Joy Folkedal, Governance Specialist & Curriculum Developer, with Board Source, offers a set of resources for Board Members to consider in telling your organization’s story.
- Create “Mission moments” at board meetings and staff meetings to share stories which can then be shared with other networks about how your organization is advancing its mission. In our last Board Source staff meeting, a staff member shared a quote from our membership survey about the specific things Board Source was doing to partner with their organization and their impact. Sometimes a board member shares some great feedback from a donor visit with other board members. The idea is that staff and board members are thinking about the mission and sharing these ideas with other staff or board members. This then gives both staff and board members stories to share with their networks about your organization.
- Board Members telling their own stories can also advance the mission. http://www.thestorytellingnonprofit.com/blog/3-ways-non-profit-board-members-can-tell-stories-raise-money/ focuses on having board members tell their personal story about why they joined the board, impact stories about how the organization is impacting their stakeholders and advancing the mission, and the founding story of the organization.
- The Board Source Stand for Your Mission Campaign encourages board members to advocate for their organizations by telling their stories. One suggestion is to have board members answer the question at their next board meeting, “What have you done since the last board meeting to advance the mission of the nonprofit?” you can also share the discussion guide with your board: Stand For Your Mission Discussion Guide