ESC invites one of your board members to participate in a group that will help us understand how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting nonprofit Boards of Directors in the Triangle area, and allow us to better adjust our workshop content accordingly. Simply put us in touch with your Board Chair, and/or a delegate, and we will take care of the rest.  

Pre-pandemic, our Nonprofit Board Leadership Boot Camps were widely regarded as an excellent source for practical best practices in nonprofit leadership.  Post-pandemic, although we know that the basic principles still apply, we also know that life has, and WILL, change significantly for you.  Some of you have become overwhelmed with demand for your services, others have been devastated.  We are all figuring this out as we go.

At ESC of the Triangle, our 70 passionate and deeply experienced volunteer consultants are anxious to help you adapt to whatever the new normal becomes. Our emphasis remains on learning and refining best practices, and pragmatically applying those lessons through SERVICE.  Some of you have already taken advantage of our pro bono Crisis Action Planning and Resilience Coaching .  But, What issues are most important and useful now?    

To answer this question, we are forming several focus groups to learn the most important issues now affecting nonprofit Boards of Directors in the Triangle.  For example:

  • How do we best lead our organizations, remotely?
  • How can we plan and budget in the climate of uncertainty?
  • How do we recruit, orient and staff our Boards and organizations?

INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING?  Simply introduce us to one willing and able board member from your organization.  Email paige@esctriangle.org with the subject “Board Focus Group” no later than Monday, May 4th. 

METHOD: We plan to conduct four Zoom focus groups. Each session will have 6-8 participants who are board members in the Triangle area,  and last for 90 minutes. Sessions will be facilitated and analyzed by a social science professional, providing a wide opportunity for each participant to offer their information and opinions. Nonprofit agencies will be acknowledged for their contribution to this research, but no individual board members will be personally identified, and nothing coming out of a session will be attributed either to a specific agency or a specific person.

DELIVERABLES: ESC will release and widely distribute a report of the results to help everyone in the Triangle nonprofit community gain a better understanding of how the pandemic is affecting boards of directors – both the substance of the issues boards are dealing with as well as the mechanics of how boards are operating.  Most importantly, the takeaways will guide refinement of our Board Boot Camps, and will likely spawn additional workshops to help you address the most important current issues.  

We look forward to working with you and increasing your chances of success in these unprecedented, uncertain times.