Boards: Keep mission, values front and center when mulling social media posts

• Date: 01 January 2021
• Published date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31195

2 Board & Administrator

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

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Boards: Keep mission, values front

and center when mulling social

media posts

Most nonprofits by now have a

social media policy for staff and

board members that places curbs

on controversial posts on Facebook,

Twitter and other platforms—content

that can negatively impact the orga-

nization both in terms of volunteer

support and cash donations.

Sometimes, though, such policies

are too vague to capture all of the

potentially problematic posts board

members, staff and others connected

to an organization might put in the

public sphere.

Recently, an animal welfare or-

ganization on the West Coast saw

firsthand how a seemingly innocu-

ous post made by a board member

quickly became a problem for the

organization. The post didn’t explic-

itly advocate for a particular politi-

cal candidate or position. If it had, it

would have been in violation of the

nonprofit’s social media policy. But it

was seen by some in the local com-

munity as insensitive to the racial

justice movement, and the execu-

tive director heard from a handful

of donors noting their disapproval

of the post. The board member

promptly removed the post when

it was brought up during the next

board meeting, and the issue died

down fairly quickly. But it did bring

to light the challenge of regulating

board members’ public speech.

How could the organization have

avoided this in the first place? Ac-

cording to Rita Fuerst Adams, presi-

dent of Charitable and Philanthropic

Management Counsel, the answer

lies in ensuring all who are connected

to an organization keep its mission,

values and goals top of mind.

“When a volunteer joins a board of

trustees, the volunteer is agreeing to

hold the organization in trust for the

public good and to be a champion for

its mission, vision and values,” she

said. “When trustees air their views

in any public forum, including social

media, they represent the organiza-

tion they serve. In our era of social

media, it is much easier for people to

voice their opinions publicly and to

have access to a broad audience.”

The animal welfare organization in

our example should consider adding

language to the Board of Trustees

Agreement reminding board mem-

bers they are ambassadors for the

organization, Fuerst Adams said.

“The most important element here

is the organization’s mission, vision

and values. For the trustees to be

good stewards of its work, they must

believe in and champion this work,”

she said. “While social media allows

people to place our foot in our mouth

more easily, more often and more

publicly, the issue is representing or-

ganizations we are committed to and

whose mission, vision and values we

believe and live.”

For more information

Rita Fuerst Adams is a leadership,

organizational and fund development

consultant. She transforms non-

profit/social impact organizations

into better-funded, more effective

organizations and builds internal

and external teams to increase and

diversify funding. For more informa-

tion, visit https://www.linkedin.

com/in/ritafuerstadams. ■