Building stronger volunteer board engagement in between board meetings

Have you recruited board members who start out enthusiastically, but then drift away? Or board members who do the minimum required — show up at board meetings, but then disappear the rest of the time? This is a common challenge many organizations face. It is unfortunate, because we spend time and effort building the relationship to recruit them and have high hopes when they join.

Building stronger volunteer board engagement in between board meetings

How can we keep this from happening?

Engaging board members is a year-round responsibility for the organization’s leadership, including both board and staff. It cannot be that the only time your board members hear from you is the week before a board meeting. Leaders must create space in their calendars for outreach — both to the board as a whole and to individual members. Most importantly, they need to work to engage board members from the start and continue doing so, making them feel integral to the organization and part of the team. 

What board members want

We often focus on what we want from board members, but neglect to foster the things they want to get from their board service:

• To feel a connection to your mission and work.
• To feel like their personal contribution of time and effort is making a difference. They want to see how their advice, oversight, support and contributions lead to the success and social impact of the organization.
• To have board service be a pleasant experience, meeting new people, feeling appreciated, being admired by their peers.

Tips for fostering commitment

How can we foster their commitment to our organization and work? Here are a few suggestions:

Robust orientation and onboarding

A professional, thorough orientation is crucial to making a new member feel welcomed, well-informed, and needed for meaningful engagement. 

You want to make sure new board members feel:

• Well informed about their role, fiduciary duties and performance expectations
• Knowledgeable about how the board is organized
• Familiar with the organization’s finances — where the money comes from and what it is spent on
• Confident enough to share the work of their new organization with their friends
• Ready to contribute their time, talent, treasure, testimony, and ties to the organization.

Mentor/buddy program

New board members can feel uncomfortable — they do not know the players in the board room, do not understand the acronyms, and may not feel comfortable asking questions. Pairing new board members with longer-serving members through a mentor or buddy program can help alleviate these challenges from the start. Mentors can be available to answer questions.

Spark active participation

Use education, clear information and digital tools to keep board members informed, engaged and ready to act.

See how

Show impact through regular updates

Send frequent short notes to your board members to keep them updated on what is going on in the organization. Do not spend too much time on beautifully designed newsletters; while those have their place, more frequent communications let board members know they are part of the team.

• Do some storytelling — highlight successes working with a client or a program. For arts organizations, take board members “behind the scenes” with a phone video of rehearsal or exhibition set-up. Sharing moments with happy children is always impactful.
• Share impact figures: number of people served last week, number of graduates in your spring program, percentage of people who found permanent homes, or number of shelter animals moved from foster to forever homes.
• Let them know how the organization is doing with its fundraising goals: dollars raised, planning status of your annual gala or upcoming cultivation events.

Invest in education

Multiple research reports from BoardSource show hard data that the more a board understands its role, the more positive its impact on the organization. You can choose from a variety of topics — roles and responsibilities, the nuts and bolts of the work your organization does, regulatory compliance, for example.

Hold an annual board self-evaluation

Conduct a board self-evaluation annually. Board members should regularly reflect on their effectiveness and satisfaction as board members. An assessment helps with this, allows identification of knowledge gaps, and ensures everyone is on the same page with respect to expectations. It can also help address issues that are hard to bring up in meetings. Useful questions for an anonymous survey include: Do you feel you are making a difference? Are you satisfied as a board member?

Aim for more productive board meetings

Have more productive board meetings. The purpose of your board meeting should not be limited to committee and staff reports. Use the time to connect board members with the mission and get them excited about your work. They need to learn critical information to exercise their fiduciary responsibilities and provide input that is valuable and valued. Share information about the organization’s challenges and ask for their opinions.

Show appreciation

Thank your board members often. They are volunteers, giving you the value of their experience, time, and often their money. You can write notes, send personal emails or recognize them publicly— they will appreciate it!

Volunteer board members are valuable resources for our organizations. We spend a lot of time and effort identifying those who have the skills we need and who are passionate about our work. Do not waste all of that effort by neglecting them after they are on board.