Governance as Leadership

Issue 124 - August 6, 2024

In This Issue:

• NEW BLOG: Ten Ways to Build Capacity and Philanthropy​
• Board Diversity: Leading With Intent
• Accelerate Board Performance

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Ready to take your organization to the next level? You've got the passion, but maybe you're wondering how to build that a solid foundation and create a giving culture. Read on here.​

Board Diversity: Leading With Intent

To what extent are boards reflective of the communities they are seeking to serve? How are boards thinking about racial inequity in relation to the organization’s mission and programmatic outcomes?

In Leading with Intent: Reviewing the State of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion on Nonprofit Boards, BoardSource explores the findings and provides context for the data to help inform your own racial equity journeys as you seek to become more equity-focused individuals, boards, and organizations in the communities in which you live and serve. Here is the full report​

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Here is a brief summary of key findings:

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• Boards may be getting slightly more diverse, but they are far from representing the communities they serve. … It is also noteworthy that only 29% of board chairs felt that their boards represented the communities they serve, and 45% of board chairs expressed dissatisfaction with the boards’ racial and ethnic diversity.

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• Board recruitment practices are not aligned with diversity goals. … “even within the subset of chief executives that report that racial and ethnic diversity is important to their board’s external leadership and that they are dissatisfied with their board’s current racial and ethnic diversity,” only half have aligned their board recruitment practices with their diversity goals.

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• Boards that include people of color are more likely to have adopted diversity, equity, and inclusion practices than boards that do not include people of color. … both executives and board chairs report significantly lower levels of engagement in areas that go beyond the initial phases of understanding and apply more directly to the organization’s mission, work, and communities they serve, such as: • Committing to raising its awareness and understanding of the relevance of racial inequity to the organization’s mission; • Discussing the organization’s programmatic outcomes in a way that would surface meaningful variances based on demographics; and • Committing to addressing any gaps in organizational outcomes based on demographic categories.

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Who else is interested in Governance as Leadership? Share this newsletter with others!

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Accelerate Board Performance

Is there 'A Faster Path to Better Boards'? In a recent article, Mark Engle, a Principal at the Association Management Cente) shares insights on how the three pillars of governance—strategy, structure, and culture—can streamline the board orientation process, helping members to get up to speed, focused on, and meeting their responsibilities faster.

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Volunteer leaders often start board service poorly oriented on governance. One expert is streamlining the process, highlighting the importance of simply getting along.

The article was published by Associations Now, which covers all aspects of association leadership and operations, from governance and membership to event strategy and workplace management. This is a service of the ASAE; The Center for Association Leadership, helping associations transform society through the power of collaborative action.

Read the article here.​

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Did you have an opportunity to look at some of my courses? These are made for every member of your board and can help the overall wellness of your organization (money back guarantee). Give them a try here!

Sincerely,

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