How to Deal with Nonprofit Board Decisions that You Don’t Agree With

In the nonprofit world, many factors go into board decisions—budgets, strategy, stakeholder interests and more. It’s inevitable that, at some point, you’ll find yourself in disagreement with a board decision. In this week’s Two-Minute Treasurer Tip Podcast, Cyndi shares some tips for navigating these waters and turning moments of tension into an opportunity for growth.

Controversial Decisions: Setbacks or Stepping Stones?

Welcome to the Two-Minute Treasurer’s Tip Podcast. I’m Cyndi Meuchel, and today we’re talking about how to deal with board decisions that you don’t necessarily agree with.

There are certainly going be times when you may not agree with decisions made within your nonprofit. I guarantee it. Heck, that happens everywhere in life. But you have to come to terms with it sometimes. And here are some suggestions for handling it.

Prior to even agreeing to serve on a board, I would suggest you review the governing documents of the organization so you can better understand how they even operate. This will help you determine whether or not you feel you can, or, gosh, even want to comply with them.

It’s important that the leaders of the group set a tone that encourages free exchange of ideas and opinions. So you want to see a lot of open and vigorous discussion. A board that passes every resolution unanimously – they might want to evaluate whether the group is operating in a healthy manner.

At the same time, it’s important that everyone has a opportunity, and feels safe, to calmly and respectfully speak their mind. And to maintain a healthy dialogue, we suggest following Robert’s Rules of Order. This will help your group stay focused, and once an issue is settled by a board vote, you must accept it. Because remember, your vote is not the only one that counts.

If, however, you feel so strongly that the board made a decision that didn’t consider all of the facts, you might want to write a letter to clearly explain your concerns.

And finally, if you still feel strongly enough about this that you can’t move on from it, you might consider resigning.

Remember, those votes or board approvals, those are in place for key decisions for a reason. It’s important that all voices are heard and that the majority rules.

That’s it for today! I hope it helps. If you have a question I can answer, please email me at [email protected].