The challenge of sustaining board meeting engagement is not new. Prior to the pandemic, almost every nonprofit had one or two board members who typically arrived late, opened the meeting packet after they arrived, looked at their cell phone during the meeting, and left early.
Here are seven tips for effective virtual Board meetings:
1. Maximize the online meeting platform
Nonprofits are using a variety of video conferencing platforms including Zoom, GotoMeeting, WebEx, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Skype, and many others. Once a platform is chosen, make time to learn how to maximize its features. Offer to host a test meeting (or two) to help newly elected Board Chairs and directors become more familiar with using polls, breakouts, white board, and chat box which can facilitate productive discussion and decision making.