Effective virtual engagement is essential to the success of meetings for nonprofit boards. The ability to bring board members from nonprofit organizations together in person isn’t always possible Therefore, savvy facilitation of meetings and detailed documentation are key to ensuring that online meetings are effective.
To keep the discussion on track to keep the discussion focused, you should set clear time limits for each item in the agenda and allow only one person to speak at a time. It’s also helpful to offer an online video prior to the meeting where presenters can narrate their slides for the attendees, which is time-saving and reduces distractions.
A remote meeting can be a challenge to organize because it’s difficult to determine if people are expressing something they want to say. It’s more difficult to detect social cues in a video call however, encouraging open discussion and allowing for dissent is essential to the success of your nonprofit.
It’s crucial to have sufficient data to make informed decisions. It’s crucial to give a detailed summary of the meeting as minutes. Minutes record the process of making decisions which can prove useful for board members who are not present and in fighting legal challenges later on. This is why your minutes should be concise and precise. To ensure this, your minutes-taker must avoid putting in information that could be perceived as confidential such as individual votes or opinions, or off-the record conversations. This article gives seven tips on how to host an online board meeting that leads to productive decisions for your non-profit.