S3 E6: How to Ensure New Board Members Don’t Bail After the First Meeting

Prospective board members want to know what their role and responsibilities as a board member of your organization will be. They want to know who you serve and what the challenges and successes are. They want to know the history. They want to feel passionate about the mission they are being asked to support.Board Members Are VolunteersThe people who serve on boards of directors of nonprofit organizations are volunteers. They serve for many reasons. Some feel an obligation to give back to the community, some are required to volunteer by their employer, some have the luxury of performing unpaid volunteer work. There are as many reasons as there are volunteers.Board members usually serve limited terms so there is always a need to recruit new board members. Finding, recruiting, and keeping these volunteers engaged is a challenge for many boards of directors.Why is this?Orientation for New Board MembersThe first reason I will offer is that current board members were not informed of their duties and obligations when they first joined. There was no orientation or it was limited to a high-level overview.I’ve worked with organizations with very formal nominations committees and procedures and I’ve worked with organizations on the other end of the spectrum, where new board members were added to the board throughout the year with little or no preparation, just to fill an empty seat.TipsSome tips are listed below to help guide a board’s nominations committee:Read the bylaws. They should state the responsibility of the nominations committee, the minimum and maximum number of board members, and when a slate of new directors and officers should be presented for a vote.The nominations committee may be called something else, but the duties remain the same; identifying, recruiting, and vetting potential board members. Nominations may be a standing committee or an ad hoc one, appointed by the board chair as needed.Assess the current board. Where are the gaps? Does the board need an attorney, a real estate specialist, a banker, or a community member? Use this information to guide your recruitment and avoid bringing on someone who will “just fill a seat.”Who are the donors and volunteers who have these attributes? Friends and colleagues are also a good source of potential board members but also identify those individuals outside your personal network. A good mix of different points of view can energizer a board.Recruit committee members. They can become board members later.