Motivating Board Members to Respond to Calls and Email

One of the big complaints of staffers working with a nonprofit board of directors share is the challenges of getting board members to even respond to phone calls and emails. Getting in touch with board members when there is an upcoming meeting, event, or their input and expertise is needed may seem like a simple enough staff, but when board members do NOT respond to basic phone and email queries, it makes the job of the nonprofit volunteer or employee even harder. What can be done to motivate board members to respond and answer those phone calls and important emails?

It may be hard to hear but continued contacting and "nagging" may be in order. If board members are not responding to emails asking them for specific input or guidance, repeat and resend until they do answer. What harried staffer wants to have to repeat the same request? Regardless of how annoying it can be to have to leave or send several messages, consider giving the board member(s) a reasonable amount of time to respond and then send or leave another message. Reiterate the importance and, if you are sending repeated messages, it is okay to mark them urgent and notate them with clarifications such as "Second request" or '˜Please respond!"

Consider setting a deadline for response and putting it in the subject line of an email. This way the board member can see very clearly what the expectation is. He or she may simply peruse the email instead of reading it in detail for the information needed. With this in mind, try to keep the request simple and easy to read and respond to.

Additionally, consider copying everyone or at least the board chair or president on any request. A little peer pressure can be helpful, especially if you are not getting responses in a timely manner.

Finally, if non-responsiveness is a problem, consider addressing it at a board meeting. Board members may be able to share information about whey they are NOT responding, while staff can then share why a timely response is important to the operations of the organization.