the initial and all-important first steps to launch this type of repositioning effort.

Step One: BUILD THE BOARD DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Establishing any committee requires a commission and selection and recruitment of the right leadership to get the job done well. But how many organizations rotate their chair every year or so preventing continuity of the board development process?

The first challenge in creating the Board Development Committee is for the CEO to identify, select, and recruit a partner in the form of a Chairperson. The individual selected for this job must have an affinity for the work of the organization and its contribution to and role in the community. They don’t necessarily have to be a board member, although if the right person becomes involved they will likely want to be part of the board in a few short years.

In more than a few cases, once the right Board Development Committee Chair is identified he/she must be cultivated and sold on the idea of the contribution they can make to the organization. The person with the right characteristics will not need to be educated on the importance and impact of the Board Development Committee for the organization.

A good way to think about the prospective Chair of the Board Development Committee is as the “Chief of Staff” of the Board.

They do not supervise the board; the Chairperson of the Board does that. They will lead the process, with strong staff input, of analyzing the present and future needs of the Board of Directors and develop a list of candidates who, based on the philosophy of creating a resource board, also match other characteristics which the committee will identify based on the long-range plan.

The Chair of the Board Development Committee should be among the best-known and most respected individuals in the community. He or she should be void of as much political baggage as possible. This individual should be part of the community elite who can make a phone call and, “within three degrees of separation,” gain entry to almost anyone in your service area and state. This may seem like a tall order, but it will be easier than you think if you follow a few proven approaches:

• Carefully cultivate the prospect. Don’t make the request until a full and strategic cultivation plan has been satisfied.

• Carefully prepare a committee commission. The commission should include (1) who the committee reports to; (2) the committee make up and who has the authority to select committee members; (3) the term of the chairpersonship; and (4) the committee’s charge, including the section of the By-Laws that empowers them.

• Prepare materials to support the recruitment process. A well-defined plan of work reflecting the time that will be required, the role of staff and how they will support the Committee, and a calendar with deadlines, should be prepared for use in the recruitment meeting.

• Plan your recruitment meeting. In many cases, the individual who issues the invitation to serve will be the single most important factor in your success. Present the reason that this individual is the best for the job, review the commission and the latitude the chair will have, note the amount of time required, the number of meetings, and how the Chair will be supported by staff before your make the formal request.


Step Two: ASSESS THE CURRENT MAKEUP OF YOUR BOARD AND IDENTIFY NEEDS

Building a ‘resource board’ that also supports your organization’s strategic plan must become an uncompromising mission for the Board Development Committee. A skilled consultant will greatly increase the effectiveness of evaluating the current board and minimize the natural bias of “haloing.”

Setting the bar very high and keeping it there for prospective candidates requires real discipline. Even with a strong chair, quality committee members, and the involvement of an outside consultant, there is a tendency to yield to rationalizations that average or “norm down” prospect selection.

The key is to first ask if the candidate can perform as a “resource board member.”

Determine if the candidate possesses personal resources that if so motivated will enable him or her to make a minimum major gift annually and a significant gift via a three- or five-year campaign pledge. This level will vary depending on your organization, but even the smallest organization should look toward an established minimum annual gift and an “Inner Family” campaign pledge.

Develop a pool of 20 to 50 names drawn from suggestions of committee members, donors to like-kind organizations, from “grand lists,” and other resources that give an indication of wealth. You will need to pare down the list, so check it against your membership list, lists of your participants, and even current donors. If foundations have contributed to your organization, review their volunteer board names. The objective is to pare and prioritize the list to identify individuals who have some familiarity, touch, knowledge, or relationship with your organization.

Next, look to your Executive Committee to identify near-term challenges and long-range objectives identified in your strategic plan. List two or three capabilities required to address these priorities.

For instance, if a long-term goal is to secure a new location for program expansion, you may list real estate development, franchising or economic development as desired capabilities. When you review your prospective candidates, their backgrounds and professions may not fit exactly into these categories, but the committee will quickly make connections to the transferable skills that will enable a prospect to make a significant contribution.

In future issues of New$ You Can U$e, we will outline additional steps you can take in building your own Resource Board. Strength of Board leadership is an important criteria in a development audit and is essential to measuring internal and external readiness for a capital or major gift campaign through a Community Readiness AssessmentSM. To learn more about how to strengthen your development efforts, or whether you are ready for a campaign, contact Jeffrey Byrne & Associates at 1-800-222-9233, or visit us on the web at www.jeffreybyrneandassociates.com.