Re: national boards for museums.
It seems to me that the most valuable way to help ensure board success,
whether national or local, is to have a very clear idea of what you
expect your board to accomplish for you, and then make sure that they are
in complete accord. You've heard the phrase "Give, get, or get out!" --
it's better to be very direct at the outset.   All board members
should be committed to work hard toward the shared goal.  We are in the
process of forming a campaign board for our university museum to help us
raise funds for a planned expansion.  This is a national board with both
alumni and major museum people from around the country, but we have kept
the group small (15) and dedicated, with an even smaller (6) steering
committee.  Many museums have made the mistake of gathering groups of
national board members who really are only good on the letterhead -
these people don't attend meetings, they don't make major cash or art
contributions, and they don't make calls on other potential donors (which
would hardly be much use if they hadn't made gifts themselves).  Others
want to give lots and lots of advice, some of it good, and some of it
not.  Board members must, if they are to truly help you, be given
meaningful jobs to do (in our case, they will spend a lot of time
accompanying me and/or the Director on fund-raising calls, plus scouting
out interesting works of art). The time they spend in large meetings must
be kept to a minimum.  Instead, a staff person (usually the development
director) should be assigned to keep in regular contact with board
members, making sure that they get the help they need and are kept on
track.

Forming and motivating great boards is a challenge - if anyone wants to
exchange war stories off this list, please feel free to contact me.

Claire Holman Thompson
Director of Development
Bayly Art Museum
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