Recently, fundraising maven Kay Sprinkel Grace wrote a post on the GuideStar blog outlining four questions to ask potential board members when interviewing them for board positions. While I heartily agree with her that nonprofit leaders should institute and follow a rigorous due diligence process in recruiting new board members (rather than just shoving anyone into an empty board seat), I disagree with most of the interview questions she proposes.
In my mind, Sprinkel Grace’s questions for prospective board members focus too much on what’s in it for the potential board member, rather than what value the board member could bring the nonprofit. And in this way, nonprofit leaders are again encouraged to present themselves on bended knee to those from whom they need support or help. I would much rather see nonprofit leaders interview board candidates by confidently asserting the value that their nonprofit creates and determining whether potential board members have something of value that could further that work.
Sprinkel Grace’s first question for prospective board members — “How passionate are you about our cause?”– is absolutely right and helpful in determining whether a prospective member has the requisite amount of interest in the cause they might be helping to lead. But her other three questions (“What personal aspirations of yours could be enhanced by serving on our board?”, “Of what importance to you is social interaction with other board members?,” and “How much time can you give us?”) all put the burden on the nonprofit leader to demonstrate the value a board position will bring to the prospective board member, rather than helping to discern whether the prospective board member will bring value to the nonprofit. For the most part, Sprinkel Grace’s questions are about what the nonprofit can do for the board member, not the other way around.
Instead nonprofit leaders should use questions like these to determine whether or not a prospective board member is a fit for the nonprofit:
In reading through our nonprofit’s strategic plan (or whatever background documents we gave you ahead of time) what things excite you?
This question provides an opportunity for you to judge 1) whether this board member demonstrates enough of an interest in the organization to have done their homework, and 2) whether your work elicits enough intellectual and/or emotional energy from them to fuel their future work on your behalf.
What specific skills, experience or networks do you think you could bring to the table in order to help us move forward on our goals?
This question makes very clear that you expect something unique and specific from this prospective board member (just as you do with all of your board members), not just a warm body. But more importantly, this question helps you gauge how well this board member understands your work and your plans and how willing they are to get in the game. This question can also help to get the right board member really excited about how their unique contribution right from the start.
How do you think you might go about meeting our give/get requirement?
I know it’s controversial (and I’ve talked about it many, many times before), but I strongly believe that you have to connect every single board member to the financial engine of your nonprofit. If you have a specific give/get requirement for your board (and I hope you do!), then you want to know from the outset how this prospective board member feels about it, and how they might approach it.
If we are going to create strong, effective, sustainable nonprofit organizations, we have to stop begging board members to join. A great board is created when you recruit people who have the specific skills, experience and networks you need to deliver on your mission and you effectively engage them to do the work.
If you want to learn more about creating an effective, engaged board, download the “10 Traits of a Groundbreaking Board” book.
Photo Credit: Ethan
This former Executive Director couldn’t agree more. There’s a tremendous amount of damage that’s done by boards that think “beggars can’t be choosy.” Recruiting just to fill empty seats creates a self-perpetuating cycle. But what’s the root issue that keeps boards from putting better recruiting practices in place?
That’s an excellent question, Dona. I think it’s probably a combination of things: most board members and nonprofit leaders probably don’t know what a good recruitment process looks like, there are many other competing priorities for board members’ and nonprofit leaders’ time, and it’s hard work. But if a board puts in the effort, a strategic and systematic board recruitment process can reap huge rewards for the nonprofit and its work.