The development of the Board of Directors of a nonprofit organization is one of the most important responsibilities of nonprofit organizations. There are many aspects to board development, but the initial phase of identifying potential board members, recruiting them, electing and then orienting them, is too often rushed in an organization's push to fill the board positions to get started or keep moving on the work of the nonprofit.

A board matrix can be used to help identify the areas of expertise as well as traits of current board members so that gaps can be seen and filled. The Recruitment Guidelines (download on the right) provide ideas for recruiting board members beyond the usual newspaper ad or contact through current members or friends.

Once potential members have been selected, the interview questions will help your organization have a clearer picture of how that person fits with current board members, whether their interest and commitment to the organization's mission meets your criteria, and what strengths and weaknesses they bring as a board member. The one or two hours invested in the interview can have large rewards in either finding a sterling candidate or preventing difficulties in the future. Board recruitment is a critical area of board responsibility. In addition to the grid and questions listed in the download section, your nonprofit organization may want to consider these issues related to board recruitment.

Nonprofit boards' responsibilities fall into four major categories - legal and fiduciary, oversight of the organization and its management, fund raising, and representation of different constituencies and viewpoints. A recent survey of South Carolina nonprofits* found that over a third of the boards weren't involved in community relations, and nearly half weren't involved in program evaluation. One-third also reported that their boards were not involved in board recruitment.

When the organization is small and there are very few paid staff, board members sometimes get involved in the day-to-day management and let their primary governance roles slide. But a regular review of the mission and by-laws, orientation and training for board members about their roles and responsibilities, and joining a professional organization or association related to the work of the nonprofit can help even small organizations stay current with best practices in their field.


* Resource: McAllister, Megan. Improving the Effectiveness of Nonprofit Boards. GCN. February, 2005.