I have done a lot of reflecting over the years on what ways of giving back are most impactful and motivating for me. I believe, since I have had a measure of success thanks to the support of many, I have an obligation to pay it forward.
When my daughter Leyla was young, I started to think about ways I wanted to give back besides writing checks to worthy organizations. I felt I had more to contribute so I joined a board when a friend of mine invited me. I didn’t really know what to expect but wanted to learn. I joined an amazing group who taught me a lot about the role of a not for profit board as a fiduciary; making sure the organization is sustainable and serving its mission. I really enjoyed the strategic planning as well as supporting the fund development. I was also asked to support the audit committee which gave me another perspective.
Later, when I formed my own NGO, Open Hearts Big Dreams Fund, I thought a lot about what I enjoyed most about being a board member and what frustrated me. I realized no one really asked me what I wanted to get out of volunteering my time as a board member. I ended up being matched to responsibilities more based on my background and experience rather than my interests. I also observed an inherent tension between board members who wanted to provide professional experience and staff who wanted the board to do more to help raise much needed funding.
I used these learnings from my personal experience and from talking to other board members when I developed the board of OHBD. I started by approaching a very diverse set of talented professionals I thought would each add a unique perspective. I asked them each to identify what they wanted to get out of joining the board and what they felt they could contribute, joyfully. We certainly appreciate financial support from our board members. But we try to give them lots of other opportunities to contribute beyond raising funds. In fact, we work to design our projects, starting with Ready Set Go Books project, to be self-sustaining through generating their own funds over time, by book sales and licensing fees.
It’s been now nine years since my first invitations to join the board of a yet to be formed organization were made. Board members are critical to the success of any organization. They bring in new ideas, they draw in their network, they share their experience and in doing so help the organization continue to grow and develop to meet its mission. We feel it is crucial to attract a broad cross section of experience from entrepreneur, technologist, educator, NGO leadership, collaborators, and innovators to develop a well-balanced board where everyone has an opportunity to share their gifts as well as learn. Our mission is to empower kids in Ethiopia to reinvent their future through delivering our bold goals on literacy, art, technology and leadership for K-14 education.
We believe “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” (Steve Jobs) Our progress to date with our amazing board members continues to prove this true.
A version of this article previous published in a 2019 newsletter