Best Practices for School Advisory Boards Office of Catholic Schools October 5, 2017 Liz Livingston Howard liz-howard@kellogg.northwestern.edu Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Why Do You Need A Board? Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Why You Need A Board Legal Requirement (for some!) Legacy Support pastor & principal Provide insight/connection to parents/stakeholders Support the activities of the school Help communicate to the community Raise money Liz Livingston Howard 2017
What Do Your Board Members Do? Liz Livingston Howard 2017
What SHOULD Board Members Do? Show up Maintain confidentiality Be honest Participate fully in one or more committees Give meaningful personal financial donation (+ matching gift) Serve as an active ambassador Secure resources for the organization Constructively help the school grow Liz Livingston Howard 2017
How Can You Help The Board Be More Effective? Recruit the right people & onboard them effectively Set clear expectations Keep the agenda focused on strategic questions Engage the board members individually and collectively Connect them to other ministries of the parish Thank them! Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Who Are Your Board Members? Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Recruiting Board Members Who can you invite? Parents Alumni parents Parishioners Alumni Community members How do you invite them? Bulletin Word of mouth Nominating Committee What skills do you need? Work Weight Wealth Wisdom How do you onboard? Advance meeting Share documents Provide a mentor/buddy Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Expectations Of Board Members Attend meetings, committee meetings and events Leave your affiliations at the door Maintain confidentiality Be honest but not confrontational Financially contribute to the greatest extent you can Ask difficult questions and listen to answers Speak positively about the school Partner with the pastor and principal Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Strategic Focus What is strategic: What is not strategic: Consent agendas Planning conversations Finance topics Fundraising Tuition Catholic identity Marketing What is not strategic: Personnel Academic programs Legal issues Complaining about parish Repeating committee conversations at the full board Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Why Is Engagement Important? Liz Livingston Howard 2017
How To Foster Engagement Mission moments Time for discussion Appoint a “devil’s advocate” for each issue Committees/task forces/opportunities for interaction Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Specific Engagement Tactics MARKETING Help them create an elevator pitch Ask them to be ambassadors Identify opportunities to speak about your school Host events to tell the story of the school FUNDRAISING Identify ways for them to share their network Ask them to identify prospective donors Jointly create goals Encourage them to support school events Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Connect School Board to Other Ministries Joint meetings Presentations at Parish Council, Men’s Club, Women’s Club, Etc. Speak at mass (during CSW) Engage with outreach ministries Others??? Liz Livingston Howard 2017
How You Can Leverage Your Relationship With The Board Select carefully (when possible) Set clear expectations Give them substantive things to do Or they will create something Use their individual skills as well as the collective skills Try to meet them individually occasionally Thank them!!!!! Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Questions Liz Livingston Howard 2017
Kellogg Nonprofit Executive Education Programs Created for nonprofit leaders and board members Focused on leadership, general management and nonprofit topics Held at Kellogg’s downtown Chicago campus in 2-3 day formats School Leadership and Fundraising for School Leaders 50% scholarships for Office of Catholic Schools!! Liz Livingston Howard 2017