3rd of a 5 part series: Former Board Members as Researchers
This is the third in a series of five blog posts talking about how Board members who rotate off your Board are an overlooked resource for many Main Street organizations. This blog piece explores how former Board members can be extraordinarily useful to current Board leadership to undertake common as well as confidential research to solve problems for the organization or help with future planning.
Board Presidents have a big job Board Presidents of local Main Street organizations take on a far more onerous job than any one committee chairperson. They often:
- spend between twenty and forty hours a month (or more) as the cheerleader for the hundreds of Main Street volunteers;
- are the day-to-day supervisor of the Executive Director;
- become the “go to" person if there are conflicts between Board members or committee members;
- according to the bylaws, they may serve as the CEO of the local Main Street operation;
- Board Presidents assure that volunteers are thanked appropriately and often;
- sign checks;
- worry about cash flow;
- prepare agendas and attend all Board and Executive Committee meetings;
- meet with the Mayor and
- try to think strategically about the future of the operation.
Whew! Board Presidents do all of this (and more) when things are going well! Board Presidents need help.
Before Board members “retire” when their Board specified term is up, and rotate off the Board, they could be sounded out for their interest in taking on specific, short-term, research projects for the Board President. What I have in mind are brief research projects, such as helping the Board President to gather information useful for the organization. Depending on the skills and background of the “retiring” Board member, they could be charged with the responsibility to:
- Research staff compensation and benefits at similar sized revitalization organizations (especially if your state program does not provide such) for use in the Executive Director’s annual review
- Gather budgets and financial reports from well-regarded local Main Street programs for comparison and planning purposes
- Collect strategic plans or work plans from organizations a few years ahead of yours in their revitalization efforts to provide baseline information for future planning
- Start conversations with county and statewide elected officials about the organization’s future plans and seek suggestions about funding opportunities
- Conduct interviews with key property owners to determine current and future trends they see for the downtown
- Host a small gathering of “star” volunteers to gain their views for the future of the organization along with the Board President and Executive Director
- Conduct select interviews with key city staff members on problematic issues
- Collect and review organizational policies now required by the IRS, and make recommendations for Board adoption (an upcoming blog post will describe more on this)
- Review the current bylaws, assess if the organization is truly following them
- Review data management systems, computer hardware and software with staff, and recommend upgrades
- Speak with current insurance agent and make recommendations any changes to insurance policies.
As you can see from the above list, there are countless small research projects that former Board members can undertake to help the Board President move the organization forward. I am sure that you can think of many other tasks that need to get done by a person with deep knowledge about the organization. The Board President should make sure the Executive Director understands the purpose of these research assignments (most likely, the Executive Director does not have the time to do this work). Hopefully staff will delight in having a trustworthy former Board member undertake this needed research. The bottom line for this research conducted for the Board President, is to allow him or her to make better decisions.
Former Board members are organizational assets Former Board members have unique skill sets and long-term relationships within the organizational hierarchy. These Board members understand and know the organizaiton’s history, culture and traditions because they have participated in their creation. Most have come up through the Main Street ranks, having served as volunteers and committee chairpersons. All are donors to the organization, through sponsorship or by making their own annual gifts and participating in fundraisers. Many have served as unofficial liaisons to area clubs and organizations and can be counted on as excellent ambassadors for the Main Street organization. Former Board members are organizational assets, then, that are too important to lose. So consider using one or two “retiring” Board members as “honest brokers” who can bring useful information to the Board President for current needs and future planning. More ideas coming These are just a few ideas about how to continue to involve former Board members in the organization when their term has ended. In future blog posts we will discuss how former Board members can help with fundraising, and the Executive Director in program development. This information was developed for a training session called “Keeping Former Board Members Involved When their Term is Done.” Please contact us if you wish to know more about this session. Look for these posts in the coming weeks. .