Reaching Across Generations

How are you involving millenials in your organization's work? This is a question we've all been hearing a lot lately. But I'm not sure that I like some of the answers.

I've been in several conversations and meetings in recent months where the idea of creating a "millenial advisory group" was brought up. It was generally agreed among my peers (those of us between 40 and 65) that the younger generation may not be ready for the responsibility of being on a board of directors.

"Oh, they're too busy with their careers, or starting families, or doing whatever it is they do with their tweet machines..." And yet, everybody nods and agrees that without the active involvement of millenials, their development of new donors and volunteers is dead in the water.

And so, the Millenial Advisory Group. A group of young folk to come up with recommendations for the groups of older folk to consider: a committee to involve millenials without actually having to talk to them directly.

At one recent meeting where this idea was being presented, I turned to the 20-something person beside me and asked, "Does any of this sound at all patronizing to you?" She glanced quickly to each side before giving a quick nod and quietly saying, "A little bit."

The question isn't whether or not you're going to invite millenials to the table. The question is whether you're going to invite them to the adults table in the dining room, or send them off to the kids table in the kitchen.

Instead of a "Millenial Advisory Committee" why not just add a few millenials to your existing Volunteer Outreach Committee or your Development & Communications Committee? And if you don't have any such committees already, maybe that's why your organization is failing to attract new donors or volunteers.

Just a thought...

The End of Board Committees

Let's face it: board committees are usually bored committees, and rarely get anything done unless it's task and time specific, so why not just abolish them?

At least, that's the question being asked in the premier issue of 'Blue Avocado' - the new online magazine for people working and volunteering in the nonprofit sector. The site, directed and edited by Jan Masaoka (my former boss at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services), is "half magazine, half blog, half website" and its "aim is to engage and support the people of community nonprofits, the ones who do the heavy lifting in building social justice and strong communities, and who create and drive the ideas that change our world for the better."

Of the articles in the premier issue, which came out today, the one abolishing board committees really grabbed me as being provocative and helpful at the same time. Of course, you'll never get rid of all committees - nor should you - but with a handful of exceptions, board committees do not need be permanent standing structures, and their business can be better served with ad-hoc task-specific groups.

I see two main benefits right off: providing focus and eliminating burn-out. A project specific task force knows what it must accomplish, and by when it must accomplish it. And, by providing that direction, there's no drift or inertia from month-to-month as nothing seems to happen, making committee members bored, anxious, and fed up with board work entirely.

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