Metrics Matter: Measuring Progress to Enhance Board Engagement
- Rebecca Buxton Petho
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
In today’s diminishing volunteer marketplace, the best prospects for health care foundation board membership are busier than ever and in high demand. Like our most committed donors who intend to ignite systemic change with their giving, our strongest leadership volunteers are on boards because they desire to truly make a difference and see the impact of their efforts. Too often, foundation boards get caught up in the minutia of governing rather than the transformational work of raising funds for mission-critical efforts. Board meetings may become repetitive—simply report-back sessions—where volunteers miss the opportunity to contribute or engage in a meaningful way. Documents illustrating financial performance or fundraising activities are too often several pages long and hard to respond to effectively. Especially in a health care foundation board, where a primary focus should be to raise funds for the hospital or health system it serves, our volunteers deserve better reporting and meeting content that fuel action and strategic discussion and move the needle in philanthropic efforts.
Health care foundation boards must make significant strategic shifts from traditional board operations to keep our most valued and influential board members engaged. There are many publicly available reports that reveal downward trends in volunteerism and rampant dissatisfaction with board engagement among both nonprofit board members and executive leaders. One important message from both executive and volunteer leaders is woven throughout these results: nonprofit board members need clear, measurable goals and intended outcomes to be more effective stewards and advocates for our health care foundations.
Nonprofit board members need clear, measurable goals and intended outcomes to be more effective stewards and advocates for our health care foundations.
When the right metrics are made available through visually comprehensible dashboards, board members will be better engaged and able to decipher together where to mobilize their efforts. The work that may be required to produce these dashboards monthly, quarterly or even semi-annually will be well worth the resulting activation among board members. Effective metrics and dashboards can bridge that gap with less engaged volunteers and provide a meaningful narrative to highlight the impact of board member efforts and define where they can move the needle going forward.
At Accordant, we believe the work of health care foundation board members is important and must be specifically defined around the unique qualities of the board and the strategic needs of the health care organization. In fact, we’ve developed specific products and services, such as CoreCentric, to support and encourage meaningful engagement. Thought leader Clay Christensen from Harvard University paved the way in defining the “Jobs to be Done” theory for product development. This principle of defining specific jobs to be done has since been expanded in theory and application to organizational management, and we now apply this concept to philanthropy and governance.1 Determining the meaningful work to be done by the foundation board will help clarify what progress to measure and guide efforts toward mission success.
So, whether you are already providing dashboards that illustrate actionable metrics or have never done so, it is important to examine the ‘what’ and ‘why’ behind your board metrics. Leaders must keep in mind the following sayings: “what gets measured gets managed” and “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” Both quotes are credited to Peter Drucker, who throughout his career emphasized the importance of defining and tracking measurable goals to improve organizational performance. Engaging in a discussion of what should be measured, grounded in the meaningful work the board will do, brings volunteers and philanthropy executives together in productive dialogue.
Effective dashboards transform board engagement by providing clear metrics that illuminate progress and impact. When foundation leaders define meaningful work and track progress toward strategic goals, they create conditions for success. These tools convert retreat inspiration into action and shift board meetings from passive updates to strategic leadership opportunities. Ultimately, this investment yields significant returns in board engagement—unlocking the full potential of board members to advance the mission and maximize philanthropic impact for the health care organizations they serve.
Want more? Take a moment to reflect on the following questions:
What is the meaningful work that your board members want?
What is the profound impact your organization needs?
What does ideal board engagement look like to you?
How do you see your board members really moving the needle?
How can you be more thought provoking in ways to engage them?
What is the most important purpose of your board’s current engagement—advocacy, greater philanthropy growth, community engagement?
How can you convert your answers to these questions into measurable results?
1 Christensen Institute. (2025). www.christenseninstitute.org
About the Author: Rebecca Buxton Petho is a Senior Consultant at Accordant. You can reach her at Rebecca@AccordantHealth.com and connect with her on LinkedIn.
