6 Steps to Turbocharge Your Board Recruitment

A thriving, engaged board of directors is the centerpiece of many nonprofits’ fundraising. But the first step in building a fundraising board is recruitment, and many groups are at a loss about the best ways to do that.

Those in the business of finding board members have good news for nonprofits hungry for new blood. “So many incredibly talented business leaders would love to serve a cause,” says Rob Acton, founder and CEO of Cause Strategy Partners, a consultancy based in New York that specializes in nonprofit board matching and training. “They would love to find a nonprofit at the center of their passion. They want to join a board, but they just don’t know the process.”

Acton says too many nonprofit leaders start their recruiting too timidly, believing they will be asking a lot of a busy executive, when the opposite is often true. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been amazed how quickly we get to ‘yes’ with somebody,” he says.

Along with having a positive attitude about the prospect of attracting board members, here’s what consultants and other experts recommend for building a robust recruiting strategy.

Lay the Groundwork

Consultants often do a deep dive on nonprofits before seeking prospective board members for them. “We want to make sure that the places where we send our candidates are well-positioned to bring on a board member and be able to engage them right out of the box,” says Derik Timmerman, managing partner of the Valtas Group, an executive search firm based in Bellevue, Wash. Organizations doing their own recruiting can conduct a similar self-examination in advance. Unless your nonprofit is a start-up, the experts say, you should be able to show proof of its impact and sturdy finances. No one wants to join a board to bail an organization out of a deficit.

Your group should carry a “directors and officers insurance” policy that protects board members from lawsuits. Term limits should be spelled out. And experts recommend against seeking new board members at the same time as recruiting for an executive position, such as a CEO, a chief financial officer, or a chief development officer, so prospective board members will know the leaders of the organization they will be working with.

By having the groundwork set, your nonprofit can move quickly when a board seat opens. Consultants recommend keeping an active pipeline of potential board members, including volunteers, existing donors, and those who have donated pro bono services.

Boards or recruitment committees can have meetings to brainstorm prospects, with each member bringing five to 10 suggestions. “There’s no downtime for getting quality board members,” says David Lewis, the founder and CEO of Board Member Connect, a company based in Grand Rapids, Mich., that recruits trustees for nonprofits.

Prioritize Passion for Your Mission

Experts say the most important quality in a prospect is personal investment in your cause. “You need to find people who are passionate, who can literally light people’s souls on fire about the mission, the cause that you’re fighting for,” says Jeremy Cramer, founder and CEO of Exponential Philanthropy, in Needham, Mass.

After determining a prospective board member’s commitment to your mission, Cramer says, the most important question to ask them is what they want to get out of their service. “The boards that I’ve been most privileged to sit on are the boards where I learn the most, because that brings me the most joy,” he says.

Acton says a board member who is passionate is “much more prepared to be a meaningful giver and fundraiser.” In Cause Strategy Partners’ BoardLead program, which has placed about 3,000 people on nonprofit boards over 10 years, “It’s our No. 1 matching criteria,” he says.

Prioritizing passion can mean ignoring other attractive traits. “When most people recruit board members, what they do is look for people who have famous names or famous wallets and try to back them into the mission, because that’s so tempting,” says Wayne Olson, chief development officer at the Washington Policy Institute, a nonprofit that supports journalists who report on “faith, family, and freedom.”

“People go for the money instead of the passion,” he adds, “and it fails every single time.”

At the Valtas Group, Timmerman has a different spin on the search for zeal. He emphasizes looking for “professionalized passion.”

“It’s a combination of caring deeply about the mission that the organization is undertaking,” he explains, “but also caring deeply about governance and running a successful nonprofit.”

Appreciate a Variety of Professional Skills

Popular choices for trustees include lawyers, investment advisers, and accountants, who nonprofits hope will bring their connections, gravitas, and free expertise to their board roles. Jennifer Nohelty, chair of the board of the Washington Policy Institute, suggests adding some marketing experts to the mix, because they will think creatively about communicating your organization’s mission and may be natural fundraisers.

Some people could be excellent board prospects even if they don’t have high salaries. For example, Nohelty says, church secretaries interact with an entire congregation and thrive as connectors to those with the influence and capacity to give. At service organizations, people helped by the work, such as the parents of a child with special needs, may have the passion, the knowledge, and zeal to fundraise, she suggests.

Don’t Overly Focus on Fundraising Experience

Most nonprofits embarking on recruiting efforts say they want board members who are already major donors, have strong fundraising experience, and are dying to join their board. “If you can get those people, amazing,” says Nanette R. Fridman, whose consulting and coaching practice in Boston, the Effect Collective, focuses on governance and fundraising. However, she likes to work with prospective board members who are willing to learn. “If you’re in sales,” she says, “I can make you into a fundraiser. If you’re a natural storyteller and you love people, come on over.”

Fundraising or the ability to give, of course, are not the only qualities organizations look for in board members: Many create a list of skills they want before they start recruiting.

Nohelty, of the Washington Policy Institute, says if she has the choice between board members with fundraising experience and those without, “I’ll take beginners all day long.”

“Who is going to be a better golfer,” she says. “Somebody who’s got lots of bad habits and goes to a coach, or somebody who’s never golfed? Probably somebody who’s never golfed because they don’t have the bad habits you have to retrain.”

Consultants say that finding fundraising board members doesn’t just mean finding people to do “the ask.” Also valuable are board members who can help prospect for donors, enjoy entertaining or events, can find businesses to donate materials or services, or like cultivating relationships. “We need to broaden what it means to find people who will help us with fundraising,” says Fridman.

Timmerman at the Valtas Group believes fundraising can be taught, but he looks for “intrinsic fearlessness” that will drive someone to push out of their comfort zone in service of an organization. He role-plays in interviews to check for that trait. “If that unteachable piece isn’t there, that fundraising fearlessness, it’s really hard to instill it,” he says.

Be Clear Where Board Members Fit In

When it comes to board service, you should be clear about your nonprofit’s expectations, says Fridman. That is especially true when informing prospective board members about fundraising needs, whether it is a fixed “give or get” dollar amount, a request for a “personally meaningful” gift, or a commitment to make the organization one of their top three causes.

Nohelty, of the Washington Policy Institute, says conversations about expected donations can be diplomatically framed. She might ask a prospective board member, “Are you giving to other organizations now? What level are you giving at, if I may ask?”

She might also frame the organization’s perspective with a statement such as, “We would love to see you as a significant donor, but realize it may take time to get you to be that significant donor.”

You should also check the chemistry of prospective board recruits with leadership, program staff, and other board members before extending the invitation to join.

There are several ways to get an early feel for a board member’s potential fit, experts say. Some recommend inviting prospects to observe a board meeting and then asking for their thoughts. You also can invite them to witness your organization in action, particularly if you are a service group.

Christine Martin, a founder and partner of Valtas Group, recommends having potential board members serve on a committee to see how they handle it. “It’s better to know someone will not be active before you invite them onto a governance seat,” she says.

Avoid Common Mistakes

The most serious error in recruiting board members, multiple consultants say, is backpedaling on your requirements. Don’t say that the role will only involve attending four short meetings a year, for example, when the hope is members will roll up their sleeves, attend working groups, and participate actively in strategizing and fundraising.

Another mistake, consultants say, is relying too much on veterans of multiple boards, who may be tapped out. Fridman suggests seeking out younger, up-and-coming professionals who might have “a long arc” with the organization. Lewis, of Board Member Connect, believes another common misstep is when board chairs or CEOs ask the current board to tap into their networks. Those people may join out of personal obligation, not passion. “It becomes easy to just take a person who expresses some interest,” Lewis says, “no matter the degree of that interest, and invite them onto the board, because it’s the path of least resistance.”

Recruiters also need to remember that not all prospective trustees want to use their core professional skills on a board. They may be seeking some variety. Fridman recalls a time when a woman with a finance background joined a nonprofit that assumed she would want to review finances. It turned out she moonlit as a blogger and wanted to help the organization with its blog.

Finally, experts say you can benefit from reconsidering your attitudes about boards. Many nonprofit leaders view their boards as “a necessary evil or an impediment, something that has to be dealt with,” says Olson, of the Washington Policy Institute. “We’d all be better off,” he adds, “if we invested more in recruiting the right board members, energizing the board and empowering them to help us and guide us.”