How To Build Your Board
Many nonprofit boards struggle with building a strong team of leaders who will share responsibility for growing and sustaining your organization. If your organization is one of them, then don’t be surprised but you should't recognize that it will take time and energy to make it work – and it is work that your current team needs to embrace, you can’t “hire a consultant” to quickly fix it for you.
Some keys
- Develop profiles of the board members you need - be specific about skills, connections, backgrounds, etc.
- Look first to your current community of supporters and volunteers.
- Identify community leaders who can serve as connectors or referral sources for new members – don’t just depend on acquaintances that board members already know.
- Clearly define the time and effort commitment you expect from Board members – are you looking for intense, hands-on, quasi-staff roles or active connectors within the community or quarterly, high-level, strategic oversight.
- Be explicit in explaining your expectations to board members – before they join the board.
- Immediately engage each board member in an active committee role.
- Take the time to make board meetings interactive and engaging.
- Focus the board’s work as much on the future as practical.
- Provide opportunities for board members to get to know each other beyond board meetings.
- Find ways to track progress to ensure board members feel a sense of accomplishment for their efforts.
- Do a quick Board meeting assessment at least once each year.
- Have a one-to-one conversation with each Board member every year about their engagement and what they would like to accomplish in the year ahead.
- Do a Board Self-Assessment every couple years to explore how you can improve board work.
Resources
FREE - On-line Board Basics presentation – Welcome to the Board (link)
Board Education Booklets – Welcome, Fund Raising, Finance, Planning – (link)
Board Training CD (link)
Board Self-Assessment (link)