Transcript
WEBVTT
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Always remember as a nonprofit leader, you cannot do this alone.
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You need others to join you in leading this important mission.
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One of your key tasks, and a crucial factor to the success of your organization, is to find and add qualified people to your organization's board.
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Welcome to the Practice of Nonprofit Leadership.
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I'm Tim Barnes and I'm Nathan Ruby Nathan.
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It's always exciting to watch a new nonprofit organization come together.
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There's usually so much passion and energy.
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Someone has a dream, a calling, a heart to make a difference, maybe a commitment to solve a problem, and in many occasions there aren't a lot of resources, but enthusiasm and passion works hard to make up for that, and so things get kicked off and it's time to make it formal and to register this organization as a 501c3 here in the US.
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One of the first requirements is to have a board.
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That's where it starts to get interesting.
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Yeah, for sure, tim, and you know, here in the States, most of the here in the United States nonprofit organizations 501c3s are registered in the state, and so most states have a requirement of a minimum of three board members to launch the organization.
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Certainly you can have more, but three is the minimum.
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And so the founder, executive director, whoever it is, they go out on a bid to find new board members.
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And it was like, well, you know, I think my, I think my brother-in-law will do it, and and you know the neighbor down the street, I told them they were doing it, so they would probably good.
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And, um, wait a minute, hey, you over there, do you have a pulse?
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Yes, yes, you do.
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Hey, why don't you be on my board?
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Uh, and well, yes, you do.
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Hey, why don't you be on my board?
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And well, we're off, we're ready to roll, tim.
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Yeah, and we get it.
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We've probably been there.
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You just want to get this organization going because there is so much important work to do, and that's how many small organizations get started.
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But once you're up and running and have been going for a while, it might be time to add additional members, or some of the initial members realize they really don't have the time or the energy to give what they thought they could to the organization, and so that leaves a need for new members.
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Yeah, tim, and I think the question that we're going to answer today is how do we determine, or how do you determine, as executive director, who I need to be on the board and how do I find them?
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So that's what we're going to be discussing today on this episode, and but before we jump into that, let's take a listen to this and we'll be right back.
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Tim and I have an exciting new feature to share with you.
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We'll be right back, tim and I have an exciting new feature to share with you.
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Well, thanks for that, nathan.
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We look forward to connecting with all of you who are listening to us, but for now, let's dive into our topic today.
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So, as Nathan said, we want to talk about adding and finding qualified board members for your organization, and so we're going to start by talking first of all, about who do I need and that's one of the key questions as you think about, hey, it's time to add board members, I need to be thinking about who do I need to be on this board.
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So there's a couple of different things to keep in mind.
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I think the first one is what expertise do I need?
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Do I need to define someone that has a particular expertise that will really benefit our organization?
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So, when it comes to expertise, it could be, first of all, a skill, like someone who has a finance background.
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That's always really helpful, because usually, when you're you know, most people starting organizations aren't always like the best financial people.
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They just have a passion to actually do program kind of things, and so having someone who understands how finances work is really helpful.
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Or I know, nathan, this is one that you talk a lot about too Someone who has some legal background.
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You want someone who's kind of looking out for your organization, and it could be marketing, fundraising, human resources.
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But what as an organization?
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Where are you at?
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What skills do you need to help you go forward in that?
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go forward in that.
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Yeah, and I think you know, tim, that that that is a area that so many executive directors just fail to spend enough time planning on.
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And you know if, if you are a uh, county historical society, well then you probably would want a, you know, the department chair of the local, of the history department, of the local university, right, that would be a great person to have on your board.
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If you're a, if you're a historical county historical society, it probably wouldn't make total sense to have a tree expert.
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You know what is it an arborist?
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You know somebody who's an expert in trees?
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Now, it doesn't mean that you wouldn't, because they may have a passion for local history and they may have done things, but that specific skill set doesn't necessarily transfer.
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But, on the other hand, if your organization is environmental, or if your organization is about reclaiming woodland area, okay, so let's flip that.
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So if your mission is to reclaim a woodland area, so if your mission is to reclaim a woodland area, is a history professor, is that skill going to help?
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Well, again, maybe, because maybe that individual person has a passion for the woodlands and maybe it is a good fit, but on the surface that's probably not the best fit.
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Would you want an arborist on your board if you're reclaiming woodland?
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Yeah, want an arborist on your board if you're reclaiming woodland?
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Yeah.
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So you really got to dig down into what skills do we need as an executive director.
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If I have a problem or an issue or a question and I want to go to an expert in that area, the best source you could have is a sitting board member.
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So you really have to think through what are those skills that I need that I know I need but I might need in the future.
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Well, I think you're even hinting on another piece of that, nathan not only skill, but it's also people who have special knowledge or experience around the problem that you're trying to solve, so it could be someone.
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Well, let's even talk about, nathan, what you do as an organization.
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You are focused on providing medical care to Haiti, and so that's a special field, a special kind of thing that you're doing.
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It would make sense and I know you do it would make sense to actually have doctors or nurses you know medical practitioners on your board because of their experience, because of their understanding Maybe not in Haiti, but they at least understand the medical kind of thing.
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So it could be.
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Whatever your organization is trying, the problem they're trying to solve, it would be good to have some people who have knowledge or experience around that or understanding the people, the benefactors, the people who benefit from your organization Having someone maybe they themselves have been a benefactor or maybe they have worked with with, uh, people who are receiving the services, and so that's another good place to look for people to be on your board as well.
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Yeah, tim, that's a great point and you know, I had that come up in my uh in my past uh, one of the past uh organizations I worked with and it was a homeless shelter, drug addiction recovery program and there was a donor, a pretty good sized donor.
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It was a foundation and part of their requirement was to have previous people who had come through the program to sit on the board come through the program to sit on the board, another opportunity to have them be part of board meetings from time to time, or something like that to get their involvement.
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But we're talking about, as you think about who you need on your board.
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We're talking about expertise, focused, and that could be someone that has a specific skill or an experience or knowledge of the kinds of things that you are working to solve.
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You know, another key person that you may be looking for is someone who I'm going to use the word influencer, and I know that has TikTok and all kinds of stuff coming to your mind but that's not exactly what I'm talking about.
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But an influencer is someone who is connected to resources and or maybe connected to the community.
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They have relationships with vital people or they understand who some of the people are that could contribute either financially or in other ways.
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But you're looking for someone who can be an influencer to help make your organization known in the community as well.
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So expertise, influence we've mentioned already maybe somebody who has experience as a benefactor from your organization.
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But the other thing and Nathan knows this, I'm pretty strong about this one when I go after someone for a board, I want someone, if at all possible, I want someone who's connected to our organization, and what I mean by that is, first of all, I want someone who really resonates with our mission.
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I'm not just looking to grab anybody.
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I want someone who kind of gets us or at least is willing to have the conversation about what we're trying to do and there's a resonance with the focus of our organization.
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And maybe it's looking for someone who is already a donor, someone who's giving or someone who at least is maybe on our newsletter.
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They're receiving our newsletter, they show up at events, they're at the golf tournament or they're at our banquet or they come to our coffees or whatever, but someone who is kind of in the mix.
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I just think that's really important and the reason I say that.
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And, nathan, I'm sure you have some input in this too.
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But I have served in organizations where we focus primarily on just getting people on the board who didn't necessarily resonate with our mission or who didn't understand it or didn't have any experience with it, and we brought enough of the board members on that.
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All at once the trajectory of the organization started to shift and it moved away from the mission of the organization, and it was because we didn't take enough time to make sure that the people really understood what we were doing and resonated with that.
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What are your thoughts about that, ethan?
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Yeah, I think so many times you really need to do a mindset shift.
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And I think often as executive directors, you know we've got a board seat that's empty, or you know, we know that one's coming up and so we know we've got to get somebody in place.
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And and Even if you're talking to somebody who is an expertise, they have a skill, they have knowledge, they have influence, they can write checks, they have some capacity to give, they're like the perfect person that you'd be looking for.
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I think so often executive directors have those conversations and it's done in the framework of the volunteer, of the potential board member, saying, okay, well, you convince me to join your board, and I think that part of the conversation is that way.
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But then another part of that conversation, you've got to flip that and say, okay, potential board member, you're interviewing with me, I'm the interviewer.
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Why should I let you on my board?
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Because my board is sacred and my board is so important and we are doing such good work that you need to interview with me to get on our board.
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And in that mindset then you could start to drill down in, as know our, our, you know, as you know, our vision and mission is X.
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You know what?
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What are some of the things that you've done in your past that are connected with X and so, obviously, like Tim just said like you just said, tim, if, if they are already active with the organization, I think that puts you a step forward in that, because they wouldn't be showing up to events, they wouldn't be writing checks, they wouldn't be doing those things if they weren't involved in what you're doing as a vision and mission.
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But I do think you could pick off some good ones who maybe haven't been connected, but they have been.
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Oh well, I've been involved in the issue of X for decades and this is the work I've done and these are the things that I've done.
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That probably qualifies, but I do think you have to have this mindset of sitting on your board is the prize and the prospective board member is trying to win that prize.
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If you don't have that mindset, you're going to end up with wrong people on that board.
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So you may be driving, listening to our podcast, or you may be out taking a walk or jogging, and we're so happy that you're listening to us taking us on your journey, wherever that may be today, but when you get a chance, maybe you pull over, or maybe once you get back to your office or your home or wherever, I would encourage you to sit down and take a piece of paper, or maybe on your phone, and start putting down who are the people you need, what is the expertise, what is the skill that you need for your board.
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So once you know that, then here's the second question I know who I need.
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Where do I find them?
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Where do I find these people?
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Here's a couple places that you might find other board members.
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So the first one is your current board members are a great resource to find new board members.
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They already know the vision, hopefully, and the mission they should.
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They're not trying to replace them, because they don't, but being able to go to your board who understands the organization, who are in there and encourage them, who are they connected to?
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Who in their mind might they be thinking about?
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That would be a good fit for the board Not only their skills and their experience, but how about their personalities or how they would fit into it?
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So going to other board members and saying who do you know, who do you think would be a good fit, is a great, a great first step.
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A second, a second one is where do I find them?
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How about your donors?
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You know, giving money doesn't always qualify you to be someone to serve on the board, but it is a good place to start If they meet the other criteria.
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I mean, they're giving, so they must appreciate, they must sense that you're doing good work.
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So taking a look at donors would be another good place to start, as we already mentioned.
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A third one would be who's already connected to our organization?
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Who's getting our newsletter?
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Who's showing up at our events?
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Do they meet the criteria?
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Are they already committed to the work?
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Another place would be even how about your volunteers?
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Are there any volunteers?
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Again, people who are making a commitment for no other reason than they just appreciate what you're doing and they're showing up.
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Maybe they would be a good pool to look at.
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The last one that I would put here is community connections.
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Who in the community might be a good person, a good fit?
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Now, that assumes and Nathan, I know you're big on this.
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That assumes that you're actually in the community, that you are connecting with people at events and gatherings and you have associations with people, events and gatherings and you have associations with with people, but those?
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That's another good place to start.
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Who are you?
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Who are you connecting with, nathan?
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You want to say anything about any of those?
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Yeah, I, I think that is the finding the right board members.
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Um, it's just, it's about networking and the the the best way.
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Uh, and those are, and those are four great categories.
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I don't know where else I would go, but it just involves having conversations and just asking the question hey, we've got a board seat coming up in the next year or two.
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We're looking for good, qualified people to fill those seats.
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You know, we're looking for people that love the mission, love the organization, love what that we're doing.
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Here Are the three or four skill sets that we're looking for.
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We're looking for X, y and Z.
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Who do you know?
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Do you know people that are that would fill those spots?
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And I think also the other.
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The other thing that I would add to that, um, is you know, if you're looking for I'm just going to pull something out a real estate agent.
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That's the skill set.
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You're going to do some land acquisition in the future.
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A real estate agent is one of the skills you're looking for.
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You don't want the person who just got their real estate license three days ago.
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You want the owner of the largest real estate company in town.
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You want to go to the top of the food chain and get the highest, most influential skilled person that you can find, and even if you have to network to them.
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So, anyway, that would be my, that'd be my add on for that.
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That's primary and then secondary is do they get you?
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Not only do they have that skill, but do they really have the passion, do they get who you are?
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That even if you weren't getting land, would they still?
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Would they still be a good candidate?
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Weren't getting land, would they still be a good candidate?
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Don't wait until you need a board member to start your list, and that oftentimes is when a board gets caught off.
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Guard is oh no, we need another board, someone's resigning or it's time.
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You know, maybe you have terms and someone's rolling off oh man, we got to find someone.
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As I said earlier, I think you should keep a list, and so, after you're listening to this podcast, I would encourage you to keep a book, keep a thing on your phone with two lists One is what do I need?
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And two, who are the people I need to be looking at?
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So as you meet people, you put their name down and you begin to have connections, relationship with them, so that when it's people, you put their name down and you begin to have connections, relationship with them, so that when it's time, you can bring it on.
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Yeah, this is another thing of all the things that executive directors need to be doing every day.
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This is just one more to add to the list.
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If you have a board member who terms out or resigns they're moving and so they're resigning and you sit down at your desk and say, wow, I'm going to have to fill a board seat, you're behind the game.
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It is every day.
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Every person you meet you should be.
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Is this a board possibility, potential and keeping your list and networking and getting closer that should be an everyday thing, not a oh gosh, I need to fill this seat by next December.
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You're behind the game.
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Yeah, and not to put another burden on you.
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It's like, oh no, here's another thing.
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But it can be very natural and that's why, again, organizing yourself, keeping a list on your phone so you always have it there in one of your notes, so you have this list, and so as you meet people, it's not like, oh, I got to remember that when I go back, it's just, it becomes a very natural thing to keep that list on a regular basis.
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So always remember, as a nonprofit leader, you cannot do this alone.
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You need others to join you in leading this important mission, and one of your key tasks, and a crucial factor to the success of your organization, is to find and add qualified people to your organization's board.
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Know who you need, know where to look and make sure you're clear in the qualities you're looking for.
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Know where to look and make sure you're clear in the qualities you're looking for.
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A strong, committed board of the right people can make a huge difference in the success of an organization.
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Thank you for listening today.
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If you are benefiting from what's being shared in this podcast, we'd like to ask you to share a review on the platform that you're listening to us on.
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Let us know how the podcast is benefiting you.
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If you would like to get in touch with us, our contact information can be found in the show notes.
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That's all for today.
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Until next time.
