Looking For New Board Members? | Tips For Working With Volunteers From Tracey | What’s Coming Up | Finance Tips From Julie | Working With Me
Hi there – thanks for checking out my latest Good Governance Newsletter!
Lately I’ve been down with the awful flu that is doing the rounds…and it has been a real reminder for me to practice what I preach, and make sure I take the time out to rest and recover.
What has this got to do with good governance you might ask…?
Well, it reminds me of the wonderful book ‘Rest‘ by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, which I recommend to many of my one-to-one clients.
This book provides us with a good reminder not only of the importance of rest at times like these, but also that we need to build rest into our daily routines – something I think few of us do well – to help us function at our best in our busy work and personal lives!
So if you are looking for a good book to add to your summer reading list (yes, I know…how is the finish line of 2025 already in sight!) then you can’t go past ‘Rest’ by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang – and I’d love you to let me know if you found it as insightful as I did!
In other news, I have some great information to share with you through this latest edition of my Good Governance Newsletter – take a moment and check out this week’s NFP governance and leadership updates, happenings and events, which will all contribute to helping you raise the bar on your own governance practice and also that of your not-for-profit.
Read on for:
- CAANZ’s online CA Connections event for finding new Board members
- Volunteer Engagement Tips from Tracey – Demonstrating your NFP’s impact by tracking your volunteers’ hours
- Upcoming Events – October and November
Thursday 30th October – Training: Grant Writing for Success
Wednesday 5th November – Webinar: 10 things you need to know about NFP Governance
Thursday 27th November – Training: Good Governance for NFPs - Finance Tips from Julie – Managing Cash Flow for a Healthy NFP
- Working with me – Start planning now for your annual Board Refresh workshop
I’m so glad you have found me and all the resources I share via my newsletters and emails.
I am sure I will have something to help you in the not-for-profit work you do, whether it be as an Executive, a Board member, or a grass-roots community volunteer.
So dive on in and let me know what resonated with you this time!
Regards
Megan
CA CONNECTIONS IS ON AGAIN!
If you haven’t heard of it before, CA Connections (which I often refer to as ‘Speed Dating for NFPs’) is a fabulous event – hosted by the wonderful people at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) – which connects CAANZ members (from across Australia) who are wanting to contribute through NFP governance roles, with NFPs that are looking for skills-based Board members.
I have referred a number of NFPs to these events in the past, and those organisations who have attended have come away with good leads for quality new Board members.
These events are held online, which provides a whole range of options to connect with potential Board members digitally. And it’s not all about going digital – plenty of NFPs have found CAs in their local areas to join their Boards too!
So if this sounds like something your NFP could benefit from, the next online CA Connections event is being held in the week of 27 October (final date/time TBC).
For more information check out the full details on the information flyer HERE and if your NFP would like to send a representative along to attend and present on behalf of your organisation, then book your place ASAP by contacting the team from CAANZ, on connections@charteredaccountantsanz.com now!
I do hope your NFP can take advantage of this great opportunity to connect with potential Board members! And I’d love to hear how you go if you do attend!
VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT TIPS FROM TRACEY
I recently connected with the wonderful Tracey O’Neill – a globally recognised leader in volunteer engagement.
With over 25 years of experience, Tracey works with leaders and organisations around the world to shift beyond traditional volunteer management – centering communities, embedding ethical engagement practices, and positioning volunteering as a strategic driver of social change.
So I was delighted when Tracey agreed to share some of her wisdom with us, starting with this piece below on the importance of tracking our volunteers’ hours and how to make it easier for those involved.
This is what Tracey had to say:
At the start of 2025, I made a personal pledge to live my values by volunteering more. To track my progress, I created a small, cute tracker in my journal. At first, it was motivating. Until it wasn’t.
After a couple of months, the motivation disappeared. Life got busy, reminders were easy to ignore, and without an immediate sense of impact, tracking my hours started to feel pointless. I eventually stopped altogether.
That personal experience got me thinking: Are we asking too much of volunteers when we ask people to track every hour?
The Burden of Reporting
Across many organisations, volunteers are asked to log their contributions – whether manually, through spreadsheets, or via sign-in apps. These systems are often designed for reporting and compliance, but do they really reflect the value of time shared by those who volunteer? If volunteers don’t feel their efforts are recognised, celebrated, or directly tied to meaningful outcomes, what incentive is there to spend time meticulously recording every hour?
These systems also often ignore the extra work done outside formal volunteer shifts, such as research, preparation or training, and focus only on physical presence. Unsurprisingly, many volunteers forget to log hours, and some refuse to participate altogether. The result? Data that is incomplete at best – and disengaging at worst.
A Better Approach in Practice
Contrast this with a simple, effective approach from an op shop. There, volunteers sign into the Point-of-Sale system when they arrive and out when they leave. Tracking is integrated into an essential task they already perform, so it doesn’t feel like extra work. The outcome? Accurate records, minimal friction, and people who feel their contribution is recognised without added burden. This example highlights that when systems are designed with people in mind, not just compliance, both engagement and data quality improve.
Another organisation asks volunteers to make a concerted effort to track hours for only three months of the year, with regular reminders and incentives, various easy-to-use tracking systems (online and manual) and visible use of the data in their annual Volunteer Impact Report.
It’s worth asking: whose priorities does your tracking system serve – the organisation’s, or the volunteers’? Volunteers contribute because they want to make a difference, not because they enjoy filling in forms or reducing their contribution to the collection of numerical data. When we place the burden entirely on them, we risk disengagement.
Designing Systems that Value People
So, what can organisations do differently? Consider systems that value people over data. That could mean:
– Making hour tracking automatic wherever possible.
– Shifting the focus from hours to outcomes or milestones.
– Using recognition and storytelling to show the impact of volunteers’ contributions.
– Simply questioning whether tracking hours is necessary at all.
The principle is simple: if your hour-tracking process is more burdensome than beneficial, it’s time to redesign. Volunteers are generous with their time — they deserve systems that respect it, not paperwork that makes them feel they’re just ticking boxes.
The Strategic Role of Boards and Executives
Committees, Boards and Executives have a role here. Ask yourself: are your systems designed for volunteers, or just for your reports? Are you creating friction, or freeing volunteers to focus on impact?
Volunteers want purpose, recognition, and simplicity. Organisations that honour that gain engagement, retention, and stronger connection to mission. Those who don’t? They risk losing one of their greatest assets.
So flip the script: strip away unnecessary bureaucracy. Make volunteering rewarding. Make tracking optional, automatic, or outcome focused. Then watch the impact grow!
EVENTS FOR OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER
🌟 Check out what’s happening on my Calendar of Events for October and November! 🌟
30 October: Grant Writing for Success online training session.
Grants are key to the financial sustainability of most NFPs. Come along and learn about best practice grant-seeking for your organisation.
Thursday 30 October, from 5.30 pm – 8 pm (AEDT/Melbourne time).
Tickets are just $167 per person.
Click HERE for further information and to purchase your tickets.
5 November: 10 things you need to know about not-for-profit governance webinar.
Come along to this FREE webinar to hear my top tips for great NFP governance, and set your organisation up for success.
Wednesday 5 November, from 12 pm – 1 pm (AEDT/Melbourne time).
Click HERE for further information and to book yourself in.
27 November: Good Governance for Not-for-profits online training session.
My flagship governance training program, this session explores the key governance areas of good practice, compliance, planning, and risk.
Thursday 27 November, from 5.30 pm – 8 pm (AEDT/Melbourne time).
Tickets are just $167 per person.
Click HERE for further information and to purchase your tickets.
Looking for something else? Check out all my online learning offerings HERE.
FINANCE TIPS FROM JULIE
Julie Doyle is my business finances guru, and this week she is generously sharing some of her wisdom around Managing Cash Flow for a Healthy Not-for-profit.
This week Julie says:
Keeping a close eye on cash flow is essential for every NFP.
It’s not just about having enough money in the bank – it’s about making sure your organisation can fund its programs, expand its resources, and cover daily costs like staffing costs, rent, utilities, and IT upgrades, for example.
Why Cash Flow Planning Matters
Good cash flow management helps your organisation:
🌟 Ensure its ongoing financial stability – Avoiding cash shortages that can disrupt operations.
🌟 Plan for sustainable growth – Expanding your programs with confidence.
🌟 Make informed decisions – Knowing when to invest in resources or seek additional funding.
Understanding the Statement of Cash Flows
A Statement of Cash Flows gives a clear picture of your NFP’s financial health by tracking where money comes from and where it goes. It includes three key sections:
1️⃣ Operating Activities – your day-to-day cash inflows (e.g., donations, grants, event revenue) and outflows (e.g., salaries, rent, program expenses).
2️⃣ Investing Activities – Cash spent on or earned from assets (e.g., buying or selling equipment, property, or investments).
3️⃣ Financing Activities – Cash related to loans, financing agreements, or major funding injections.
Why It’s Important
By tracking these cash flow categories, your Board, leadership team, donors, members and other stakeholders can all see how well your organisation is managing its finances.
Regular cash flow reviews ensure your NFP stays sustainable, effective, and continues making a difference in your area of impact.
Top Tip: Schedule regular cash flow check-ins and adjust spending when needed to make sure you keep your NFP on solid financial ground!
If you have a NFP finance query you would like Julie to talk about via my Good Governance Newsletter, just email it to me on megan@mjbconsulting.net.au.
BOOK IN A BOARD REFRESH AND REFOCUS SESSION AS PART OF YOUR BOARD’S DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR 2026
It’s that time of the year when AGM season is in full swing and not-for-profits across the country are starting to welcome new Board members onto their governance teams.
Orientation, induction and other development activities should be front of mind too as you begin to welcome and settle in your new Directors.
But good Board development is not just your newbies – is critical for ALL your governance team, in order to create and maintain a strong and effective Board, and it is something that should be approached like any other continuous improvement process.
And that is why I created my Board Refresh & Refocus program.
Ideal for the early months of a new Board, not only does this Program keep your returning Board members up-to-date and informed, but it provides your newcomers with a really good grounding in your organisation’s Vision and Mission, Purpose and Strategy, as well as focusing on key governance roles and responsibilities, and showcasing the overall business of the organisation too – the perfect complement to you own Board orientation and induction activities.
My Board Refresh & Refocus program steps your Board members – new and returning – through the critical things that support the delivery of your organisational Purpose – and provides a reminder of the Board’s key governance role of overseeing the delivery of that Purpose.
Here’s what one of the organisations I worked with on this said:
Megan provided her half day Refresh & Refocus session for our Board after speaking with each Director to discuss what they would like to get out of the session.
Megan was great to work with – collaborative and very professional in the lead up to the session. She read through our key governance documents so she was familiar with our organisation including our strategy and constitutions.
The Board was very pleased with the session – they found it time well spent and provided very positive feedback about Megan.
We would definitely book Megan again.
Michele Rowse, Chief Executive Officer, Y Whittlesea.
My Board Refresh & Refocus is the ideal program to get everybody invigorated (or reinvigorated, as the case may be!) and on the same page.
So if this is what your Board needs, click HERE for further information, and book a discovery call with me now to talk about how we can work together to deliver this for YOUR Board, as I’d love to help your organisation with this important work too!
If you want to explore more of my other supports for NFPs, check out my Services page on my website HERE.
And for all the details, go directly to:
✅ Governance and Strategy
✅ Executive Support
✅ Support Packages
✅ Training Programs
I do hope I can help your organisation with what you need!
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