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Well-organized board retreat should leave you energized
By June Bradham
Q. I have been organizing our board retreats for three years and I’m starting to feel like they’re getting stale. Can you remind me of the purpose of these board retreats and suggest how to hold one that is informative without being a two-day chore?
A. I understand. A poorly run, ill-focused retreat can be one of the most frustrating experiences in all of philanthropy. The good news is that a well-planned, well-run retreat can reenergize your board and prepare your team for success.
The purpose of a board retreat is threefold:
• Get together as a group for concerted time to review current efforts.
• Develop a plan for the future of the organization.
• Receive a useful educational experience designed to enhance performance (both individual and group).
The exact content of the retreat is up to the board and the organization’s administrative leadership, of course, but there are a few guidelines to ensure that the event goes smoothly and stays on track.
• Hold the retreat somewhere nice. Get away from your normal meeting spaces and let your board know how special they are and how important this event is.
• Have a firm agenda (with ample time for Q&A) that is monitored by someone not leading the discussion. Staying on task reiterates that the board’s time is valued and that every element on the agenda is important.
• Invite a facilitator from outside the organization. This keeps the tone of the retreat objective and upbeat and limits the likelihood that any one person will monopolize the agenda.
• Avoid board meetings in which the board is “talked to.” The board must be able to discuss,
interact and drive the organization’s future.
• The board chair leads, but the staff guides. Staff must ensure that the board retreat is substantive and that board members have the right preparatory materials.
• Don’t take for granted that every board member knows and still embraces your vision, mission and fundraising goals.
• Know what level of educational training the board needs. It is helpful to survey the board in advance to identify those areas on which the board wants to focus.
• The staff must prepare takeaways with useful materials the board can review at home. This should facilitate follow-up conversations as well as a sustained sense of involvement.
• Following the event, the ED/CEO of the organization should send a personalized thank-you note that stresses how valuable the board member’s involvement was, is and will be.
At the conclusion of a really well-done board retreat, your members should feel reenergized, confident and imbued with a renewed sense of connection with their fellow board members and the cause.
Q. Our school just wrapped up a $10 million campaign and while we’re all very excited, I don’t want to rest on our laurels for too long. So, what’s next?
A. Congratulations! With fundraising, the sentiment is very often, “Way to go! Now get back to work.” Unless you secure a $1 billion endowment, you’re always going to need additional support, but, more than that, you’re always going to need to remain connected to your donor community. The post-campaign efforts can be divided into two categories:
The wrap-up
In the weeks after the campaign, you should share your celebration.
• Send press releases to local and national publications announcing your success.
• Send thank-you notes to donors and make phone calls to major donors.
• Announce your victory on your Web site and in newsletters.
• Make certain the organization’s marketing department knows the details of the campaign.
Pre-campaign
Nonprofits should always be considering the next opportunity to solidify their future. While you might be several years out from a formal capital campaign, examining your needs (current and future) and your capacity to meet these needs before they become critical is the only way to maintain control.
• Hold a debriefing session with your board and staff. Record what did and didn’t work well while the campaign is still fresh in everyone’s mind.
• Complete a development assessment that outlines strengths and challenges and encourages leadership to gain consensus regarding the next potential fundraising projects.
• Evaluate your other giving programs. Capital campaigns are the tour de force of fundraising but annual and planned giving will see your organization soundly through from year to year.
• Evaluate the capacity of your organization. Did you feel understaffed?
June Bradham is president of Corporate DevelopMint, a fundraising consulting firm with offices in Charleston, Greenville, Blowing Rock, N.C., Atlanta, Ga., and Richmond, Va. E-mail her at cdm@corporatedevelopmint.com.
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