What are the benefits of using nonprofit board management software?
Although the goals of nonprofit and corporate boards differ slightly, they both face the same challenges that come from overseeing organizations: administrative issues, security worries, and remaining engaged outside of the boardroom, to name a few.
Fortunately, nonprofit board management software helps alleviate the daily pains that charities face. If you’re undecided about whether nonprofit board management software is the right choice for your organization, this guide will help by discussing the main ways in which charitable organizations benefit when they invest in a board portal solution.
Improved administration
If you’re a company secretary, you’ll know that nonprofit board administrative obligations can be overwhelming. Organizing documents, preparing for board meetings, and navigating communications between members can be challenging at the best of times.
With nonprofit board management software, you have a single solution that houses all related board documents to streamline your administrative tasks. You’ll be able to share financial findings with board members before upcoming meetings and receive statement signatures digitally, overseeing everything in one place.
Managing mountains of paperwork while creating agendas and board books will become a thing of the past once you realize you can store all board meeting documents virtually, bidding goodbye to the days of sifting through folders looking for paper documents.
Better time management
Enhanced time management is a welcome benefit that comes from using nonprofit board management software. Time spent on preparing board meeting agendas and board books is cut in half thanks to software.
For example, Computershare’s board management software BoardWorks, offers an Agenda Builder feature, enabling you to upload documents for your meeting into the platform before it uses these to create a board meeting agenda complete with headers, breaks, and sub-items. With the additional time you’ve saved, you can focus on other important items of business.
Increased board member engagement
A lack of board member engagement, both in and out of the boardroom, is one of the most common complaints from company secretaries. There can be many reasons for this including the following:
Lack of meeting preparation
Lack of access to supporting documents
Board members are unaware of what was discussed in previous meetings
With nonprofit board management software, the board of directors can virtually locate old agendas and meeting minutes to ensure they are up to date on all previously discussed issues and outcomes. By having easy access to previous documents, members will arrive at the boardroom fully informed and prepared for the day’s discussion.
Moreover, virtual meeting agendas can include annotations and references linked to documents stored within the board portal; this capability, allows members to easily find more information about an item during a meeting so they can stay fully engaged with discussions.
Secure document storage
Nonprofit board governance entails a large number of important documents like meeting minutes, financial reports, resolutions, and strategic plans. Nonprofits that store these sensitive files on local hard drives or in paper format in filing cabinets run the risk of exposing confidential information to third parties or suffering from data breaches.
The impact of nonprofits accidentally exposing organization information can be immense, and consequences include loss of trust from donors and the public, financial damage, and disruption of daily operations.
By using nonprofit board management software to store all board documents, you can protect private information in a secure place. Computershare spends millions of dollars per year on cybersecurity, and BoardWorks uses advanced security tools to protect users from cyberattacks. Boardworks also offers users the option to set up security controls such as multi-factor authentication and biometric login, reducing the chance of brute force attacks.
Improved ESG
Environmental Social Governance (ESG) is becoming increasingly important for nonprofits since it directly aligns with many of their organizational values. By promoting ESG policies, charitable organizations can raise their credibility and demonstrate their mission to the public.
Nonprofit board management software can assist boards with their ESG. By switching over to virtual software for creating and sending documents such as board meeting agendas and board books, your nonprofit can cut down on its use of paper, reducing waste and its carbon footprint from postage. Better yet, by investing in software from an environmentally aware partner, such as Computershare, you can ensure that you are working with a company that aligns with your green principles.
Elevate your nonprofit board governance with BoardWorks
Looking to increase board member engagement, improve administrative procedures, and keep your documents secure? BoardWorks is a board management solution that enables organizations to streamline board administration, raise member engagement, and provide you with the peace of mind that confidential board documents are always safe.
Many charitable organizations are already using our nonprofit board management software to improve their governance, ESG policies, and time management. If you want to find out more about BoardWorks and how it can help you achieve better board management, contact us today.