Board Management During COVID-19: 5 Tips to Keep Up Momentum

The following is a guest post from Jeb Banner, the founder and CEO of Boardable, a nonprofit board management software provider. Jeb is also the founder of two nonprofits, The Speak Easy and Musical Family Tree, as well as a board member of United Way of Central Indiana and ProAct.

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The pandemic has transformed many activities in the nonprofit sector. Event plans have been revised, fundraising strategies have pivoted, and boards have navigated numerous risks and challenges.

Now that we’re many months into the pandemic, these challenges persist, yet the energy to face them may be lagging. Some nonprofit experts credit their boards as the secret to successful fundraising, but you can’t fully embrace that power if your board is meeting less effectively, less often, or worse — not at all.

At Boardable, we believe that effective board management empowers nonprofits to make a bigger impact. Through our experience, we’ve seen firsthand how equipping your board with key resources can amplify your fundraising efforts, strategic planning, and other mission-based work — especially during a crisis.

To help guide your board management efforts during COVID-19, we’ve gathered five of our favorite remote-friendly strategies:

1. Perfect your virtual meeting setup.
2. Balance accountability with empathy.
3. Leverage member strengths to boost engagement.
4. Implement best practices for staying organized.
5. Seek continued feedback on crisis-related plans.

While the challenges brought on by COVID-19 may feel insurmountable, it’s vital to keep up the valuable momentum of your nonprofit’s board. Ready to learn how? Let’s jump in!

1. Perfect Your Virtual Meeting Setup

Chances are, your nonprofit’s board typically convenes in person, and you’ve already had to make some serious changes. With the CDC’s recommendations for travel limitations and social distancing, the traditional boardroom-style meeting is no longer safe or feasible.

While there may be some opportunities for outdoor meetings or other socially-distanced gatherings, most nonprofits are opting to hold meetings virtually.

However, if you’ve ever attended a virtual meeting that wasn’t sufficiently planned or that had technical difficulties, you’ve experienced the potential pitfalls of meeting virtually. When it comes to holding a meeting for your board, there are even more considerations to keep in mind, like bylaws and voting.

Luckily, all of these problems can be avoided. With careful planning and the right technology, you can create a seamless and highly efficient meeting experience for your virtual nonprofit board meeting.

Before you even send out the meeting invitation, consider the following:

• Check bylaws. Consult state laws and your organization’s bylaws to determine what you can and can’t do in a virtual meeting. Many state-level “Sunshine Laws” have been amended to allow for virtual meetings, but you may need to complete additional documentation. You’ll also want to determine how voting protocol is impacted by the remote venue.
• Choose technology. While there is a wide array of generic video call options on the market, these may lack the engagement tools you’re looking for or be difficult for members to navigate. Because of this, your best bet is to consider virtual meeting software designed specifically for nonprofit boards.
• Communicate instructions clearly. Explain all the necessary details for joining and engaging in your virtual meeting. Especially if your board members aren’t very tech-savvy, you should anticipate a high learning curve and try to address key questions in advance. Provide all relevant instructions as well as links for any software that should be downloaded, and encourage your members to test and troubleshoot in advance of the meeting. You may even want to designate an informal tech point person to help others with any questions or confusion.
• Prepare in advance. Make sure you have all of the technical, logistical, and topical details sorted. It may be a smart idea to run a test meeting with a staff member or close advisor just to double-check that everything works as you intended. You’ll also want to ensure your invitation has the correct time listed and includes the necessary links to join the meeting — this “location” information doesn’t take a backseat just because you aren’t meeting in person.

A thoughtful approach and careful planning can drastically reduce the number of problems (and awkward silences) you’ll encounter in a virtual board meeting. This list isn’t exhaustive, so be sure to consider any additional elements that are relevant to your organization for the best results.

2. Balance Accountability with Empathy

Remind your nonprofit board members they have a job to do—but keep in mind that your board members are only human.

The COVID-19 era presents a unique set of challenges for all, and it’s important to recognize the concerns your board members may be facing. They might be struggling with job loss, financial uncertainty, social isolation, or homeschooling young children.

This may be a good time to revisit your board members’ commitment expectations. If their capacity has changed as a result of COVID-19, it’s important that you’re aware so that you can redistribute work or reassign leadership as necessary.

If your board members are still willing and able to participate to the full extent of their commitments, but things are still falling through the cracks, it may be time to implement a stricter management strategy.

A shared task management system is one great way to ensure board member accountability and productivity. Clear assignments make it easier to understand who is responsible for what and to execute accordingly. When assigning tasks, be sure to take your board members’ adjusted capacities into consideration.

3. Leverage Member Strengths to Boost Engagement

Each of your board members was chosen for a reason, whether it be passion for your mission, valuable connections, useful skills, or all three!

Play to your board members’ strengths when considering new initiatives or delegating tasks. Each board member will feel more engaged and useful if their expertise is coming in handy — and of course, specific skills and knowledge are advantageous in their own right. Leveraging your available assets is a win-win for everyone.

For instance, if you have a board member with a lot of high-value philanthropic connections, make sure they are connected to your major gifts officer. According to DonorSearch’s major donor fundraising guide, board members are some of your most valuable allies in acquiring and cultivating major donors.

Also consider any industry-specific knowledge that may be of use. If you have a board member who works at a marketing agency, seek their feedback on your donor communications. Or if there’s a graphic design whiz on your team, incorporate their work into your next campaign.

Your board members want to feel assured that their time and effort are directly contributing to your organization’s mission. By working with available skills and assets in mind, you’ll have a more engaged board overall.

4. Implement Best Practices for Staying Organized

Organized documentation is vital to the success of managing any remote team, including a nonprofit board. We’ll dive into our recommendations for two of the most important documents you’ll develop: meeting agendas and minutes.

Agendas

A rock-solid board meeting agenda is one of the most powerful tools you have for ensuring effectiveness. A streamlined and accurate agenda is just as important in an online setting as it is in person.

You already know the fundamentals: a list of items to discuss at your meeting, usually with a place to note who is responsible for covering each item. Easy enough, right?

But if you want to make the most of everyone’s valuable time (and especially during a crisis with limited energy and brainpower), agenda-setting should be a strategic process rather than a haphazard brain dump.

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when creating your agenda:

• Set a logical order. There’s no one-size-fits-all prescription that works for every organization, but it’s wise to think critically about what order to present topics. We suggest tackling your most important items first when members’ minds are freshest.
• Note specific goals. For each item, include whether the goal is to solicit ideas, provide information, or come to a decision. Otherwise, you may arrive at an actionable outcome without realizing it and wind up wasting time.
• Limit length. This applies to each topic for discussion as well as the overall agenda. With too many reports and discussion topics, your board members may experience information overload which can disrupt productivity altogether.

And of course, be sure to actually stick to the agenda. This is a key rule of thumb whether you’re planning a short check-in meeting or a longer board retreat. Getting off track for a few minutes can quickly snowball into a big waste of time for you and your board members.

Minutes

As you know, the importance of accurate meeting documentation extends beyond the agenda. While video conferencing software enables you to record and save the entire board meeting, we recommend sticking with recording minutes instead of the entire call.

Thorough meeting minutes can help you establish a historical record of board decisions, comply with legal requirements, and engage board members even in their absence.

When taking minutes, there’s no need to start from scratch. Your agenda serves as the perfect template to keep your notes on track. The assigned minute-taker (often your board’s secretary) can use this outline to streamline the process and focus their attention on the conversation.

With specialized minute-taking tools, you can take minutes directly on your existing agenda, ensuring you don’t miss any pertinent details. Be sure to stick to the facts, write objectively, and include all the necessary information in a concise way.

While there are several pieces of information you should include, there are also a few details you should avoid including, such as:

• Votes from individual board members.
• Opinions shared by individual board members.
• Summaries of documents and presentations.
• Anything that subjects your nonprofit to legal scrutiny.
• Off-the-record conversations.

Once your minutes are accurately recorded, be sure to proofread and format everything, then send it off to your attendees.

Need more guidance to make sure your note-taking is top-notch? This Boardable guide offers a more comprehensive overview of board meeting minutes.

5. Seek Continued Feedback on Crisis-related Plans

The pandemic has taught everyone that the only constant is change. As circumstances continue to evolvedevelop, you’ll want to maintain a close line of communication with your entire board. In times of crisis, keeping everyone on the same page will build transparency and trustreassurance.

Keep your board members in the loop on all of the following:

• Local laws and regulations
• Social distancing guidelines
• Crisis-related constituent needs
• New communication strategies
• Future events

Remember, your nonprofit’s board is your most trusted source of advice and feedback, and you should continue to leverage this valuable resource throughout the duration of the pandemic. By being fully transparent with board members, you can seek their expert advice and develop a plan for moving forward under the current challenges.

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COVID-19 circumstances may have left your board unable to meet as planned, but that doesn’t mean you need to lose momentum. With these strategies for successful board management, you’ll be well-equipped to maintain energy and engagement during the crisis.