Ten Ways To Get Your Non-Profit Board To Do What's Right
A list for executive directors and board members who want to do what's right.
1. Define “right” in writing before the crisis hits
Values don’t work if they only exist in speeches. Put them on paper, attach them to decisions, and refer back to them relentlessly.
2. Frame choices as tradeoffs, not opinions
Boards stall when issues feel philosophical. They move when you show: If we choose A, here’s what we give up. If we choose B, here’s the cost.
3. Make the long-term consequences painfully concrete
Abstract risk is ignorable. Specific future problems—lost funding, regulatory exposure, reputational damage—get attention fast.
4. Use fiduciary duty as a flashlight, not a hammer
Don’t accuse. Illuminate. Calmly show how “doing the wrong thing” conflicts with duty of care, loyalty, or obedience.
5. Separate discomfort from danger
Boards often confuse “this makes me uneasy” with “this is risky.” Call that out gently—and clearly.
6. Bring receipts, not vibes
Data, benchmarks, and precedent beat intuition every time. Especially when intuition conveniently favors inaction.
7. Give them a dignified exit ramp
People resist being cornered. Offer a way to change course without public embarrassment or ego loss.
8. Slow the vote when speed benefits the wrong outcome
“We don’t need to decide tonight” is a powerful ethical tool when momentum is heading somewhere bad.
9. Name the silent stakeholders
Clients, staff, future beneficiaries, regulators—put the invisible people back in the room. Boards behave better when watched by the absent.
10. Document dissent calmly and professionally
Even if you lose the vote, clarity creates gravity. Written objections have a way of aging well.
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