Creating Effective Working Boards through kindness and gratitude

By Donna Marie Lubrano

What I Learned why I finally took My Seat

In January 2025, I assumed the role of Treasurer and Fundraising Chair for the 501C3 arm of a professional organization. It was run by an all volunteer working board with the goals of fundraising fo professional development scholarships. I had a small inkling of past challenges, but no idea of the magnitude of poor leadership and the normalized dysfunction which contirubted to organizational inertia and a revolving door of board turnover.This story challenges the notion,held by many women,that board service is reserved for those with impeccable credentials. Women often silently disqualify themselves underestimating their skill, experience and lived experience as irrelevant and unimportant. This story demonstrates that great board leadership is proven through commitment, caring and contribution.

Testimonial from a board member

“I greatly appreciate having worked with you. I do think, after working with you, that I have been able to shed some of this mid-western mindset and have become more forthright in my career. I really would lay that credit at your feet.”

In past years, with high turnover rate and low board engagement the fundraising fell on the shoulders of the Treasurer, with very little assistance or enthusiasm from other board members. There were multiple campaigns reaching into the pockets of the same pool of donors. Each campaign culminated in October 2025 at its annual conference, with a silent auction and other smaller fundraising events within a short period of time. The donor base was strong and generous. The outreach work needed to be consistent, with motivating touchpoints and strong follow-up.

In 2024, my second year on the board, I had witnessed the challenges of this campaign and the boards inertia. The board chair was very laissez-faire, unresponsive, and often unaware. Emails went unanswered, and no board development was conducted to create a team out of the assemblage of individuals. Quorums were often unreached to adopt minutes and conduct regular board business. The sad thing is that no one seemed to mind or raise a red flag. I saw the stress, and chaos it brought to that 2024’s Fundraising chair’s life as she juggled work, family and pregnancy. It was quite sad to see this very conscientious individual be treated with such disregard. While there was initial interest, team members formally and informally removed themselves from the fundraising committee. It seemed to be acceptable to allow an individual to carry the full burden.

For a working board, where personal commitment and a shared mission is key to its success, this benign neglect was a disaster. Working boards often suffer from uneven participation and skills gaps-particularly many areas in including fundraising. Members juggle board duties with full-time jobs and personal commitments. Each comes to the organization with various goals and intentions from a desire to do “good” or get “board member” on their resume. These diverse goals provide additional challenges in aligning individual needs with the organizational mission.

Learning from 2024 events my fundraising approach prioritized a team strategy, clear communication, a celebration of monthly milestones that would generate positivity and enthusiasm. I formed a team and parsed out manageable pieces that had easy accountability During monthly board meetings,I would highlight all elements of forward movement toward the goal. This included sharing benchmarks from emails sent and responses received, tangible dollar results, and year over year comparisons from 2024. Each team member was offered an opportunity to share their efforts, highlight key accomplishments, and areas for support. This ritual became a way of reinforcing a culture of recognition and continuous improvement. Over the seven month long fundraising initiative several changes became visible. Board donations increased, innovative approaches to outreach emerged, and new revenue streams were adopted. Benchmarks were reached in record time, months in advance from previous years and goals were exceeded.Once clear communication, goals and objectives and a culture of positive reinforcement was established-the committee and other members found a rhythm that resulted in exceeding all fundraising goals in record time. MTFI (Make them feel important) was my guiding mantra which went a long way in demonstrating the rewards of kindness, gratitude and appreciation. I saw pockets of innovation and personal initiative that were not present in the previous campaign. With a stronger leadership style during the fundraising, the lack of overall board leadership increasingly apparent revealing gaps in accountability and shared ownership. There was an organizational “ silence of “disregard.” A tacit agreement to accept poor leadership with out a solution.

There will be record numbers of scholarships in 2025, attributable to a positive/celebratory approach that cost nothing, but consideration and kindness. Witnessing this new approach to board engagement has led to a financial commitment to board development activities that will extend some of this cultural shift. As someone new will take on the role in 2026, I hope that gratitude, kindness and appreciation will prevail.

Connect With Donna

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