How To Recruit The Nonprofit Board You Really Need

There is a fundamental error that nonprofit leaders make when recruiting new board members. And that is to be vague about the kind of board members they need. Nonprofit leaders often think in very general terms about the makeup of their board while ignoring their nonprofit’s specific needs. It then becomes almost impossible to get new recruits (let alone old board members) active or engaged because they are unclear about the unique role they should play in the organization.

A board matrix is a tool that many nonprofits use to analyze what traits their current board has and where the holes lie. Often the traits used include very general things like:

Gender diversity
Racial diversity
Geographic representation (for national and regional organizations)
General sought-after skills like marketing and fundraising expertise
Access to vague networks, like “connections to people with deep pockets”

But this is the wrong way to think about who your board members should be.

To recruit the board you really need, you have to connect the skills, experience, and networks of your board to the specific goals of your long-term strategy.

Here are the steps to get there:

1. Divide Your Strategic Plan Into Board Vs. Staff Roles
  Take a hard look at each goal of your strategic plan and ask what the board needs to do versus what the staff needs to do to make that goal a reality. For example, if your nonprofit runs an in-school literacy program and your first goal is to grow the number of students by 50%, you probably need your board to open doors to school district decision-makers so that you can grow to additional schools and secure more district support. So at least one or two of your board members must have connections to school district leaders.

1. Analyze Current Board Members
  Once you’ve made a list of what you need from your board for each of your goals, add those elements to the top of your new board matrix. Make sure these are very specific skills, expertise areas, and networks. So for the example above, they would include things like: “Connections to School District Decision-Makers,” “Experience Growing Organizations,” and “Ability to Understand and Articulate Literacy Data.” At the end of the process, you should have 10-15 skills, expertise areas, or networks that your board must possess. Now list all of your current board members along the left side of the matrix and mark the characteristics that each member has.

1. Recruit To Fill The Specific Holes
  Once you’ve completed the matrix, you may see areas where your board falls short. Now you know exactly what kinds of board members you need on your board. Give this list of missing skills, expertise, and networks to your Board Recruitment Committee so they can find the specific people necessary to fill those holes.

Give Each Board Member a Unique Job
Once you are clear about what you need from your board to deliver on your strategic plan, give each board member (current members and new recruits) a unique role to play. People function best when they are very clear about their specific role. If each individual member knows exactly what piece of the strategic plan is theirs to carry out, they will be much more engaged and active. So get specific: “We need you to secure meetings with district-level staff,” or “We need you to look at our growth model and ask hard questions.”

If you want a board that works for you, get specific about the kind of board you really need. To learn more about building a groundbreaking board, download the 10 Traits of a Groundbreaking Board book, or the How to Build a Groundbreaking Board webinar.

Photo Credit: Library of Congress