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Have you ever been a part of a non-profit board  meeting that left you confused or exhausted   or uninspired? What about a meeting that left  you excited and inspired and ready for action?   Leading effective nonprofit board meetings  can take a bit of practice! So in this video   I wanted to share some of the strategies that  I've tried out over the years with the help of   some amazing board leaders of course to ensure  that board meetings stay focused and relevant,   and leave people feeling ready for action after  the meeting to help your organization thrive.   Welcome back to my channel! I'm Amber Melanie  Smith. I am a non-profit founder and executive   director. I make these videos here on YouTube  to help others on their nonprofit journey or   other type of social impact journey. Don't forget  to give this video a like if you find it helpful   and subscribe to my channel for more videos  like this - and of course if you're looking   for additional resources or training for how  to start a non-profit, check out my website   FounderToFulltime.com. It took a few years lots of  helpful feedback from board members and a lot of   trial and error, but now I go into my nonprofit  organization's board meetings excited ready to   share ideas ready to discuss important topics and  make some really critical decisions for the health   and well-being of our organization and its mission  in the future so without further ado here are   seven tips to run effective non-profit board  meetings tip number one is to create structure   by creating a written meeting agenda and on this  agenda you of course list everything that you need   to talk about during the meeting but you can also  structure the meeting by putting blocks of time to   make sure that the organ that the meeting stays  focused and that topics flow in a timely manner   you can also put the names of the different board  members who will be presenting during each section   of the meeting too to keep things organized  tip number two get inspired with your team   by helping everyone remember why they are there  in the first place at the beginning of each   board meeting I advise that you talk about your  organization's mission statement and your vision   recite it make sure people are discussing it and  what it means to them personally it's also a great   idea to share a success story something recent  that happened with your organization and its   programs that made a difference in the community  this really reinforces why everyone is there and   gets them excited about the work they're about  to do tip number three is something I alluded   to a little bit ago and that was to include  everyone make sure that everyone can own a piece   of the agenda and is invited to speak or present  something for the board meeting if you can do this   you'll also have two pretty awesome consequences  the first being that everyone will feel included   and that's just a critical part of working well  together as a team and the second consequence   is that people will come to the board meeting a  lot more prepared because they know that they will   be expected to speak the same as when a student is  having to give their book report the very next day   they're going to do that book report number four  is a really important tip and I can say that I   have personally experienced not doing this tip  well and that is you've got to stay on time and   start on time and end on time for your meetings  starting on time and ending on time sends the   message that you respect your board members time  and it also means that you're able to manage   the topics you have to discuss in an efficient  way if you find that this is a challenge or hard   to do for your organization then assign keeping  time to someone at the meeting make it their job   to keep everyone on time on track and focused this  will also make sure that everyone has a chance to   speak and no one feels left out too tip number  five might seem like a no-brainer but i have   seen people get confused and then make a decision  they didn't intend to make before so i will say   this is an important one and that is to when you  are presenting a vote for your board of directors   to make sure that what people are actually  voting on is extremely clear and specific   and of course you want your board members  to be able to make sound and informed   decisions about things happening in the  organization so this is really important   if you are going to have a meeting where you're  expecting to vote on something like a budget item   or a policy change or policy creation then what  you can do is prepare in advance by making sure   that you have all of the details clearly laid  out in written form share it in advance allow   your board members the opportunity to review it  and ask any questions or note any questions they   plan to ask at the board meeting review that  presentation of the details at the meeting   make sure no one has any questions at the meeting  once again and then have someone call for a vote   the sixth tip can really improve morale and  that is to end the meeting on a positive note   we talked about giving everyone a chance to  speak during the meeting but sometimes depending   on the size of your board or the structure  of your meetings that might not be possible   so if you give people an opportunity at the very  end of your meeting to share one final thought   then they will at least get that chance to speak  then and it also ends the meeting on a positive   note where everyone has been able to reflect on  the experience of the board meeting and hopefully   get motivated to take their piece of what they  need to do next and run with it and the final   and seventh tip I will share with you for running  effective non-profit board meetings is something   that doesn't happen at the board meeting at all  but actually happens after the board meeting   and that is to follow up very quickly within a day  or two max and when I say follow up what I mean is   that the leader this could be either the founder  or a board chair or someone on your executive   committee needs to follow up with the whole board  about any um action items or deadlines that are   coming up that board members need to remember and  be aware of and stay on top of board members are   amazing volunteers who give a lot of time and  talents to non-profits so they have busy lives   not everything is always so easy to remember on  our massive to-do lists as human beings so having   a leader who can follow up and make sure everyone  is clear on their expectations and what they need   to do next and by when is a really important step  to keep everyone moving forward let's hear from   you have you experienced or even led a non-profit  board meeting that left you inspired i would love   to hear about it share in the comments below  and as I mentioned before if you need some help   getting started with your nonprofit don't hesitate  to check out my website founder to fulltime.com   where I've got resources and training for people  starting up you can also check out my newsletter   and subscribe to that. I'll leave the link in the  description but I send out a regular newsletter to   non-profit leaders and other types of change  makers with news and resources and sometimes   even funding opportunities that can really  help your organizations or your social impact   projects out so definitely subscribe to that one  last thought if you are on Facebook perhaps you   know what I am about to say if you've seen my  videos before but definitely check out my group   change the world or bust we have folks in there  from all over the world coming together to discuss   their social impact work and encourage each  other along the way that's it I hope that this   video was helpful please don't give don't please  do give hit a thumbs up don't forget to do that   and to subscribe to my channel for more videos  like this and I hope to see you next time! Bye!