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On Wednesday, July 13, Bill Gates started a Twitter thread with an interesting observation:

Several huge global setbacks over the past few years have left many people discouraged and wondering whether the world is destined to get worse.

It’s not interesting because it’s a revelation. It’s hard to imagine that there are people in the world who didn’t feel the effects of at least one of the setbacks he listed: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the damage from climate change, the progress we’ve lost in the United States in the fight for gender equality and women’s health.

It’s also likely not news to you that people are discouraged and that so many of us are wondering whether it’s worth it to work toward and hope for a better future.

What’s interesting are the questions and the sharp inhale that his tweet prompts:

Where is Bill Gates going with this? 

Is one of the richest men in the world—a philanthropist who has spent the last few decades giving billions of dollars to causes like yours around the world—about to tell us that he thinks our collective fears are going to come true? That the work you do as nonprofit professionals is important but ultimately futile?  

Does billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates think that we can work toward and build a better world together?

The exhale comes from his next tweet: He’s still optimistic. We’ve made progress, and we can continue to build the world we want to see.

The next tweets give some context for the news he’s about the share. He reminds us that he founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 along with his former wife—philanthropist and businesswoman Melinda French Gates—to ensure that every person has the chance to live a healthy and productive life.

It’s an ambitious goal. Although the foundation, its founders, its board, its partners, and its generous donors have accomplished so much, Bill Gates believes that we need to do more.

But what is he going to do? How is the foundation going to respond to this moment in time? If you keep reading his thread, you’ll find out the answers to those questions.

To sum up the exciting news, here’s what we learned: Bill Gates is donating $20 billion this month to help the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s endowment increase its spending from $6 billion per year to $9 billion per year.

Where is this money coming from? And why is he sharing that information?

Before we get into that, it’s important to know where the money is coming from. After all, that’s a question you think about as fundraisers and individuals with an eye on your nonprofit’s bottom line, isn’t it? It’s a question that your donors might have as well.

As Gates makes clear in his subsequent tweets, “basically” half of their resources come from one person: billionaire philanthropist and businessman Warren Buffett.

img via: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

He’s giving credit where credit is due, yes, but he’s also using that information to lead into more good news: Gates is planning to give “virtually all of [his] wealth” to the foundation.

That’s not all. He then uses that announcement to call others to action:

I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.

As we’ve seen with the recent generous donations from novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott—who has donated at least $3.9 billion to nonprofits and social good organizations over the last few years—this is a call to action many are capable of acting on.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is increasing its spending. How can your nonprofit access those funds?

So, what does this mean for your nonprofit? Although the Twitter thread doesn’t dive into how the foundation will spend the money, we have a few recommendations for staying on top of that news:

• Keep an eye on their grants page. If you head to the foundation’s website, you’ll see their grants page. As Maddie Zeigler, a grant development expert and the founder of Grantli, says: There are grants out there. You just have to be proactive and look for them. And if the foundation opens up grants funded by this increase in spending, you’ll want to know as soon as that happens.
• Sign up for their email newsletter. Another way to stay informed is to sign up for the foundation’s email newsletter. You should be prompted to sign up via a pop-up box when you go to the website, but you can also sign up by going to the GatesNotes blog—“The Blog of Bill Gates”—and clicking “Sign Up” in the top right corner of the menu bar.
• Follow Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Twitter. They’ll likely share updates they have on their increase in spending on their social media accounts.
• Be prepared to make the most of a generous donation. Don’t worry: We’re not suggesting that you call an emergency board meeting to talk about how you’d spend a $15 million gift from the foundation. We are suggesting that you create a matching gift campaign strategy and implement it* as soon as you receive any gift that you deem major. Why? Because matching gifts will not only increase your revenue, but they’ll also help you increase your donor retention rate.
• Create a compelling and succinct pitch that explains what your nonprofit does and what a donation like that would mean—in clear, tangible ways—for the work you can do. Donors are generally more compelled to give when they understand exactly how their donations will be used and what impact they’ll see because of their generosity. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is no different; they’ll want to know that you have a vision and know how you’re going to move your mission forward as you continue to grow. Include this on your website, promote it on social media, and tell supporters about it in your email newsletters and direct mail appeals. The nonprofit pitch is a powerful tool. Get together with your team and create one that shows the world why you deserve the funds that are out there.

When we hear more about the funding, we’ll update you here on the Bloomerang blog. If you’d like to receive an email when we share that update and post free resources on our blog, you can go to the Articles page on our website, scroll down, and enter your email in the subscription box on the right side of the page.

* Make sure the donor allows it and bear in mind what restrictions, if any, are on the funds.

Have you applied for and received funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation prior to this announcement? If so, we’d love to hear about your experience. You can reach Josh on our team at josh@bloomerang.com.

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We bring on board members with high hopes and expectations. They tell us they have a passion for the mission and want to help. They gladly sign the roles and responsibilities agreement.

At a minimum, it states they will attend meetings, volunteer at events and programs, make a financial gift, support the fundraising efforts of the organization, take part in strategic planning sessions, and be an ambassador of the cause around town.

We believe them. We trust them . . . so we nominate them, orientate them, applaud their approval, toast to their joining, announce their arrival to our supporters in a newsletter, and give them everything they need to be engaged, high-impact board members.

All is good—for a while. But then, there’s always “that one.” For them, the shiny façade of board membership begins to fade and the member’s true colors start to emerge. Nice Dr. Jekyll turns into ghoulish Mr. Hyde. Sometimes they are conversation hijackers, or meeting dominators, or they steamroll anyone who dares to challenge them.

They can be defensive, divisive, disrespectful, unreasonable, or discourteous. They can have huge egos and personalities that make it difficult to work with them. They are disruptive to board work. They erode culture.

Some board members aren’t difficult or disruptive, they’re just disengaged. They think nothing of blowing off meetings, showing up late to events, making a token donation (or none at all), and ignoring emails. They’re quick to say board members are “volunteers” and that all the work should be done by staff because staff is paid to do the work. They require constant prodding and provide little value. We wonder, “Why is this person even on the board?”

We’ve all had to work with difficult board members, but how do you manage them?

Well, it’s not easy and you must handle it delicately. Here are a few things you can do to deal with difficult or disengaged board members:

1. Rally other board members (hopefully a board majority) to champion your efforts to deal with the board member. Call a private meeting, have a conference call, or a Zoom call to discuss a plan of action.

2. Develop and execute a simple “accountability policy” to address the board member’s actions and behaviors. This policy should follow a very specific process. For example, a disruptive board member might first get a call from the board chair. For a second offense, they might receive a letter from the executive committee. For the third offense, they might have to meet with the executive committee. For the fourth offense, the board chair might ask the member to resign — gracefully, of course.

Or, for board members who are disengaged but not disruptive, the board chair might offer the member a chance to migrate to a different role (e.g., committee member, advisory board, honorary board, or program volunteer).

3. Whether you ask a member to resign or migrate to a different role, you want to manage the process and conversations tactfully and graciously. Remember, your brand is at stake. If a board member leaves pissed off, they might start spreading rumors about how horrible your board and organization is. Not good.

If someone is asked to resign and does, you may want to have a farewell party, or acknowledge them for their service in some special way. A little validation will go a long way toward goodwill once they’re gone, or if they move into a different role.

Here are few things you can do before nominating a board member to lower the risk of difficult behavior:

1. Have a “detailed” roles and responsibilities agreement. It should clearly outline participation requirements, obligations, and expectations of work, responsibilities, behavior, and attitudes. Review the agreement with the board member before they sign it. Have all board members review and sign the agreement each year.
2. Conduct due diligence on board members before nominating them. Make reference calls to other boards they’ve served on. Call people who have worked with the nominee.
3. Have a policy that requires board members to volunteer for 4 to 6 months before their full nomination goes to the board for a vote. This way, you can see how “authentically” passionate they are about the mission, and observe their actions, behavior, and character.
4. Have an accountability policy (see above) that outlines exactly what actions the board will take if a board member is not fulfilling his or her roles and responsibilities, or if they are disruptive, discourteous, or disrespectful. This policy, like your roles and responsibilities agreement, should be read and signed by each board member before they are nominated, and again every year by all board members.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind, good behavior begets good behavior. On my boards, we don’t tolerate discourteous, disrespectful, or disengaged board members.

It doesn’t matter how long the board member has been a member, or how much money they’ve donated, or how many hours they’ve volunteered. We have a zero tolerance policy. It’s part of our culture. And because of this, my boards are high-performing boards that are engaged, effective, and still have fun!

Your star board members are too busy doing noble work to get sidetracked by these issues.

Therefore, I urge you to stand strong and do what is right, not what is convenient or easy. Rally your champions and start taking action today! The work you’re doing is too important not to.

BONUS: Free Accountability Policy Template

I’ll happily send you an Accountability Policy template. Simply send an email to tomiselin@gmail.com and include your contact info. Put “Accountability Policy” in the subject line.

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