NEWS

New Book Reveals the “Silent Crisis” Undermining Nonprofit Missions — and How Boards Can Become Strategic Catalysts for Change

Board to Death: How to Transform Your Nonprofit Board into a Strategic Catalyst for Change offers a hands-on playbook, drawn from real nonprofits of every size, to turn well-meaning boards into engines of impact.

What if the biggest threat to a nonprofit’s mission isn’t funding, staff turnover, or the economy — but a well-meaning board member sitting in the boardroom right now, nodding along in a meeting, with no idea they’re doing more harm than good?

Deb Macfarlan Enright

That is the question at the heart of “Board to Death: How to Transform Your Nonprofit Board into a Strategic Catalyst for Change,” a new book from nonprofit Board management expert Dr. Deb Macfarlan Enright Drawing on years of hands-on work with nonprofits ranging from small local organizations to international NGOs, Deb argues that the most under-leveraged asset in the social sector isn’t money or staff — it’s the board itself.

“Most nonprofit boards aren’t failing because their members don’t care,” Deb says. “They’re failing because no one ever taught them how to provide effective oversight strategically. That silence — that slow drift from purpose to passivity — is a crisis most organizations don’t even realize they’re in.”

A Working Playbook, Not Just a Book

“Board to Death” is designed to be used, not just read. Packed with charts, assessment tools, and practical frameworks, the book equips executive directors, board chairs, and governance committees with concrete solutions for maximizing the working impact of their boards — from recruitment and onboarding to strategic planning and leadership succession.

The book is grounded in real-world experience. Deb’s perspective is shaped by having sat on every side of the nonprofit table — as nonprofit staff, as executive-level staff, as a volunteer, as a general board member, as a board chair, and as a governance consultant. That full-circle vantage point informs every story and case study in the book, drawn from nonprofits of every size and scope, local to international, that Deb has worked with directly — illustrating both the pitfalls of passive governance and the transformation that happens when boards step into their full strategic potential.

Key Themes

• Stop thinking like a charity
• Match your board’s composition to your organization’s maturity level
• Recruit for the expertise and experience required by your strategic plan
• Create a culture of care in your board management practices

“’Board to Death’ is a hands-on playbook for transforming a well-meaning but ineffective board into a strategic catalyst for change. This book was created as a working resource. Use the charts and tools to guide your initiatives including recruitment programs, strategic planning, and leadership succession. I want you to work this book — turn down pages, highlight passages, use the margins for notes, and then return to it again and again.” - Dr. Deb Macfarlan Enright, author of “Board to Death.”

About the Author

Dr. Deb Macfarlan Enright is a nonprofit consultant and strategist with a rare, full-circle vantage point on the sector — having served as nonprofit staff, executive-level staff, a volunteer, a general Board member, a Board chair, and a consultant. That breadth of firsthand experience gained advising scores of nonprofits organizations, across every size and scope from grassroots to international NGOs, informs her work helping boards move from passive oversight to active, strategic leadership. Deb’s guided hundreds of Board members to deepen their engagement and realize their role as the strategic asset for the organizations they serve. “Board to Death” distills that experience into a practical resource for nonprofit leaders ready to transform their boards into catalysts for lasting change.

Praise for "Board to Death"

 “This book captures the frustrations every board member has lived through — and finally offers a way forward. It’s warm, masterful weaving of board roles with organizational life cycles delivers wisdom on every page.”
- Chip Higgins, Founder/Author Bizzics, LLC

 “Deb’s  insights, advice and overall brilliance capture the essence of nonprofit leadership and organizational behavior.  The ways in which she  has categorized and expanded on key concepts will be an invaluable guide for so many, even those who are experienced in this realm.  The clarity and focus of the chapters also makes it so very useful as a reference tool.”
- Monica Vacher, Trustee and Co-Chair of Governance, Vassar College; President and Director, Alumnae/i Association of Vassar; Director and Chair of Governance, IES Abroad

 “There's love in these pages. Love for the messy, complicated, essential work of governance. Love for the people who show up wanting to make a difference. Love for the organizations that could be transformed if their boards operated at their full potential. What surprised me most about this book is the kind of love threaded through every page—not the soft, permissive kind, but the tough, clear-eyed love that upends the traditional view of a Board and recasts our understanding of its stewardship, leadership, and potential impact.”
- Geraldine Laybourne, Co-Founder of DAY ONE Early Learning Community. Led the teams that created Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, and Oxygen Media

Availability

“Board to Death: How to Transform Your Nonprofit Board into a Strategic Catalyst for Change” is available now at:

• Juxtabook - Click Here
• Amazon - Click Here
• Porchlight - Click Here
• Walmart - Click Here
• BookTopia - Click Here
• Barnes & Noble - Click Here

Deb is available for interviews, podcast appearances, and speaking engagements. She loves to work with organizations to build learning opportunities for Nonprofit Executives and Board Leadership. For information: BookBoardtoDeath@gmail.com.