Using Appreciative Inquiry to Create Healthy(ier) Boards

There are over 23,000 nonprofit organizations in Colorado. The sector has created 330,000 jobs and generated over $40 billion in economic impact according to the Colorado Nonprofit Impact Report. The positive social impact of the nonprofit sector in our communities is vast. But you already know that because you are a part of it! 

I think we can all agree that when it comes to Boards, it is time to do things differently. Board member recruitment and engagement have been on a steady decline for many years, and - since the pandemic - volunteerism has also declined, sharply. The truth is that the prospect of joining a Board of Directors is not widely appealing, especially to Gen Xers and Millennials. 

We’d like to propose that utilizing appreciative inquiry (AI) tools could aid in the shift to a more mission-driven, strengths-based board model. This week we will be presenting innovative strategies and practical tools that are designed to boost engagement, productivity, and sustainability at the Board level. Consider joining us at the Nonprofit Learning Lab’s Denver Conference, Thursday,  January 25th at 11:10 a.m. at the Lowry Conference Center for a workshop on Creating Synergy: Board and Executive Leadership. 

If you miss the conference, don’t worry, we will feature some of these concepts and tools over the next few months through our blog! AI Tools are applicable in a variety of settings, from board meetings, to staff one-on-ones, to overall organizational development - strategic planning, goal setting, etc. We use AI as the basis for our strategic planning facilitation helping organizations work through the Five D’s - Define, Discover, Dream, Design, and Destiny. 

More about our approach here: https://www.thenonprofitstrategygroup.com/strategic-planning