Are you finding meaning in your service as a board member?
Let’s continue the discussion from our previous post.
Anywhere from 10 to 19 hours is a lot to spend on volunteer work per month. We know that you love the associations and nonprofits that you work so hard to support, but is your volunteer time and talent being used wisely and to its full potential?
“The smartest and most effective volunteers we work with are individuals who are results-oriented,” says Ed Fields, Managing Director for Projects Unlimited. “These individuals understand that they are better serving their organizations if they recruit top talent – be they volunteer, full time staff or a professional management firm like Projects Unlimited. They stay out of nitty-gritty details and focus on governance, fundraising and advocacy.”
Consider inviting Team PUI to step in and take some of the details off your mind so that you can focus on securing that large donor, building relationships, or landing the big speaker for your annual meeting (your members are going to love you for that one…).
The PUI team approach has proven successful. We employ a few hours and the talents of multiple team members to complete tasks in the most efficient way that we can. In many cases, there are two to four of us working on one particular task at any given time. In a “traditional” setting, this task would have to be completed by one board chair or one board member alone. Our approach works because we are focused on the piece that best fits our individual strengths and knowledge-base. The result is less “fuss” time spent on things that one individual may not care to do or that they may not be particularly good at.
Here’s some insight into how Team PUI is spending time for three of our clients, on average, each month.
When I said in the previous post that your time requirements will likely ebb and flow, here’s the perfect example: the month of a membership luncheon for one of our clients, we spent close to 37 hours on the program. The month prior did not have a luncheon program and we spent a mere 4.75 hours on program planning. As one person, could you handle a spike in the time required of you like the one just described? Where would you have to pull resources from to get the job done?
Additionally, we know that we spend large chunks of time on special projects. Case in point, we spent 444 hours over 7 months on a fundraising campaign, and 507 hours across 5 months to plan a 3-day conference and expo.
Do you have this kind of time to dedicate to the details? Is there something else you could be spending your time doing to find deeper meaning in your service as a board member?
In closing, we are many people working for one — your association or nonprofit. Let us plan your meetings, prepare your financials, handle communication with your board and members, or set the stage for your big event of the year… the day-to-day tasks. You focus on building momentum, increasing your membership, working for change, developing key partnerships and promoting your cause.
And while you’re at it, just relax, because it’s handled.
We’ve got your back.
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We spend a lot of our time on tasks related to the board (meetings, communication, planning, etc.) and programs.
What tasks for your organization or nonprofit are you spending the majority of your time on?
Are these tasks using your volunteer time wisely and to its full potential?
Let us know!
