A solid board team that works together is crucial for non-profit organizations to fulfill their mission. But for a lot of boards collaboration can be a daunting obstacle to overcome. This article offers suggestions on how to build and sustain a strong collaborative board team.
Make sure to communicate clearly with new members about their responsibilities and roles. It is essential to define each partner’s role in the relationship, and eliminate any ambiguity. This will ensure that the members actively take part in board meetings, are prepared to discussions and fully support the organization’s goals and vision. In addition, it’s important to outline the financial contribution expectations for new and current members. This will facilitate a positive discussion and help to manage expectations.
Nonprofits have limited staff, skills and resources to accomplish everything they’d like to accomplish. Collaboration with other nonprofits may help them reach more people and make greater impact than they would on their own. However, nonprofits should carefully consider the projects they select to collaborate on and ensure that all parties are benefitting. This will lead to positive outcomes and create win-win scenarios.
In the above example, Family Focus and CYC were successful in leveraging their individual resources to offer more services. Both organizations were able expand their reach and help more families without having to increase their budgets. It also allowed CYC and Family Focus to refer new clients. This collaboration resulted in an increase in the number of families that were served and a greater societal change than either of the organizations would have been able to accomplish on its own.
