Episode 49: A Nontraditional Approach to Board Development - Strengths-Based Recruitment
If your board isn’t fundraising it could be because it’s stacked with the wrong kind of people. Learn how to stack your board for fundraising success. Shift from “wondering” if your board will bring in consistent funding to guaranteeing it!
LINKS:
NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT: Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
Podcast Transcript
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to On Air with Amber Wynn, where nonprofit leaders learned to fuse passion and commitment with proven business strategies to create long-term funding, impact, and sustainability. And now here's your host and resident, Philanthrepreneur Amber Wynn.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hey, fam. Good morning. Good morning. It is your girl, Amber Wynn in the house. You are On Air with Amber Wynn, Philanthrepreneur, and we are continuing our nontraditional approach to series. Today's episode, we're going to cover board recruitment, board recruitment. A Nontraditional Approach to Board Recruitment, and it's really, really important that you understand the purpose of a board. Typically, when an organization is founded, incorporated, started, the founder just grabs three people and puts them on a piece of paper and files the paperwork, and there you have it. The IRS has given the board of directors so much power in the organization that they can fire the founder if the founder is the executive director. So it's really important that you as a founder, as an executive director understand the role of the board. And today we're going to talk to you about strength-based recruitment. You know how we do it. We start off with a small sponsor commercial, and then we come back. When we come back, we're going to jump into A Nontraditional Approach to Board Recruitment.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
This is you and this is your business. From invoicing your first client to your 10th client to your hundredth client, you'll need to get paid quickly. Pretty soon you'll be ready to hire some help and you'll need to pay them. As your business grows, Wave is there to grow with you.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Welcome back to On Air with Amber Wynn, your resident Philanthrepreneur. Today we are continuing our series called A Nontraditional Approach to … Board Recruitment. And today we're going to talk about strengths-based recruitment. And typically when a founder looks for a board member, they think, oh, I just want somebody who's willing to serve. I just want somebody who's committed to the mission. No, you want people on your board who number one, are seasoned because if you are running your organization, you don't want to have to run the board as well. If you don't know what you're doing in terms of board governance, you want people on your board who do, because that's a heavy lift, right? Secondly, you want board members with resources. You want people on your board who can help you resolve problems. And when I say resolve problems, I mean pick up the phone, ask someone for some money, for a venue, for a speaker.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
You want someone with pull on your board. You want a high powered board member. That's what you want. When I'm talking to people, I'm like, well, what type of person are you looking for? Oh, just somebody willing to serve. And I say this, no, no, no, no. That's how you get into trouble. That's how my founders get to. I'm tired, I'm exhausted, I'm burnt out. I'm the only one doing the work. It's because your board members are not seasoned. If you are the only person fundraising and doing the work in your organization, you need to look at your board and you need to revamp your board. Listen to me boards, they go through three different phases. You've got your startup phase, which are typically your friends and family because you don't know no better, and they love you and they trust you and they want to support you. Bet
Speaker 2 (04:21):
That should be year one, two. Then you have your second phase, which is the development board. That's the board that's going to start helping you to build out your infrastructure, right? You've got committees, you've got this. They're going to start raising funds, putting in infrastructure so that you can hire a staff. Year three, four. Then you have your institutional board. This is the board that is super high powered. All of the infrastructure has been done. They don't have to do that type of work. They just step in and they just leverage their resources. That's the only type of board Amber Wynn will sit on at this point in her career because stage one and two are heavy lifting and I'm not here for that right now. Back to the topic show. Typically you will start off with your friends and family, that's fine, but now I'm telling you, it's time to rotate those beautiful people out.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Tell them thank you, you love them, thank you for your support and start rotating seasoned people in. And what I want you to focus on when you recruit these individuals is not just their profession. You need to think about that. So for example, if you are a youth development organization, you want to have individuals on your board that understand education, that understand career access and college access. Yes, you do. You want to make sure that they can fill those gaps so that they can advise the organization and they can give you resources in that field. If you're looking to start an afterschool program, you need a space. It makes sense to get a real estate person on your board because they can help you identify space. Yes. But when we talk about a nontraditional approach, I want you to start focusing on their strengths. A strengths based recruitment process looks like this.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
You have your individuals who've met that topical need. So it may be an attorney, it may be an HR person, it may be an elected official, bet. But you want to go down a different second layer, right? Strengths. Because one of the major reasons why nonprofits are inactive is because you don't look at who they are as an individual. So Amber Wynn may be an attorney, high powered attorney making things happen wheeling and dealing, and you say, well, why is this person not bringing in any money? She's got all of these clients. I don't understand. It could very well be that closing is not my strength. So you want to bring in people who have the professional background, but you also want to make sure that you level off and balance their strengths on your board. So for example, there are four types of strengths that you want to look at. You've got the worker bee, this is the person who's going to make calls. This is the person who's going to stuff envelopes; the worker bee. They're going to deliver the programs. They're not fundraisers.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Then you've got a person who knows everybody, right? They're in every space. Oh yeah, I know so-and-so. I know they are in that space, but they're not comfortable with asking. They feel like it's a violation of their trust, right? Well, I'm not going to ask my friend for money because then they're going to not let me be in that space. So they are connectors. They can connect people to other people, but they're not comfortable with asking. Then you have the behind the scenes person. The behind the scenes person who's going to come in and set up the room and do the logistics. They're going to help the kids write their essays, but again, they're not comfortable with asking. And then you have the closer, that would be me, by the way. My mother used to say, Amber, you can sell sand to the beach. Yes, I can.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
The closer is the person who is comfortable with the no, because a no for us is just not now. Everybody's not comfortable with asking. And so if you get a board full of people who are worker bees, connectors and behind the scenes person, this is the reason why you're not getting any money in your organization. They're not comfortable with asking. But if you have a whole board full of closers, then there's nothing coming in for them to close on. So you want to have a nice healthy balance on your board. You want to have the worker bee so that you are not doing all of the work and you're overloaded. You want the behind the scenes person, so that when things happen, you can send them out and do the work. You want the connector so that they can connect the closer, right? You've got to have a well-balanced board.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
And people don't realize it. They're like, I've got Dr. So-and-so and he's this and he's that, won't bring in a dime. Maybe Dr. So-and-So is actually a connector. Good. Keep Dr. So-and-so on your board, but connect him to the closer. Do you understand what I'm saying? So when we talk about a nontraditional approach to board recruitment, I want you to think about the strengths that a person has because it's not enough to be a professional with this amazing reputation and an acumen. It's not enough. It's not enough because the purpose of the board is to set the vision and to fundraise. And if you don't have people on your board that can fundraise, then it doesn't help you. It doesn't help you at all. So my recommendation for you is to think about, not think about. On my shop, on my website, I have a workbook.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
It's called the Board Recruitment Toolkit. In this toolkit, it will walk you through how to recruit a high powered board. Not only do I give you the questions, but I also give you a grid. And in that grid you get to see your walk through, how to diversify your board; age, gender, professional background. But there's also a section about strengths. Is this person a worker bee? Is this person a behind the scenes person? Are they a connector or are they a closer? And in the packet, I give you the questions to ask to find out if they are or not. That's important. You know, can't just come out and say, Hey, are you a closer? Are you a connector? You want to get at what type of person that they are so that you can balance out your board. If you have five members, you want to make sure that one is a worker bee, one is a closer, one is a connector.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
And having these questions will help you to do that. And I promise you, promise you, promise you, you do this exercise with your board, your current board, you'll find out, Oh, that's the reason why they're not fundraising. I do this with all of my board development training. I have the people say, well, this is really me. And what usually happens is they find out we have a board full of connectors, no one to close on, or a board full of worker bees, and no one to close, no one to close. So that is going to transform your organization. I'm telling you. So be sure I'm going to put the link of course down in the bio for you to go check out the board recruitment toolkit. But when you think about your recruitment, don't just about their professional background, think about what type of personal skills that they bring to the table. All right, I'm going to pause for a minute, but when we get back, guess what time it is? It's time for you to Ask Amber your burning question. When we come back.
Speaker 5 (12:11):
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Speaker 5 (13:46):
At B Generous, we are using financial technology for good. Head to bgenerous.com today to learn more.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
You're back with On Air with Amber, and this is the time for you, my beautiful nonprofit leaders to ask your burning questions. You can hit me on any of my socials to ask your question. I'm on Anchor, I'm on Spotify, you can hit me on Instagram, ask me your question. Today's question is from Belinda, from the IE from the Inland Empire. And Belinda wants to know, well, her question is, our tax exempt status was recently revoked. Ooh. I thought my accountant did it, but I received notice from the IRS. What exactly does that mean? First of all, Belinda Baby, I'm sorry, because it means a lot. So I've shared with you that a nonprofit is a business, right? It's just a business with a philanthropic purpose. It is a business. When you form your business in whatever state you're in, the state expects you to let it know that you are doing business.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Because if you are, they want to track if you're making money. So that, I mean, that's I'm a bottom line. They want to track to see if you're making money, because if you're making money, then they want to tax you on it. Now, as a tax exempt organization, you don't have to pay taxes for the IRS. The IRS requires that you file your 990, your form 990 every year, every year. That's the only way that they know if you're active. That's the only way that they know what type of salaries the top three people in your organization is getting. It's the only way that they know what type of donors you're getting because you have to put that on your 990. It's the only way that they know it's just like your taxes. So if you don't file for three years in a row, then they revoke your tax exempt status and they revoke it because they're saying, Hey, hey, hey, we've authorized you to function with this special benefit, and if you can't at least tell me that you're functioning, then I'm going to take it from you.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
So basically that's what happened. As Belinda said, she thought her accountant was had submitted it, but it didn't happen. So you're going to have to go through a process to get reinstated, and likely they're going to be fees associated with it. So make sure that the person who's going to help you get reinstated has expertise in doing reinstatements, right? So yeah, for those of you listening, just be sure you've got to file a statement of information locally for the state because they will revoke your state level tax exemption. And then on the federal level, you have to file with the IRS because they will revoke your tax exemption status on the federal level. It's a lot of work, but as a business, those are the things you have to do to stay in business. Like with the business you have to file for your license every year.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Every year you've got to file taxes. So, good luck Belinda, make sure you get somebody who knows what they're doing because it's going to be an arduous task. All right, so now it is time for my most favorite time of the episode. When I get to, I don't know, shine the light on the most amazing people out there doing the work that will be my nonprofits, that's you and give you your flowers. You're in the trenches, you're doing the work. And so I want to make sure that people know that you're out there. And today we are going to shine the light on SADD. It's Students Against Destructive Decisions. SADD Nation is a peer-to-peer network, a way of life, a family. Empowered teens supported by a network of their peers are better able to confront the risks and pressures they face every day. SADD Nation cultivates students with lifelong leadership skills who improve their communities and move them closer to losing zero lives as a result of destructive decisions. Let's take a look.
Speaker 6 (18:11):
In 2012, my brother's best friend, who was really more like a second brother to me, was killed in a motorcycle crash. After that, I was really struggling with it and sad became kind of my coping mechanism in a way, and my outlet for built up anger and confusion as to how things like this can happen. And it became much more than the cookie cutter definition. It's helped me to make better decisions in my life because I recognize more now. It's really just been an eye-opening organization for me.
Speaker 7 (18:46):
My uncle was actually killed in a drunk driving accident, and so of course that can personally affect me because that decision, while he may not have thought about it beforehand, before he took that first drink, his lost life has had a domino effect on our family. And SADD embodies what America can be and what we want to see students being like in the future to where drinking and driving never happens to where no one dies on the road.
Speaker 8 (19:16):
The biggest issues that I've faced in my life are with my anxiety problems and my mental health. And I think it's really important as a youth leader to be honest and open about those things. I just want other people to know that they're not alone. And so I think with the title that I hold and the power that I have, it's my responsibility to help others.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Thank you SADD for your work in the community and supporting teens, and it's just rough out there. So for them to have some place to go and really work through their issues is an amazing feat in and of itself. And if you'd like to support or if you want to learn more about what the organization does, visit them on their website, www.sadd.org. All right. So yeah. Now it's at the point in our episode where I get to share with you a thought that I'm having my Mindset Minute, and I'm going to take a minute to talk to you about your board. Today's topic was about how to recruit using strength-based recruitment. And I get this all the time when I'm talking to startup nonprofits. They're like, well, how do I pay them? You don’t. A lot of time, nonprofits will conflate a for-profit structure with a nonprofit structure.
Speaker 2 (20:49):
In the for-profit structure they do pay their Board because their board is responsible for managing the finances, making recommendations, shielding them from the market. They get paid for that for their expertise. In a nonprofit, the board is volunteer. The IRS says that they can't get any benefits. A public charity is opposed to benefit the entire community, and therefore nothing can benefit the directors of the organization. So the logical question is, I'm just starting. I don't have a track record. So how am I supposed to recruit these high-powered seasoned board members? How? I'm thinking the only way I can get them is by paying them. Excellent question. And so my Mindset Minute is about how to recruit high-powered board members. Two things. The first thing you need to do is get your infrastructure tight, right? High-powered, seasoned board members don't want to do any heavy lifting. They're not there to help you build up your organization.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
That's your first and your second stage of board members. You want high-powered board members on your board, get your house in order. A high power board member wants to come in and do what a board member does, which is bring in resources. They're not trying to help you build up your organization. So the first thing you need to do is to build out your infrastructure, get your systems in place, make sure that your mission is tight. You have measurable goals and objectives. They know what it is that they're bringing in money to support, get your house in order. The second thing that you need to do is to make sure that you make it easy for them, right?. So what does that mean? You've identified what types of programs need funding, how much it is they need to bring in. I hear all of the time, my board doesn't do anything.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Well, what is it that you have them doing? Well, that's their job. No, no, no, no, no. That's your job. Your job is to define which programs need funding and to have a budget for that so that they know what they're fundraising for. So you need to make sure that your board has something in which to fundraise around. The last thing I will share with you is the reason why a high-powered seasoned board member would be on your startup board is because they are inspired by your mission. They are moved. They are touched, and it resonates with them. I don't know if I'm a high-powered person, I have board experience. I'm seasoned for sure. Well, no, I take that back. I bring something. I can write grants. I can do corporate sponsorship packages. So yes, I will consider myself high powered. And what I will say is I don't sit on too many boards because I know what they require and I give my all.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So when I do, it's because I am really inspired by the mission. The last board that I sat on was the Vanguard Cancer Foundation. And I just remember when I was going through all of the deaths in my family. My mom died from cancer, my dad died from cancer, my boyfriend died from cancer. And when I took my boyfriend into to the Vanguard Cancer Foundation, they just showed me love and they gave me hope. And I wasn't getting that in the medical system. So I said, uh huh, this is the place I want to be. So their mission inspired me. The work that they did inspired me, and they had a small board. It was only at the time, four people. But I wanted to be a part of that. I wanted to help grow. I wanted to help get the mission out there. So if you want to recruit, if you want to entice, if you want to pull in seasoned board members, two things, your mission can't be some googly got mission.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
It's got to be something that inspires, right? It's got to be innovative, it's got to be different. And then secondly, it's going to resonate with the person inside. So let's just say if you run a homeless shelter, Tyler Perry might because he was homeless and he knows what that felt like. So it's about connecting who the person is and what they're about, to your mission. That's going to require a little bit of research. LinkedIn, you can see the causes they support. LinkedIn, their Instagram. You can just see what they're about. So think about that and don't think, I don't have anything to offer. Think about if their personal credo resonates with your mission. That's how you get high powered individuals to sit on your board. All right, so that's it for today. Thank you for joining me for a nontraditional approach to board recruitment. If you liked what you heard, be sure to subscribe, number one. Number two, share this episode with somebody you think would benefit from it. If you know an organization where their mama and cousin and best friend are on the board and they're not raising any money, send this episode to them. Give them some love, and next time we're going to continue with our nontraditional approach to …, and I will see you then. Bye.
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Head over to www.amberwynn.net/podcast for the links and resources mentioned in today's podcast. See you next time.
