Preparing Your Nonprofit Board for the New Year: 5 Tips

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The start of the new year is a fresh and exciting time for many nonprofits. As end-of-year board activities come to a close, nonprofit boards must start to strategize and plan for the year ahead. Without a formal “plan of attack” in place, even the most effective boards will flounder.

So, what’s the best way to ensure your nonprofit board is well-equipped to achieve its growth goals in the coming year? It starts with a top-down accounting and review of the board’s performance, decision-making, board meeting processes, and operations at large. Where does the board excel? What can be improved upon? Use these key principles to guide your planning.

But it doesn’t stop there. Here are 5 things that you can do right now to better prepare your board for the upcoming calendar year.

1. Host a Board Retreat

Keeping board members engaged is a significant undertaking, especially if the board is composed of multiple members and committees. Hosting a board retreat serves as a valuable opportunity where the entire board gets together to discuss relevant topics and set aggressive (yet achievable) goals.

In regard to long-term planning, board retreats give leaders a platform to review the organization’s mission and values so each member has a clear sense of direction. Moreover, a board retreat is the perfect environment to create a recorded succession plan in anticipation of any leadership imminent leadership changes.

Most importantly, board retreats are often most valuable as a tool for fostering deep relationships among board members. As a best practice, consider setting aside a day or two for inter-member conversations where leaders can learn from one another and access new, exciting perspectives.

To get the most out of a board retreat, be sure to create a retreat agenda that states the objectives of the retreat, discussion topics, and time for relaxation.

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2. Create a Comprehensive Board Calendar

Effective nonprofit board members must be able to manage their various responsibilities and tasks to perform well within their roles and the broader organization. Creating a simple board calendar is a great way to ensure every activity is accounted for and progress is made.

In this way, the board calendar gives members a specific timeline to structure their work, laying out what duties need to be addressed and when. Of course, the contents of a board calendar will vary depending on the organization’s goals, industry, and resources, but as a baseline, include the following:

Dates for regular board meetings
Regulatory and compliance reports
Fundraising events
Orientation for new directors
Peer reviews or self-assessments
Audit reports
Budget approvals

3. Refresh Board Training and Orientation

It doesn’t matter if your latest recruit to the board comes in with a strong resume of experience or is a relative novice to the position. The organization should put time into developing nonprofit board training and orientation programs so board members understand their roles and any context within the management structure.

There is no perfect strategy that fits all establishments – orientation can last a few hours or even a few days depending on the complexity of the organization. All that matters is that new board members are comfortable in their duties and feel empowered to act.

The beginning of the year is a great time to review your current procedures and evaluate their current effectiveness. A combination of data and discussions should be used to discern the usefulness of your orientation sessions. It’s also important to hold individual meetings with directors who have undergone the training to learn about their experiences and which aspects they did or didn’t find valuable.

4. Organize Board Documents and Materials

Effective nonprofit board members require access to mission-critical board documents to serve effectively in their roles. Digital board management solutions like OnBoard can aid in this effort. The ability to sort that information in a coherent manner and find relevant data is a necessity for high-functioning nonprofit organizations.

Creating, distributing, and managing a board pack is an effective way to keep members up-to-date on the organization’s current focus. A board pack (also known as a meeting pack) incorporates multiple documents purpose-built to keep directors informed in preparation for an upcoming board meeting.

Moreover, an annual board report can help orient and prime your board with the right data, including the organization’s financial performance. Board reports are a written overview of the organization’s financial health over the previous fiscal year. The annual board report provides crucial transparency and helps keep the board accountable to its goals and objectives.

5. Define Key Performance Metrics

Once you have settled on your goals for the year, the board must come up with ways to measure growth and development over the coming months. Performance metrics are quantifiable measurements that board members can use to track their progress toward important objectives. These metrics are important to assess board performance and make strategic adjustments to improve your outlook if needed.

Performance metrics are not the same as key performance indicators (KPIs). Performance metrics are used to broadly measure your strategy against an established goal, while KPIs use more specific data to gauge your work.

Common examples of performance metrics include:

Productivity
ROI
Sales activity
Project quality
Cost
Employee efficiency

Getting Started With OnBoard

What do the most effective nonprofit boards have in common?

They share an affinity for strategic planning and effective goal-setting.

This starts with an investment in next-generation board management software purpose-built to support the many initiatives that modern nonprofit boards commit to within a calendar year.

This software is employed by many industry-leading nonprofits and with features that are designed to increase productivity, streamline decision-making, and master board operations, who can blame them?

“I wanted to get them [board members] a space online where they could have all their information somewhere that would be secure and organized and streamline the board process,” said Patrica Griggs, Program Coordinator at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. “I presented all the options to the board, and they chose OnBoard,” Griggs explained.

How can OnBoard help your board achieve its goals? To get started, request a free trial. Start your journey and unlock unparalleled security, insights, and efficiency.

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About The Author

Gina Guy

Gina Guy is an implementation consultant who specializes in working with nonprofit organizations get the most from their board meetings. She loves helping customers ease their workloads through their use of OnBoard. A Purdue University graduate, Gina enjoys refinishing furniture, running, kayaking, and traveling in her spare time. She lives in Monticello, Indiana, with her husband.