Recruiting Prospective Members
“We have several openings on our board. Who knows someone we could add?” As a recruitment strategy, this is like asking an audience for someone to come on stage.
A better approach is to start by doing an analysis of who is on your board. You will want to know the skills, experiences, and networks each of your board members bring to the governing body, and where you might have gaps in knowledge. Use this Board Matrix Worksheet from Shorthand Consulting (based on BoardSource's The Handbook of Nonprofit Governance) to get an overview of who you have on the board now, who you are considering, and where your board has the greatest needs.
Be careful not to focus too much on just checking boxes on you matrix. Jan Masaoka makes the case for ditching the board composition matrix altogether. You need to have “the right people on the bus,” as Jim Collins says in Good to Great; but how do you know who the right people are?
A Well-Balanced Board
To achieve the right combination of skills, experience, and networks on your board, think about the background or expertise needed to help the organization fulfill its strategic/long-range plan. Suppose your plan calls for building a new facility. Does anyone on your board know about property development? You don’t want them there for free services; you want them there to be your resident knowledge bank as you go through the process.
Also, consider the overall “personality” of the board. What are the characteristics required of all board members – that is, what binds them to each other and to your organization? If you haven’t developed Core Values, now is the time to do so. The Center for Ethical Leadership's great Core Values Assessment will get you started.
Then, look at the personalities of board members. How does your board deal with risk? Do most people gravitate to long-term thinking or to daily details? Are difficult questions raised?
How to find board members is yet another story. Recruiting friends of current members is OK. But you limit your reach into the community by staying within your existing networks.
Think about the qualities you are seeking, then identify a community leader who is in a network where some of those qualities are shared. To go back to our example of building a new facility, perhaps a leading commercial real estate broker can be a good resource to you. You are not necessarily asking her to join the board, although you should be open to the possibility, if she fits your criteria. However, you do want her help in identifying people that match the qualities of the new members you want to recruit. She will even likely be willing to make an introductory call to pave the way for you to meet with them.
The "Right" Number of Members
There is quite a bit of information and discussion about board size. The general consensus is:
- Smaller decision-making bodies do a better job of decision-making. Research shows seven is the best size.
- Traditionally, nonprofit boards are bigger than that, often driven by fundraising needs. The average is 16.
- The “right size” depends on the organization’s needs and the role of the board.
- Check your organization's by-laws for a specified number of board members. If the size of the board stipulated in the by-laws differs from the number determined to be best for your organization, you will need to go through the process of amending the by-laws to reflect the appropriate number.
According to BoardSource's Leading with Intent report the average board size has remained fairly stable in recent years, averaging 15 members. However, BoardSource cautions against interpreting the mean as an indicator of optimal size for all boards. Every board needs to determine the number of members it needs to function at the most effective level and how to incorporate regular renewal among the members.
You may find BoardSource's Board Size: Finding the Sweet Spot helpful. See also Blue Avocado's reasons for why the answer to "What size should our board be to be most effective?" is "it depends."
Locations for Posting Board Opportunities
There are many good places to promote board openings. Here are some national options:
- Idealist posts board positions as well as other volunteer opportunities with options to filter by geographic region, mission focus, and more.
- VolunteerMatch is one of the largest volunteer networks in the nonprofit world, connecting volunteers with nonprofit opportunities, including board service.
- Linkedin for Nonprofits has a special portal to help nonprofits find board members, particularly those with needed skills and experience.
If you are in the Seattle/King County area, the following local organizations can help you identify board members:
- United Way of King County’s Volunteer Opportunities website is a great resource for posting open board opportunities within Seattle and King County. Additionally, UWKC has an annual board training program called Project LEAD that further prepares people of color for board leadership. The program concludes with a graduation ceremony and an agency fair where graduates can meet representatives of nonprofit organizations seeking new members for their boards.
- Also, check out Seattle Works, which serves to connect volunteers and potential board members with nonprofit organizations. Seattle Works offers a training course for those interested in being new board members called The Bridge as well as a list of organizations with open positions on their boards for graduates of that course that you can post to as well.
- Leadership Tomorrow promotes nonprofit volunteer, job, and board opportunities, largely for the benefit of graduates of their leadership development program, on their Job & Volunteer Opportunities page.
- Corporate Giving Network also offers a Board Matchmaking program for nonprofits.
Materials to share with prospective board members