Q: 

"I work in the nonprofit sector, and have an accounting background. Because of that, I often get asked to join boards. Everyone seems to need a treasurer, and when I casually meet board chairs or EDs, they seem willing to recruit me on the spot, without thinking about fit or alignment at all. I’m not interested in joining a board right now, so I always politely decline. But I feel bad, because I know that small organizations struggle to attract qualified people to their boards. I often suggest to organizations to look within their existing networks, because those people are already familiar with the work of the organization. But I know that in some cases, existing supporters may not have the right skill set for a board member. What tips do you have for smaller organizations to find the right people for their board?"

A: 

If I had an enemy, I would invite them to a nonprofit networking event and tape a sign to their back that said “CPA with free time”. Then I would stand back and watch all the hungry board recruiters pounce like a horde of zombies. Just kidding. Treasurers really are the most hunted creatures in the nonprofit wild, and for good reason - financial skills are valuable and in demand. But the treasurer shortage is really just one part of a bigger problem with the way we recruit board members in general.

Why Boards Struggle with Recruitment

There are some good reasons why nonprofits might struggle to find qualified board directors; after all, volunteerism rates are declining, and adults report feeling pressed for time in between working (sometimes multiple gigs), parenting, caring for seniors, and commuting (hello, ‘back to office’ orders). Organizations that are led by and serving historically marginalized communities may face systemic challenges recruiting board directors. And nonprofits located in smaller, rural or remote communities often share how challenging it can be to recruit with a relatively smaller or more geographically dispersed pool of candidates to draw from. All of these barriers are real, and make board recruitment challenging for organizations. And yet, there’s more to this story.

I have worked on several large-scale projects that provide governance training to individuals who are interested in volunteering on a nonprofit board. And in each case, the biggest challenge these programs face is connecting graduates with board roles. These are highly motivated, well-trained individuals who are eager to volunteer, but they struggle to find boards to join. When so many boards are struggling with recruitment, there’s obviously a big disconnect here. And the good news is that nonprofits can do a lot to address that gap. 

The Big Disconnect: Eager Volunteers, Hard-to-Join Boards

Because if we’re being real, many organizations make it really difficult to apply to their board. There’s no info about it on the website. The process is handled informally through existing networks. The call goes out once a year at an unpredictable time, with a short window to apply. The application is too onerous. No one follows up with applicants. Or they do follow up, but their process is biased or ineffective, turning people off. 

A lot like the ‘hidden job market’, the board recruitment world exists inside a black box that is hard to find, let alone enter, for those who aren’t already ‘in the know’. And I would say that most of the time, it’s simply because organizations haven’t taken the time to establish a meaningful recruitment process for their board. So how do we open up that black box? By building a recruitment process that’s effective, consistent, and easy to navigate.

Build a Recruitment Process (And Stick to It!)

For most organizations, the nominations process is run every year, usually by volunteers who turn over every few years. When there isn’t a documented process in place, people have to just make it up as they go, reinventing the wheel each year. Not only is that wildly inefficient, but it can lead to a pretty ineffective process as well. If your board is struggling with recruitment, start by reviewing, revising and documenting your process!

A board recruitment process doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should touch on the following:

• Succession planning: How will you track the number of board seats that will need to be filled? How will you track which officer and committee roles will need to be filled? What process will you use to determine if internal candidates (i.e. existing board directors or committee volunteers) can step into any of the vacant roles? 
• Board composition: How will you know who to recruit to your board? What are the skills, experiences, perspectives, and identities needed around the table? What kinds of leadership competencies or personal orientations are important? A board matrix tool can be helpful here, but remember to take a balanced approach, using a DEI lens.
• Outreach strategy: How will you get your call for applications out there? Who are the audiences you’re trying to reach and how do you reach them? How will you ensure that you’re reaching beyond the direct networks of current board members? What messages and materials will you share?
• Applications process: What information do you actually need from candidates? What format do you really need to access that information in? What will the application review process look like? How will you vet your applicants? How will you score or compare applications? Who should be involved in this process? How will you protect privacy and manage personal data shared through the process?
• Formalizing your slate: What steps are needed to bring the finalized slate of candidates to the board and/or membership? How much notice is needed? What do you need to do to communicate with successful and unsuccessful candidates? Will you retain the information of unsuccessful candidates for future rounds of recruitment?
• Evaluation: How will you set goals for the annual process, and how will you know if you’re on track throughout, or successful in the end? When will you gather feedback from applicants and other actors involved? How will you track lessons learned or record process improvements for next time?

Once you’ve mapped out these steps, you’ll have the bones of a solid process. It’s a foundational first step that will absolutely make your recruitment easier. Of course, even the best process won’t magically fill your board seats. So in addition to having a thoughtful, effective, and well-documented process, there are a few other strategies that can help address common recruitment challenges. 

Other Ways to Strengthen Your Board Recruitment

• Keep the board small: You don't need 12 people to govern a small nonprofit when six could do it just as effectively. There are many advantages to having a smaller board, and fewer vacancies to fill is definitely one of them. Think quality over quantity.
• Build communications assets for the board: Communications is half the battle with recruitment. Have good outreach materials that you can tweak and leverage each year. Make it easy for anyone to find information on how and when to apply to the board, and make sure that info is available year-round. Better yet, accept applications throughout the year, and if you’re not in a recruiting cycle, take the time for a call or a coffee with the interested party and follow up later.
• Build a board pipeline: Use a limited number of thoughtful, effective board committees to build a leadership pipeline for the organization. Enabling volunteers who are not directors to serve on board committees allows you to get to know candidates, and it also allows candidates to get to know your governance; it’s win-win! BUT beware that if your committees suck (and so many of them do!), this strategy will work against you.

• Think about retention: If directors are regularly leaving the board before their terms are complete, you may have a retention problem. Make sure the board experience is enjoyable -  or at least satisfying - for volunteers. Identify and address barriers to engagement, culture issues and friction points; think: meeting times, in-person vs. remote meetings, frequency of meetings, meeting norms, etc. It’s always easier to retain a great director than it is to find and train a new one. 
• Steward board relationships: Make sure you have built-in ways to show appreciation for existing board directors, and steward those who have left the board. These are highly engaged volunteers, and their support for your organization doesn't have to end with their board term. These volunteers can become valuable champions for your organization, and if they’ve had a positive experience on the board, they will likely refer new candidates your way.
• Bring an equity lens to your process: It’s really important to apply a DEI lens to your board recruitment process, but you should also be looking at your orientation, board communications and meetings from this perspective as well. Do a full audit of your board experience and identify where there are barriers to entry, barriers to engagement, and barriers to retention; we know that when people from historically-marginalized communities do join boards, they are more likely to be pushed out or leave prematurely. 
• Recruit for values, not cred: I see far too much credential creep in board postings, and many organizations prioritize the wrong things when it comes to recruitment, like access to wealth, social or political capital, and extensive work experience. What you really need to focus on in recruitment is values alignment and a growth mindset. If you have decent policy infrastructure, a thoughtful orientation process and access to some basic governance training, most people can be taught what they need to know to govern a nonprofit. And specific technical expertise (i.e. legal, HR) can always be accessed when it’s needed by hiring professional advisors; we’ve bought into this idea that every board needs a lawyer, accountant, HR expert and marketing guru. This is simply not true, and it’s not the way to build a strong board.

At the end of the day, effective board recruitment isn’t about luck, it’s about intention and structure. So stop pitching every accountant you meet at a networking event, and don’t get too caught up in finding the ‘perfect’ candidate. Build some infrastructure that will enable you to consistently connect with values-aligned individuals, and then set them up for success with role clarity, governance training, and some solid processes.

Big Takeaways:

• Board recruitment can be challenging, especially for systemically disadvantaged organizations and nonprofits in rural or remote communities. But there are many things nonprofits can do to make their board recruitment process more accessible.
• Document your recruitment process so your board is able to manage annual recruitment cycles without having to reinvent the wheel every time.
• Make recruitment easier for your org; having a smaller board, retaining existing directors, and focusing on values alignment over professional credentials will lower the pressure for recruitment.