How and Why to Build a Great Board

Are you ready to build a startup nonprofit board that actually moves your organization forward? If you’re reading this, chances are your nonprofit has been operating for a while and you’ve discovered that your current board isn’t quite doing what you hoped.

Most founders begin with a nonprofit board made up of friends. It makes sense — you need names and addresses for the IRS form, plus some cheerleading and support. And unless you’ve done this before, it’s all new territory. How could you possibly know who would be best for your board?

Your friends may have been wonderful encouragers, so kudos to them. But there often comes a time when you realize that as much as you enjoy them, they’re not really helping move the organization forward.

Why Early Nonprofit Boards Stop Working

Many people join a board with the caveat that they “don’t have much time” or “just want to help where they can.” Others simply don’t have the skills your nonprofit really needs to grow.

For example: do you have even one board member who is great at fundraising?

If you did, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. Need we say more?

Who You Need on Your Nonprofit Board

You need board members who:

• are passionate about your mission
• truly want to give their time, energy, and creativity
• understand that their role goes beyond attending quarterly meetings

After 20+ years in nonprofits, I can tell you something hard learned:

Many people join boards for reasons unrelated to your mission — networking, personal visibility, or résumé padding. That can drain time and energy from your real work.

Be sure that their motivations match your mission and that they want to serve.

Which Professions Make Great Board Members?

Certain professions consistently make for strong nonprofit board members:

• A financial professional to act as Treasurer, offer fiscal oversight, and possibly submit your IRS Form 990
• An attorney to handle bylaws, risk, and legal questions
• A strong communicator and note-taker to serve as Secretary and document meetings

These are helpful roles, but don’t stop there. You need more than professional expertise — you need people willing to roll up their sleeves.

Who else should you consider?

• Someone with experience in your service field
• Someone with local connections
• Someone who can open doors to decision-makers

But what’s the one trait that matters most?

Funding: The #1 Need for Nonprofits

It’s simple: your organization cannot survive without funding.

And what is the thing that most people (including board members) avoid?
Asking for money.

People may say they’re willing to help with fundraising, but as your balance sheet likely shows, that doesn’t always happen.

You need board members who:

• can personally donate
• represent companies with strong charitable giving programs
• know individuals who care about your mission
• are comfortable making “the ask”

When someone has both capacity and passion, fundraising transforms from stressful to natural.

How to Cultivate an Effective Nonprofit Board

If you want to make an experienced nonprofit director laugh, tell her most boards are “proactive.”

Effective boards are rare. They don’t just appear — they are built, developed, and encouraged.

A proactive nonprofit board can take your organization further, faster, than almost anything else.

But it requires:

• Strong leadership
• Modeling
• Gentle, consistent pushing

Notice the word consistent. Not a one-time training session. Not a binder of bylaws. Consistent encouragement and accountability.

The Executive Director Must Be Willing to Make the Ask

This is non-negotiable.

Why?

1. Modeling matters.
   If the Executive Director isn’t willing to step out and ask, why should board members?
2. Confidence grows with practice.
   Asking gets easier the more you do it. The seasoned asker will have credibility when encouraging others to ask.

If you want a strong fundraising board, you must first become a fundraiser yourself.

Why Is It So Hard to Ask for Funding?

It helps to face the problem squarely: why is asking for money uncomfortable?

Three big reasons:

• In American culture, wealth often defines status
• Wealthy people tend to be guarded about finances — asking can feel intrusive
• Asking puts you in a vulnerable position

Your mindset is everything.

If you believe you shouldn’t ask, you probably won’t succeed. But if you believe you are offering something valuable, everything changes.

Why Giving Feels Good: A Story You’ll Remember

There’s a traditional story that illustrates why it’s better to give than receive.

A man asked a saint to show him the difference between heaven and hell…

Hell: people in a room with bowls of food they can’t feed themselves because of long spoons attached to their hands.

Heaven: people in a room with the same setup, but they are feeding one another.

The moral?

Giving creates joy, connection, and meaning. That would sound trite if it weren’t so true.

When You Ask for Support, You Give Others an Opportunity

I learned this early in my nonprofit career:

When you ask people to support your cause, you’re giving them an opportunity to feel good about themselves.

Our culture could use more generosity. When you invite someone to support your mission, you are offering:

• belonging
• purpose
• significance
• joy

You’re not taking. You’re inviting.

Your Startup Nonprofit Board Culture Matters

What makes a great nonprofit board?

It goes beyond titles and bylaws. It’s a shared energy — active, not passive.

It’s the joy of a shared mission. The positive energy that comes with putting ego aside and focusing on service.

Be willing to:

• take risks
• encourage growth
• expect participation

When you do that, you will cultivate a nonprofit board that truly supports your vision and helps you achieve it.

Want tools that help program directors demonstrate impact and secure sustainable funding?
Learn how Merge Education’s SETS software helps organizations track student outcomes, improve teaching, and strengthen funding proposals.

Mary Helen Rossi is Co-Director of Merge Education, which grew out of 20 years of after-school fine arts mentoring to over 2,500 challenged young people. Merge’s student assessment and program management software reflects this experience: as one client said, “It’s clear that a lot of thought and love went into SETS!”