In a nutshell, the board of a non-profit is the owner of the non-profit and they provide oversight in the interest of the public’s trust.  Non-profits are built to support a mission or service purpose.  There may be staff that is invested, passionate, and carries out the daily work of the non-profit, but it is the board (as an entity, not as individuals) that is the keeper of the mission. 

The board’s primary responsibility is to ensure the fulfillment of the mission and that the organization will sustain to fulfill the mission.  The sustain part is where the fiduciary responsibility plays into a board’s role.  To break this down to even more basic elements, the board should be focused on the Why of an organization along with an evaluation of the What of the organization.  They must ensure the Whats are serving the Whys.

One area that the board should not be involved in, except for assessing sustainability and risk, is the How an organization functions.  This is the job of the executive director and staff.  They figure out and implement the How to achieve the What.  It helps if the staff is dedicated to the Why and fully understands how the Whats manifest the Why.  The board can help with this through evaluations and feedback.       

Operationally the board’s role is to provide general oversight, guidance, and professional expertise.  They should also be ambassadors and advocate for the non-profit in the community.  I realize many boards are focused on fundraising, this can be a component of what they do, but really fundraising is a How function and should be carried out by staff.  Board members can use their connections and advocacy to help in fundraising but expecting your board to be fundraisers undermines their objective function of oversight and accountability.  Being able to point out this level of accountability will likely help your fundraising efforts.  Everyone likes to know their money is being used wisely.    

If your board is focused on keeping the mission and asking challenging questions of the organization’s activities, then it is doing its job.  This kind of scrutiny and continuous self-improvement will make your organization stronger, more resilient, and be able to provide a bigger impact for more people.

The reality is that marketing is not about just attracting people to you, it is also about repealing those that have no interest.  You want to connect with people that will LOVE what you are doing.  You need to message specifically to these people.  You will also want to talk to those that may have an interest in what you are doing but trying to attract everyone is simply a waste of your time and money. 

There is a much higher return on investment (ROI) if you connect with and bring in a person that loves what you are doing.  They are going to come back for the next purchase, visit, or event.  They will become your next regular customer or subscriber.  They are going to become your ambassador.  They may even eventually become a donor.  Investing in this core customer base will pay off time and time again. 

Connecting with those that have some interest in your offerings is important too since they may not yet know how passionate they are about your work or they may end up liking your work enough to land in that ring of support around your core customers.  You need these people too. 

What you don’t need are people that don’t care.  Even if you get them to come to your business, gallery, or event, they are likely to not have a good time, not return, and tell their friends about their unenjoyable experience.  Best to leave them out of your circle. Let me give you an example of speaking to the wrong audience. 

Groupon is very popular with with many businesses and organizations as a way to attract new customers.  Well, Groupon buyers may be a new customer for you, but they are likely to not be a return customer.  This group is really an customer of Groupon. They are in this group because they are passionate about getting a deal.  These people are more motivated by the deal rather than what they are getting.  This passion will only translate for you when you offer the next deal.  Selling your service at a discount is probably not your goal.  If you have extra capacity to give away, then great but be careful of relative pricing and giving your core customers a discount path when they likely would be willing to pay more. 

If the Groupon displaced regular customers, then the money you lost by offering the Groupon could have been spent better through messaging targeted to your core customers.  This investment will pay for itself many times over whereas the Groupon just provided a way to paper the house or provide some additional foot traffic.  Don’t fall for the delusion that Groupons are building your customer base.

To find your core customer base, talk to your current core customer base.  What drives them to your work?  What value does it provide in their lives?  How does it make them feel?  Where do they hang out?  What media do they consume?  Once you have the answers to these questions you will have the messaging and methods to talk to YOUR customers.