Virtual board meetings are a convenient and efficient method of bringing together and discussing important issues that affect your nonprofit organization. They eliminate the hassle of travel, cancellations or delays in travel and allow you to plan meetings at the convenience of your board members without interrupting their work. Additionally, they enable you to draw and keep individuals regardless of their geographic location, which opens up the possibilities for recruiting and boosts your board’s diversity.
Although there are many benefits of virtual board meetings, there are still issues with them. The first problem is to keep your attendees entertained. It may be harder to keep attendees focused without the social aspect of a physical gathering. To combat this, create an agenda that has an established structure and limit the time that discussion can take place.
It’s also important to make sure that all your attendees are heard even if they aren’t able to take part in the discussion. Request that they muffle their microphones when they are not speaking, and then unmute it when they are ready to speak. Use a video conference tool that records the audio and the visuals so that those who aren’t as tech-savvy can take part.
Additionally, it’s essential to have a board management software suite that includes secure document storage that allows for the sharing, archiving and annotation of documents prior to the meeting as well as during the meeting. This will allow your board to share and review important materials like governing documents, financial statements and other vital information. It will then be easy to create precise and precise minutes of the meeting.
