Board giving! Always an interesting debate. How much should they give? Does it really matter if they all give or not? I've even hear some organizations that want to "pay up" for a reluctant board members and "fake a gift" from that board member just so they can say they have 100% board participation. Perhaps the board chair offers to make a gift in the reluctant board member's name so they can report 100% giving. What is wrong with this picture?

Besides the obvious ethical considerations, think about it this way. If you are a human service agency that treats drug and alcoholic clients in a counseling program, would you "fake success" by saying well this client has been clean for twice as long as anticipated outcomes, so we can take her 6 months and credit them to this clients that did not stay clean? Or take pints form the student with the highest grade point average and give them to a failing student to improve your success rate? You get the idea!

These may sound like extreme comparisons, but board giving cannot be "faked, fudged or overlooked."  Read more