Engaged Board, Accomplished Goals

By Dann Mead Smith
Published on Thursday, February 01, 2007
ARTICLES

This article was adapted from Dann Mead Smith's presentation at the November 8-9, 2006 SPN Board Leadership Training Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.

When you consider the many keys to a successful organization, look no further than your board of directors. When the Washington Policy Center (WPC) set out to double its budget, staff and impact five years ago, having a dedicated board was deemed essential. In retrospect, now that we have accomplished our first set of goals, we can confidently say the work and support of our board has been instrumental to our achievements.

If you want a successful organization, board members should be more than just people you meet with four times a year.

Be assured, there is not a "one-size fits all approach" on how state think tanks should utilize their board members; each organization is different. The same is true regarding the number of board members you have. Currently WPC has 25. That said, consider the following a case study. As I have learned, if you want a successful organization, board members should be more than just people you meet with four times a year.

When we set out to double our staff of five and increase our budget from $400,000 to $1 million, I recognized that an active board could serve as an extension of our small staff. We decided the best way to engage our board members would be through active committees, which I think is somewhat unique within the SPN community. Washington Policy Center has the following committees:

Executive
Research
Development
Communications/Marketing
Nominating
Finance
Annual Dinner

You need not have a large board for a committee system to work. Simply choose the greatest needs of your organization and set up committees around those areas. Maybe your staff is stronger in the research and communications area, so a development and finance committee might be the areas to focus your board.

A board matrix can help you decide what your needs are when selecting new members rather than only adding your top donors. We choose board members based on individual skills that can enhance the organization and broaden the outreach to all segments of the surrounding community. Every board member is on at least one committee, with many serving on two or three. Using committees helps our board members find their role and create a stronger "buy in" to our organization. An effective board member is far more than just a donor.

(In addition to our standing committees, Washington Policy Center has established advisory boards. Each of our research centers' advisory boards are chaired by a WPC board member and made up of outside business and community leaders with expertise in health care, transportation and the environment.)

Each committee meets two to three times a year and in most cases works with a staff member who oversees that particular area. Committee assignments are based on skill and interest, energizing board members and providing invaluable expertise to the organization. For example, our research director works with the research committee, our operations manager works with the finance committee and so forth. It is important to note, these committees work as partners/advisors with staff not as managers of staff.

Below are select examples of how committees have been helpful in our growth.

Marketing. Our website was in need of a significant redesign. One of our new board members recently left Microsoft, and was a new member of this committee. He said he had a great contact for us who would be willing to consult pro-bono on a new design - the head of Microsoft.com.

Development. For the last three Decembers, at our final board meeting of the year, the development committee chair hands out a list of our top donors with a brief background on their giving and involvement with WPC. He asks each board member to take a page with them (three to four names) and call their list before the end of the year to simply thank the contributors for their support. Countless supporters I meet with the following year tell me how much they appreciated the call - and how impressed they were that our board members took the time to thank them.

Finance. Once we started to grow and actually had some money in the bank, as well as funds from our capital campaign, we had the good problem of needing an investment policy, which was the last thing I was thinking of five years ago. I needed financial expertise. I looked to our board, which includes two former CFOs, a former treasurer from one of Seattle's largest non-profits and a CPA from a large firm.

Annual Dinner. For 14 years our organization held an annual dinner that attracted a well-known national speaker, drew around 350 attendees, raised enough money to cover about one month's expenses and helped us gain recognition in the larger community. As part of our plan to take the organization to the next level, the board wanted to increase the size of our dinner. We did this in 2002 when we decided to pursue Rudy Giuliani as our keynote speaker. It was a huge success in large part because of the board's involvement; it helped the staff plan the event, decide the agenda and members sold tables and tickets to their contacts. The board continues to play a large role in this major event, which in 2006 was attended by 950 people and netted over $250,000. Each think tank could benefit from such a signature event and this is an effective way for all board members to contribute.

Now that we have a $1 million annual budget and staff of 10, we are focused on our next phase of growth: establishing full-time research centers through a three-year, $4.2 million capital campaign. Once again our board was instrumental in getting this project off the ground and their previous involvement put us in this position to launch a major campaign. Two board members made significant initial contributions and now co-chair the campaign. All board members have pledged to the campaign and have committed their support to it, which is one key to success before you approach your other donors.

As I look ahead to our future plans, I am proud and thankful to have a strong, active and passionate board. I know this partnership with our staff is why we will continue to be successful.

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Dann Mead Smith is president of the Washington Policy Center in Seattle. He can be reached at dmeadsmith@washingtonpolicy.org.

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