One of the most important reminders for any nonprofit leader—especially those who are newer to the role—is that while we and our board members or donors are working together toward the same mission, we are each showing up from very different vantage points. This isn’t something to tiptoe around. It’s something to understand and embrace.
For us, this is our professional world. It’s our job. We have calendars full of meetings, strategies to advance, staff to support, and operational decisions to make. But for our board members and donors, this work lives in a different category. It’s deeply personal. It touches on their values, their identity, their family’s legacy, or a cause they feel connected to in a way that often transcends strategy.
Think about the board member who references their late parent during a conversation about your organization’s future. Or the donor who shares a personal story about how your mission intersects with their own life experience. For them, these moments are not agenda items—they’re heartfelt expressions of what brought them to your table in the first place.
This shared work is a partnership—but it’s not a symmetrical one. And that’s okay. The key is to carry both perspectives at the same time: recognizing that while you bring professional expertise and leadership, they bring lived experience and personal stakes. Both are essential. Both are sacred.
The most effective nonprofit leaders lean into this dynamic—not by separating the personal from the professional, but by honoring how they meet in the middle. That’s where trust is built, relationships grow deeper, and mission-driven work becomes transformational.