New “Building a Board” Resources for Nonprofits

Having started an organization, and working with emerging organizations, I know how difficult building a board can be. That’s why, over a year ago, my colleagues on Propel’s Strategic Services team set out to update a formerly print-only resource of ours called “Building a Board.” We are excited to start sharing more resources with you over the course of the coming months.

All resources on this topic can be found on our Resources page under the Building a Nonprofit Board category. This fall’s resources will focus on everything from job descriptions to onboarding.

Tools for Building Your Board: Three Phases

The Board of Directors consists of volunteers whose skills, experience, and networks contribute to achieving the organization’s mission and goals. Finding the right board members for your organization requires a strategic, well-organized process.

Below is an outline of a three-phase approach to building your board.  Resources released this month focus on the “Pre-recruitment” stage highlighted below.

Phase One: Pre-Recruitment

Lay the Foundation

Before you jump into board recruitment, it’s important to work from a strong foundation. The first step is to understand the roles and responsibilities of board members to both inform your expectations and understanding of the board’s legal and other duties and to help communicate clear expectations to prospective board members.
You’ll want to be sure to have a detailed board member job description as well as board officer and committee descriptions to ensure transparency up-front about what’s expected from board members.

Analyze Your Current Board and Define Recruitment Needs

Different skills and qualities are needed on your board at different organizational life stages, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of how your organization’s life stage impacts your desired board composition.

You’ll also want to assess what skills, qualities, networks, and perspectives you currently have on your board and identify and prioritize any gaps. A board profile matrix (coming in September) can help with these steps.

Many organizations seek to diversify their boards, but diversity cannot be separate from inclusion and belonging. Check back in September for our resource “Recruiting for Diversity.”

Phase Two: Recruitment

Recruiting board members is both a cultivation and vetting process. The key steps include:

• Identify and cultivate potential candidates
• Ask candidates to complete an application
• Interview candidates to assess match with desired skills, qualities, and/or perspectives
• Nominate potential board members
• Select via a formal vote at a board meeting

Phase Three: Onboarding

Onboarding new board members sets the stage for an engaged and effective board. In October, we will publish a resource that provides more information about board orientation and provide an outline of a sample initial orientation.  

Stay in the Loop

Make sure you sign up for our newsletter where we will announce new resources as they are released. We’re open to questions and feedback through this process and are so excited to be adding these resources to our free nonprofit resource library.