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Building Trust

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How do you run an organization without trust? How does a nonprofit board of directors fulfill its duties without trust? Not easily.

At a recent Spokes workshop, the presenters talked about the importance of trust in building a resilient and inclusive board culture, but they didn’t say much about how to build trust in the first place. Where does it come from?

So, I asked my new friend chatGPT to list the most crucial factors for building trust. Here is what I got:

  1. Sincerity – Honesty and authenticity in words and actions.
  2. Reliability – Consistently following through on commitments.
  3. Competence – Possessing the skills and abilities necessary to fulfill responsibilities.
  4. Care – Demonstrating concern for the well-being of others.

Considering my life’s experience, those make perfect sense to me. I also asked chatGPT to recommend a couple books on the subject of building trust. The Thin Book of Trust: An Essential Primer for Building Trust at Work by Charles Feltman appealed to me.

Feltman provides a framework for evaluating trustworthiness, helping readers identify areas where trust may falter. The book emphasizes that trust is dynamic, built through repeated interactions, and can be repaired when broken.

https://www.bkconnection.com/books/title/the-thin-book-of-trust-third-edition

Spotlight on Spokes

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On October 8, 2024, Spokes board member Liz Summer and CEO Michael Simkins had the opportunity to talk with long-time radio host Dave Congalton on KVEC’s The Dave Congalton Show. Topics that came up included the difficulty nonprofits are having replenishing their pool of volunteers, efforts to help nonprofits diversify their boards, and how people can get involved with board service. Listen below!

Image used by permission.

Board Service 101

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Serving as a director on a nonprofit board offers valuable benefits to both you and your community. You’ll develop leadership skills, expand your network, and make a meaningful impact on a cause you care about. Your volunteer service ensures the organization stays mission-focused and effective, supporting positive change and enhancing the quality of life in your community.

Topics in this short introduction include:

Your responsibilities as a director
The three “duties” of a nonprofit director
Finding the right board for you
Typical time and financial commitment

Replenishing Your Volunteer Pool

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“Lack of volunteers” is a common theme lately in our executive director/CEO roundtables at Spokes. Currently volunteers are “aging out” and it’s a struggle to replace them. I decided to ask our friend chatGPT about this issue. As usual, it had lots of ideas.

For openers, it provided the following trends that contribute to the situation:

  • Aging Population of Traditional Volunteers: Older generations, especially Baby Boomers, have historically been strong contributors to volunteerism. As they age, they are either reducing their involvement or are unable to continue due to health reasons.
  • Younger Generations Volunteering Less: While Millennials and Gen Z are often involved in social causes, their approach to volunteering is different. They tend to prefer short-term, project-based engagements or virtual volunteering, rather than long-term commitments. Their work-life balance, financial pressures, and busy schedules also play a role in their reduced engagement in traditional volunteering.
  • Shift in How Younger People Engage: Younger generations are often more attracted to causes that align with their personal values and might prioritize advocacy, digital activism, or donating money over volunteering time in a traditional sense. They also prefer organizations that offer flexible, meaningful, and tech-savvy volunteer opportunities.
  • Competition with Other Activities: Younger people have more competing interests, such as career development, social activities, and other forms of civic engagement. Nonprofits may struggle to attract them unless they adapt to these preferences.
  • Lack of Targeted Outreach: Some nonprofits may not have adjusted their volunteer recruitment and engagement strategies to appeal to younger generations, who often rely on social media and online platforms for such opportunities.

Next time, I’ll share some of the suggested approaches for countering this trend.

Complementary Strengths

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In his blog Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector, Jim Morgan emphasizes the importance of complementary strengths when you are looking for a collaborative partner organization. As general examples, he cites implementation skills, innovative program design, connections to diverse communities, or strong donor relationships.

That makes sense to me, but I wanted some examples. I’ve been using chatGPT quite a bit lately, but today I decided to try out Microsoft’s Copilot. When I asked for examples, it actually started by elaborating on Morgan’s blog post! I followed up by asking it to provide a couple specific examples of actual nonprofit collaborations. It did a great job!

Feeding America and Boys & Girls Clubs of America:

Feeding America is a nationwide network of food banks that provides food to millions of people. Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) offers after-school programs for young people. By collaborating, Feeding America supplies nutritious meals and snacks to children attending BGCA programs. This partnership ensures that children not only receive educational and recreational support but also have access to healthy food, addressing both educational and nutritional needs.

Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent Financial:

Habitat for Humanity is known for building affordable housing for families in need. Thrivent Financial is a financial services organization with a strong volunteer base and financial resources. Through their collaboration, Thrivent provides funding and volunteers to support Habitat for Humanity’s home-building projects. This partnership combines Habitat’s expertise in construction and community development with Thrivent’s financial support and volunteer mobilization, resulting in more homes being built for those in need.

Read Morgan’s blog post here.

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