2. Questions for Today
Who do you need on this board?
Where can you find them?
How do you cultivate, vet and onboard?
How will you keep them?
3. Workshop protocols
• Use chat or hand raise if
you have questions
• Mute when not asking
questions
• This is a taste, not the
whole meal.
• You get what you give.
• What matters is what
happens when you
leave.
• There are no wrong
questions.
4. Board Member Hats
• Whole = Governance
• Individual = Volunteer
Board effectiveness is a social construction – David Renz
5. Case: Urban Debate League
Program:
• Afterschool high school debate teams
& tournaments in 10 Title I schools in
four cities.
• Evidence-Based Argumentation
(EBA): Innovative teacher
development program transfers
debate skills into the classroom.
Documented learning gains.
Staff
• 10 year Executive Director resigned.
• Program director promoted to
Executive Director.
• 1 Vista
• Teacher coaches paid by their
schools.
Funding
• $150,000 budget (with EBA); 50%
grants; 50% contributions
• Difficulty renewing EBA contract
with school department.
• Chronic cash flow shortages, tenuous
funding
Board
• 12 board members: seven active
• One recent resignation (a former
educational leader)
• Two chronically absent rotating off.
• Three-year terms
7. Board
Composition
Board members as
capital
investments
and
Board members
aren’t seats, they
are human beings
– Deb Beck
Capital is any
enduring asset
capable of producing
additional assets
From:
• Economics: Principles and Practices;
G.E. Clayton, 2008
• Beyond the Balance Sheet, Elizabeth
Castillo
• Governance as Leadership, Taylor,
Ryan, Chait
Human value
• Intellectual
• Moral
• Creative
• Psychological
Relational value
• Social
• Political
• Spiritual
Symbolic value
• Reputational
• Cultural
• Geographic
Financial value
• Giving
8. A board
of
leaders
Idea generation and innovation
Envisioning
• Foster frame-breaking thinking
Resource connecting
Spanning
• Networking, Intelligence gathering
Details, structure
Organizing
• Task oriented, get things done
Team developer
Social
• Humor, caring, conflict mediation
9. The new
board
matrix
Parts
• Contributed knowledge
• Leveraged
relationships
• Applied cultural
fluency
• Self-management
Whole
• From outside, the
synthesis of the above
12. Where to look
• Donors, volunteers
• Participants
• Community partners
• Traditional & social
media
• Ask for them
• Corporate community
relations
• External nominating
committee
• Keep a perpetual
running list
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
16. A board where folks
want to serve
• Work that matters
• Meetings that matter
• I matter
• Transforming
experiences
• Opportunities to learn
• High expectations
• Interesting, collegial
peers
• Fun
• Rewarding
17. A few more words
on diversity
• Do the hard work
• Look for barriers in all
places
• Build authentic work
and partnerships
• Level power structures
• Be honest about intent,
need, seek consent
19. About Gayle L. Gifford, ACFRE, MS
• Co-President, Cause & Effect Inc.
www.ceffect.com
• Co-researcher Voices of Board Chairs
• Board chair Blackstone Academy Charter School
Find me
• gayle@ceffect.com
• The Butterfly Effect
www.ceffect.com/blog
• Twitter @gaylegifford
• LinkedIn gaylegifford
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