“The board provides strategic direction. In many ways, the board functions as a particular kind of eyes and ears for the organization. They bring their passion and involvement in other organizations and causes – whether as staff, volunteers, activists, members of other boards – to the organization that they are serving as a board member.”

Sande Smith is the VP of communciations/board of the San Francisco chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She also serves as the director of public education, Global Fund for Women.

In this interview, she talks about board governance best practices, the challenges posed by the economy, and the advice she has for nonprofits and what they can learn from successful for-profit firms.

CharityVillage: What do you see as the greatest challenges facing nonprofits?

Sande Smith: Of course, right now, everyone’s reeling from the challenges posed by the economy. But at the same time, one of the biggest challenges facing us is our perception of what we’re not. The term nonprofit is an odd one because it emphasizes what we’re not, rather than what we are and how we do what we do. When we think about what nonprofits actually are, they’re for-social-profit organizations. They represent the heart, soul, sweat and intellect of communities that is given for the betterment of all.

I just came back from a talk where Joseph Mouzon, executive director of NPO services at Network for Good, pointed out the vitality of the nonprofit sector. He reminded us that in the US, there are 1.5 million nonprofits that employ about 13 million people. Furthermore, 26% of the US population volunteers. That’s 80 million people – the combined total of three of our largest states. What an incredible resource. Reflecting on that data and thinking about my own board experience with PRSA-SF and the dynamic volunteers that I work with, I think our greatest challenge is embracing the human resources and mobilizing ability that we have, rather than focusing on what we lack.

CV: What is the secret to creating an environment of trust and cooperation on the board of directors?

SS: 1. Communication – to build trust; we have to communicate with one another. Each of the PRSA-SF board members have areas of responsibility, so it is incumbent upon us to both clearly define our vision of our area and then report on our progress toward that vision. Clear, straightforward communication is essential. Our president, Heidi Zuhl, always sends out the agenda the week before our monthly board meeting. In return, each board member is responsible for sending out a monthly report a few days before the meeting so that we all have time to read, review and reflect on the upcoming agenda items and our possible contributions.

2. Shared learning – we are also willing to try new things. For example, we recently noticed that our members weren’t signing up for our monthly programs – a core offering of the chapter. So we quickly generated a survey and sent it out to all the people on our mailing list, which included members and non-members, to learn what obstacles were keeping people from signing up. Based upon that feedback, we are changing our offerings. Building trust requires the willingness to do something different, to surrender the traditional ways of doing things.

3. Expertise – we believe in one another’s expertise in communications and public relations. We know that as board members, we’re committed to advancing the well-being of the chapter by providing opportunities for our members to come together, share ideas and best practices, while enjoying ourselves in the process. We’re also committed to providing mentorship and scholarship opportunities to young people who are learning the public relations field, so we work together to foster that learning.

CV: What should nonprofits be doing to prepare for the economic turmoil we are headed for today?

SS: First of all, we can’t afford to panic. We have to remember what the core mission of our organizations is and realize that people are excited to support us – not just financially, but emotionally, physically, with time and attention – because they’re passionate about the cause that we represent too. If we panic, we can’t concentrate or come up with great ideas. And panic makes it much less attractive to everyone, whether they’re friends, potential members or donors.

We have to educate ourselves and be willing to experiment with innovative ways of reaching and engaging our constituents. For a public foundation, that might mean learning how to use social media tools. For PRSA, that might mean providing affordable programs for networking face-to-face and sharing business practices that get clients exposure and help to shape conversations. We can’t afford not to listen to our constituents. So, as I mentioned, at PRSA-SF, we did a survey about programs – one of the chapter’s core offerings – to learn what will make these programs more valuable to our constituents.

CV: What changes would you recommend to improve nonprofit governance?

SS: Having been on another board that wasn’t such a good experience and now serving on this board of the Public Relations Society of America – SF, I can say that the key to improving nonprofit governance is simple adherence to basic organizational structures – clear agendas, regular meetings, encouragement of the board members’ initiatives, giving people the space to try out new ideas and initiatives while having a system in place for accountability, and recognition that these are voluntary opportunities, which means that people are fitting them into lives that are already very busy.

Transparency is important. For example, I make sure to share with my communications committee what’s going on at the board level so that they have context for what we’re striving to do.

CV: What issues should nonprofit boards advocate? Why?

SS: The issues that our boards advocate must be intricately tied with our mission. So in the case of the PRSA-SF, the issues that we advocate for are grounded in the groups’ mission to engage “both internal and external audiences…not only to enhance awareness of the important role public relations plays in a free society, but also to make significant contributions to public discourse on issues that affect the profession directly and those that impact free and open communications around the globe.”

Specifically, this has meant that the national PRSA advocacy advisory board has investigated the potential for many hot button items in the news, such as more open and timely communication from the public health sector on potential epidemics, like bird flu, and on food labelling and product placement, as well as dealing with ongoing ethical dilemmas, including the use of artificial “grassroots” campaigns to create an appearance of public groundswell where none exists. For more information, see: www.prsa.org.

CV: What are the most critical roles of the board of directors of a nonprofit? How do boards sometimes fall short of this ideal?

SS: Most importantly, the members of the board of directors are called upon to be leaders of an organization, which means they provide strategic guidance, serve as role models and function as ambassadors on behalf of the organization and cause whose board they serve. As part of their fiscal responsibility, they are called upon to rally resources – money for one, but also other human resources and enthusiasm for the cause. And there’s a legacy piece too; they’re called upon to help perpetuate the legacy of the organization – that is values and strengths may be perpetuated.

Regarding falling short, I’ve found that sometimes people join a board because they are committed to the cause, yet they aren’t clear on what is expected of them as a board member. Furthermore, sometimes boards aren’t clear on how to elicit the strengths of their members. One board that I was involved with did a strengths inventory of its membership, which helped to showcase for members and staff how to expand the contribution of board members.

It’s easy for those of us who don’t see math and money as our strength to avoid paying attention to the financial needs of the organization, yet the fiscal management requirements mean that responsible board members are called upon to educate themselves about the fiscal needs of the organization as well as the challenges. For example, an organization might invite the company that makes its investments to make a presentation to the board and answer questions about financial strengths and challenges. And board members should make it a priority to focus on such a presentation. Basic literacy in this day and age means that all of us are called upon to educate ourselves about the basics of the economy and its effect on our organizations and industries.

CV: What can nonprofits learn from successful for-profit firms?

SS: Creative cultivation of the staff – the value of taking good care of human capital – listening, developing, mentorship. When I worked at a for-profit public relations firm, I learned from them more efficient systems for managing and tracking time. At the same time, I love working at a cause-driven organization, the Global Fund for Women, which funds women-led organizations that are striving to help women realize their full potential – in 167 countries! I like finding ways to bring useful systems and matrices to my work for social profit.

Soha El-Borno is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of experience in the nonprofit/voluntary sector. You can find her work on CSAE’s Association Agenda, Charity Village, Fundraising Success Magazine and the Wild Apricot blog. She can be reached at soha_elborno@yahoo.ca.