 It is half past the hour and I am thrilled to share with all of you today we have a master class for today's episode so this is an opportunity where Julia and or I come on to as I like to say unzip our brain and kind of like you know jog all these this information out and into you. So today we are going to pour into you about nonprofit emeritus boards. Julia Patrick is really going to lead today's discussion. I will add whenever I think you know I have something to add but I'm looking forward to learning. I'm so grateful to each and every one of our presenting sponsors of course you see their logos right in front of you on the screen. Just as you do each and every episode as well as right behind Julia and I on every episode. We are just thrilled to have their continued partnership as we continue on into 300 like close to 350 episodes now so so grateful to have their investment, not only in our episodes but truly in our community your community at large so thank you to our presenting sponsors, and thank you to Julia Patrick CEO of the American nonprofit Academy. I'm Jarrett ransom, I get to have fun each and every day except for when I'm not here to to play this fun co hosting role I'm Jarrett ransom the nonprofit nerd CEO of the Raven group. I missed yesterday. I had some power outages in my studio which really just, you know, put a damper on on me being on so I know yesterday went well I'm looking forward to today again today is this master class, really talking about emeritus boards this is a topic that I go to you Julia, since a to learn more about this topic so share with us and and again like unzip that brain and let it all come out because I am looking forward to learning as I'm sure many of you live as well as they're recording. What is the power of emeritus boards how do they work how do you get them started how do you keep them engaged. So Julia, thank you. Hey, thank you, you know it's really an interesting topic we visit this from time to time. We've spoken about this over the past year and a half we've had questions about it for our Friday ask and answer it. Seeing those questions come up more frequently now that people are looking to get back into restructuring your boards or re engaging your boards. So many nonprofits 1.8 million nonprofits in this great nation of ours. They put kind of like a freeze on board movement didn't mean that their boards didn't engage it's that they stopped bringing in new people or letting people go off because you know it was it was such a perilous thing to figure out how are we going to navigate a challenging time for our nonprofit and bring in new people or move off old people so now I see a lot of boards that are ramping up and I'm sure you're seeing this to just a number of inquiries that I'm getting to see what I'd like to be on somebody's board. Which comes in frequently. It's really really have been amplified. I have been seeing this to answer that question and in fact as I look at the evolution of the organization in which I am hearing most of this from come from when it comes to the topic of emeritus board. I'm really looking that evolution of you know they're about 1520 25 years young as an organization and they are evolving those really champion ambassadors, because as I'm sure you're going to share the emeritus board is not where they all go. Right, it is not the succession plan of every board member. Yeah, and it's kind of an interesting thing because it really does have some gravitas. It's not a given so let's start with actually because you know I'm a word geek emeritus comes from the Latin word, word veteran soldier, sometimes you'll see it as old soldier. So, it really is a word that connotes wisdom and age and time served, and maybe a person who doesn't have the full on capacity that they had in their youth doesn't mean that their mind is not as capable. It just might mean that they don't have that vitality that they once had to serve full on with a board. So this is a really interesting way to frame it, because a lot of times emeritus boards we think, oh my gosh they're like super old people and that can be the case. A lot of times it's just people that have moved on to other things. And so my whole deal is, don't lose that institutional knowledge. Don't let it go because it is so incredibly value value oriented for making decisions that could really change the trajectory of your organization. So, one of those things when we talk about board champions, the emeritus board is an actual board, and we'll get into this a little bit more, but they are another if you will subset of the main board the fiduciary board, the board of directors. So they have an actual management situation that allows them to still be a cohort right. The emeritus boards are tasked with leading certain things. They might be, you know, mentors, they might kick off a big fundraising period of time. They might work on an archive project. They might work on an anniversary project. Right. So I mean, it does have a piece of it that's pretty important. And one of the things that's really interesting about the emeritus board Jared is that they are actually voted on by the board. Right. By your peers. Absolutely. And like you said, it's not a given that everybody just shuffles off to the emeritus board. So it needs to be something that is recognized as not only an honorific, but an actual piece of business, if you will, right. No, I have a question so when we talk about board service in general we often talk about the expectations of those members. What are the typical if that's even the right word expectation of an emeritus board member. What does that look like really good question that it's going to differ depending upon what your organization sets up. So for example, I worked with groups where they maintain a an amount of money that each emeritus board member is going to pay a and the form of do's they call it that, or an annual gift to the organization. Okay, it can be a little it can be a lot. Right. Because you have to remember, it can be very prestigious for some people to be on an emeritus board of a high profile organization. Right. So there's value going both ways. Oftentimes and we'll get into this a little bit more. They're going to be certain things that are required. So for example, you know, attending one event a year, attending one meeting a year. It might be to provide mentoring. It might be to provide as we open up tours. You know you're going to bring so many people to our campus. Right. And we're going to engage in that so it really is a function of how you want to get that that board to work for you right. You need to be strategic. So with that we have a live question that came in. So I'm going to curve ball get, get ready to or knock it out of the park, whatever. Although I know it's basketball right now but we're going to go there. We're going to stick to baseball. Yes. So the question that came in is how would you handle a board member who rolls off the board thinking they are going to get knighted. I love that word with emeritus status and do not get emeritus status. So essentially how do you handle a board member that assumes that they will be you know really tapped on the shoulder voted into emeritus and they're not. That is a great question and you know, I don't think I've ever been asked that question in that way and I love it. I think this is, and this goes back to one of my main principles that I always address when we're talking about boards. It's all about expectations and understanding the process. And so this is one of those things that you need to be talking about as you go forward. Your existing board members need to know that there is this wonderful opportunity called the emeritus board and not everybody gets to go on it. You know, it's privileged. I'm going to say that word. It's just functional, and you have to still do some things you're not just going to have your name, you know, on the website. And it's something that is studied, meaning the rest of the board needs to look at that and determine if that's going to be a good fit. Oftentimes this would be administrated through the nominations committee. So for those of you who have that nominations committee. Sometimes they call it, they'll call it board HR, you know, board development, that kind of piece. That's that committee so you would go through an actual nomination process. Good question I hope that helps. It's not, it's not an easy thing. I also want to talk really quickly about the, the piece that the dovetails into what we were talking about a little earlier and that is, what are those requirements and you brought that up. There's no fiduciary role, meaning these board members are not the first line of defense on any, any, any legal issues contracting grants. They probably aren't even listed on the 990s IRS 990s. They could be more importantly, they are going to be in a specific. They are usage, if you will, they're going to be prestigious people that you might include when you are applying for a grant to say you have these, you know, community elders or these community supporters, you know, standing at the ready. Oftentimes there is no term that this will be voted on forever, right, or the terms might be long, eight years, 10 years, something like that. A lot of times we will see founders founding board members, really tremendous people of import or impact become lifetime emeritus board members. That means for the duration of their life they're identified, and you obviously with their permission, then they are with that group right so to give you an idea, a lot of times we would see this with maybe governors, state governors, US senators, sometimes even really large funders maybe somebody who's endowed something to a campus, that kind of a thing. Without founding board members are founding founders of the organization, is this a great place to really don't want to use the word but I'm going to house these individuals in perpetuity I'm thinking that would be kind of an infinite emeritus opportunity to really have that institutional knowledge but also to acknowledge and just, you know, recognize them as founding members. Yeah, I mean, I'm thinking of the, you know, the airline stewardess that stands at the end of the cabinet says bye bye, bye bye. I mean, this is one of those things we talked a lot about this founder syndrome on the nonprofit show. And this is one of those places where, you know, we see this a lot in the nonprofit sector where an organization is started with a parameter. There's a lot of community changes, thought leadership changes, maybe the problems change, and yet you still have that cadre that is very passionate. That's very dedicated that was the founding piece, but they're aging, right, and maybe they're not is able to give their full force of effort faith and intellect to that to organization. The Emeritus Board is a graceful way to move people off without losing them as champions. And that might sound a little harsh, but I think you never want to have like a messy situation where you extricate yourself from those founding members in a negative way. Have you seen that Jared, I have seen that now I'm questioning, is there a certain sweet spot or number of Emeritus Board members. It's a really good question and you know we always say 15 to 25 is where a lot of board numbers live. And that's one of the beautiful things is things of the Emeritus Board is that you can keep going up. But the reality, unless you're a massive massive institution with a long life, you might not, you know, have ever get to those numbers. Now I have actually seen recently and it was kind of an interesting situation. And I haven't seen this too much, but I saw, and something that was called the Eternal Board, and that was for deceased board members. I have never seen that. Yeah, it was a little shocking. And this was not like a faith based or, you know, anything like that it was just, it was an organization that recognized the August, you know, import of, of their board members. And those that had passed on, and I suspect I do not know, but I suspect it was a board that must have faced probably a sudden loss of a number of people. Right, I'm not saying something like calamitous, but maybe just over a short period of time, they lost some board members maybe young board members who knows and then they wanted to do something that honored them. So basically with the global virus that we've had in that pandemic, this could be an opportunity that has arisen with so many health complications for many vulnerable populations. So, and she's not that far fetched right. Yeah, really, that's, you know, I didn't, I didn't think of it that way. I'm pretty sure they started it before the pandemic. But you know what, I'm sure that is. That's an awesome thing to consider because you're right. I mean the loss in our country that continues. It has been significant, yes, and continues. I was just talking to someone and for those of you that are avid viewers and watchers, you know, I'm sure you know this by now but I also had COVID in December of last year but I was just talking to someone who so graciously brought me chicken noodle soup when I was sick, you know, and he had had it as well and I was like how are you doing how are you feeling is there residuals. So there's a lot of community members a lot of you know our citizens that really are experiencing so many continued complications. I'm very grateful and blessed to really be healthy. But that was just something that came to mind, you know, just really, really natural in today's conversation. Talk to us about, sorry go ahead. Well I was going to move us into the slide that we see here which really is about maintaining connectivity. And my big question is because of COVID because of going through the pandemic and so many pivots right I know we're all tired of hearing that word but let's be honest it's kind of vernacular. I'm so as we move into you know this, this pivot stage, a lot of our, the way we've done business has changed. How does that really impact the maintaining connectivity with our emeritus board, knowing that these might be and I'm going to say, you know, literally older individuals that are not as adept to the newer ways of doing business talk to me about that and what that might look like. You know, I love that you asked this question and that you framed it in this way, because one of the things that, and maybe it's just because I just turned 60, but one of the things that this emeritus board is masterful at is the human connection. Yes, and the connection of people to resources to thoughts to actions to deeds to history. And so that doesn't go away. Right. It just has to be put forth maybe in a different way. So, you know, the zoom concept still works do they may might they need a little, you know, help or instruction on that. Yeah, could be maybe not. But the reality is, this is the group that you can go to when you need that. Hey, does anybody know, you know, so and so from XYZ. This is what you get. This is the power and the magic of the emeritus board, because they are working within many, many layers of their own professional history, their professional connections, and their family connections, right. And it is amazing to me, you always say, Oh, it's such a small world. But this is the army of leadership that you can access for things you would never imagine. You know, you talk about this a lot. And that is when you're moving forward on a big grant proposal, or a community proposal or, or even an MOU to go to your board and just say hey we're going to be doing this. Do you know anybody. Do you, you know, and you never know where this group says, Oh my gosh, you know, they're my golfing buddy. Yes, yes. Well, and that's the power of connection right and it also takes me back to the word we've been talking so much about is the return on relationship because these individuals really have sunk their teeth into the community. And this is where they have invested their time and additional resources. And so the likelihood of these individuals truly serving as a really well connected ambassador is really strong. Another live, I'm going to say comment that came on during today's episode as you were just sharing Julie about maintaining connectivity, and this individual shares that we only allow past officers to be nominated. Again, not even automatically on but nominated for emeritus so they only allow past officers to be nominated in emeritus role they are called upon to serve on ad hoc committees, but are always kept in the loop on organization activities, and I think that is a perfect comment, especially in this conversation right now where we are on maintaining that connectivity. And I like that and it shows me that this organization is using this the structure, they're using this human capital, if you will, to move through the journey of the organization. Bravo to you. I would challenge you to look at non officers, because if there are, you know, shining stars that could still be in your portfolio, so to speak, you shouldn't let them go and I, you know, when I look at high level boards. Sometimes real power brokers are hesitant to take an officer position, because they're on so many other boards. And so you have to kind of look at that. And if you have an organization that's run tightly and in the separation of an executive committee versus you know full board all that, you need to kind of factor some of those things in, but don't. I think that's a good way from that general general population, because it might be somebody that you're letting go of that you really pull in. But I love that question or comment because that shows to me that they are working this group. Yay team. I mean, yeah. Wow, we should have them on as a guest. Type back to them. Okay, I, you know, we don't have much time. One of the questions that you raised. And even this, this last question is, you know, how are you engaging them. I love having these emeritus board members serve on ad hoc committee as ad hoc committee members mentoring and all that. We've seen a lot of success with an annual event digital or IRL, where there is some sort of component with the existing board and the emeritus board comes together. It might be for a coffee. It might be for heavy orders at somebody's home. It might be a team on the campus of the organization, because a lot of times we see a trajectory of this, the certain board started things, but they weren't always there to finish it. I'm thinking of long term capital campaigns. I'm thinking of construction projects. I'm thinking of the evolution of an organization's physical space right. I'm thinking too as we look and this has been a big conversation during the pandemic Julia has really been about collaborative initiatives right of how organizations might merge or acquire with one another. How the emeritus boards plural of all are any of these organizations coming together could really unify to strengthen the community in this message. And I think that is a wonderful opportunity to really engage your emeritus boards in, you know, that that social event and update. Clearly, I had a question about how might you engage the emeritus board when it comes to these social events updates and whatnot with the current board is there a mentorship opportunity that you've seen work successfully. So a lot of boards and I always, I'm like a big champion of this concept is no matter the age or the sophistication of a new board member. I can compare them with a mentor for one to two years, one to two years. And I think that is where this can come in. Now you might be like, Oh my gosh, you know, Sally Smith, she's been on 25 boards and she knows the process and you know, that's great but she might not know the culture. That's where this emeritus board leadership can come into. And it's really strong. It's really powerful. And you know this from mentoring yourself. I think as a mentor, oftentimes you get more out of things than the mentee. Absolutely. We just started our chitty chat chat today talking about the Mandela scholars how how we've both been a part of mentoring the Mandela scholars at some point in our careers and I personally have received so much out of that as well so it's been it's been really nice. Well, Julia, this has been a very phenomenal emeritus boards masterclass I am so grateful for you opening up and sharing all of that wonderful wisdom that you have collected throughout your community service. Thank you for sharing with us the nonprofit emeritus boards. I want to say there's some other resources in particular on this topic on the American nonprofit Academy so please do check that out American nonprofit Academy calm. This live recording will be on our archives you can find those Roku TV Fire TV YouTube video you name it you just say the words Julia Jarrett nonprofit show and you lo and behold it will show up somewhere in your environment so It is true. We are so grateful of course to our presenting sponsors as well without you we could not continue these robust conversations so thank you to our presenting sponsors that you see here. They also come on make an appearance and share with us their wisdom and experience of many, many years, decades. So each and every one of our presenting sponsors also has an episode each and every month to help you continue the great work that you are doing here in our community. I did not mean to skip us but Julia Patrick of course has joined us today and shared with us in this masterclass Julia is the CEO of the American nonprofit Academy and that is where you can find many more resources on the emeritus board topic, as well as many others. I'm Jarrett Ransom, also known as your nonprofit nerd, the nonprofit nerd CEO of the Raven group and are just really glad to be to be back and doing this thing with you Julia it's just been such a joy and to all of you who continue to join us. We know that life is starting to open back up and everyone is starting to fill their schedules with many other activities and events so while you might not be able to join us live. You can always find our recordings and we have actually seen a huge spike in our archive viewership so we know that what we are doing is helpful and supporting you in the good work that you are doing each and every day. Thank you. We do and you know, this before we go we don't have, but just a few, few moments here. We're really excited about our new partnership with fundraising academy. They're now the exclusive sponsor of Friday ask and answer. And so we had our first one with Tony bell last Friday, last Friday and I've got to tell you. It was fascinating, because he totally researched all the questions you know he got the deck before, which you do not. And say that's a little unfair. I know well you know what you're, he's a newbie and I didn't want to like spring it on him, I kind of did but then I was like I can't do that. Holy moly. I'm not saying he was better than you. I'm not saying that at all, but he was better than me on certain things. Because he's a new sponsor I didn't want to do that all like, what are you talking about. I disagree. But we did have some different. Correspondence, which was super cool. And one of the things that I figured out, which was so interesting is that you know we're situated in the West, and he situated in the east. And so some of his, and he's from the east, just like I'm from the West born and raised he's born and raised from the east. Some of our approaches were I thought, very, very cultural. Interesting and I'm bicoastal, born and raised in the east, working professionally in the West so I have a lot of, you know, differing. I want to say like those learned behaviors and the cultural behaviors. I've brought that with me certainly into my, my Western ways. But you know what, I loved it. I was really intrigued by it because I thought, you know, this is what our viewers are. Yeah, and this is what we need to think about when we are looking at the operations of successful nonprofits because there is a difference culturally from parts of our country and so it was it was riveting. But yeah, I want to say join us for asking answered on Fridays, he's not going to be with us every Friday he'll be on a couple times a month but it was really fun Jared and when you do it with him you'll really like it. I did. Well tomorrow is Friday and that is our ask and answer so thank you to fundraising Academy, Julia and I will be on tomorrow hope that you will join us as well. And until then, stay well, so you can do well. See you later.