WORKSHOP
Recruitment & Onboarding
WORKSHOP
for an Engaged
Board
Friday, November 4th, 2011
www.new.org
© 2007-10 NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work, Inc.), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
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TRAINING AGENDA
•Board basics
•Organization lifecycles
•Standards of conduct
•Best practices
•Recruiting for Success
•Step-by-step process for recruiting board members
•Governance Committee
•Composition Analysis
•Cultivation
•Orientation
•Finding new board members
•Boardnetusa.org, Volunteermatch.org
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MISSION OF BOARDCONNECT
BoardConnect strengthens our
communities by enhancing the leadership
skills of individuals and connecting them
with nonprofit boards.
Our approach: We connect trained
individuals with trained nonprofit boards
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BOARD BASICS: AN OVERVIEW
•Life cycles and board roles
•Standards of conduct
•The work of the board
Not a typical nonprofit conference
room!
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LIFE STAGES AND BOARD ROLES
Organization Life Board Stage
Stage
Idea/Start-up
Organizing
Board
Growth
Governing
Board
Maturity
Review and
Renew/Decline
Board
Characteristics
Hands-on, fills role of staff
Staff implements
day-to-day activities; board
transitions to oversight
Board concentrates on planning,
oversight, fundraising
Board leads process of
renewal or dissolution
Source: Jay Connor, Collaboratory for Community Support, 2003.
Variations: Founding or Institutional Boards
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STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
“Board members need to
come prepared,
rise to the occasion,
work diligently as a group, and
expect to be intellectually taxed by
complex and consequential questions.”
Chait, Richard P., William P. Ryan and Barbara E. Taylor. Governance as
Leadership: Reframing the Work of Nonprofit Boards. BoardSource, 2005. P 180.
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STANDARDS OF CONDUCT (DUTIES)…
…expected when doing the work of the board
•Duty of Care
•Duty of Loyalty
•Duty of Obedience
•Duty of Confidentiality
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THE WORK OF THE BOARD
•Board Operations
•Strategic Planning
•Resource Development
•Oversight
•Ambassadorship
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THE WORK OF THE BOARD
•Board Operations
•Composition and Recruitment
•Orientation and Education
•Effectiveness
•Structure
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THE WORK OF THE BOARD
•Strategic Planning
•Provides focus and establishes priorities
•Creates a path for program and resource development
•Requested by funders
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THE WORK OF THE BOARD
•Resource Development
•Financial resources
•Human resources
•Physical resources
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THE WORK OF THE BOARD
•Oversight
•Financial oversight
•Program oversight
•Legal oversight
Best Practices: www.independentsector.org
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THE WORK OF THE BOARD
•Ambassadorship
•Advocate for mission
•Enhance public standing of organization
•Speak as a unit
•Develop marketing plan
•Maintain crisis management plan
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RECRUITING FOR SUCCESS
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RECRUITING FOR SUCCESS
•Convene governance committee
•Analyze board composition
•Prepare recruiting documents
•Identify and cultivate candidates
•Nominate, elect, orient and engage new members
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GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE*
•Enhances board composition, development and
effectiveness
•Updates and enforces board policies
•Creates and implements recruitment plan
•Leads orientation and education
•Leads board assessment
*Also known as Trusteeship or Nominating committee
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GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE, Cont.
•Process (see organization’s bylaws)
•How will full board participate?
•Checkpoints in process?
•Timing
•How far ahead of election will cultivation begin?
•Defining success
•What is size of recruit class?
•What are expected results for diversity, skills, experience,
etc?
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WHY DO YOU NEED YOUR BOARD?
•What is your strategic plan?
•What are the goals of your organization for the next
three years?
•What major activities will the board accomplish to
support the organization’s goals?
•What are the board’s goals for the next three
years?
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DEFINE THE PERFECT BOARD
•General composition, based on goals
•Skills, age, ethnicity, geography, gender, political affiliation
•Constituent representation
•Officer potential
•Skill coverage for board roles
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WORK STYLES
•Power brokers
•Expert advisors
•Managers / organizers
•Workers
•Decision-makers
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CONDUCT COMPOSITION ANALYSIS
•For existing board first
•For ideal board – how do they differ?
•Create wish-list for candidate recruitment and
selection
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THE LONG VIEW…
•When cultivating candidates, look for potential
officers, committee chairs and committee members
•Find ways to engage outgoing board members
•Advisory committees
•Task forces
•Ambassador group
•“Friends of” group
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RECRUITMENT TOOLS
•Cover letter
•Introduction to organization
•Reason for interest in candidate
•Invitation to discuss board opportunities
•Information packet
•Marketing and program materials
•Strategic plan
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RECRUITMENT TOOLS
•Board member job description
•Terms and term limits
•Fundraising and giving expectations
•Time commitment
•Event attendance
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FINDING CANDIDATES
•Current board member and staff contacts
•Volunteers within the organization
•Donors and funders
•Members
•Constituency groups
•Professionals working in mission area
•Service providers
•Online volunteer listings
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CANDIDATE QUALITIES
•Share the values of the organization
•Have the capacity for growth and development as a trustee
•Results-oriented
•Team player
•Have the time to be engaged
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FIRST CONTACT
•Email, telephone, letter
•One board member assigned as contact
•Avoids confusion
•Ensures consistent message
•Start with short conversations
•Make NO commitment
•Have more than one conversation before selection
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FACE – TO - FACE
•Meet with executive director and board chair or
chair of governance committee
•Review job description and expectations of board
members
•Recap why you’re recruiting candidates
•Explain nomination and election process
•Discuss general board challenges
•Decide on next contact before the meeting ends
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GETTING TO KNOW THEM
•Invite to events and programs
•Invite prospective candidate to serve on a
committee or task force
•Invite to a board meeting as an observer
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DUE DILIGENCE
•Check references
•Conduct a background check
•Conduct multiple interviews
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THE ORIENTATION SESSION
•Hold before candidate’s first board meeting
•Introduce to key board leaders and staff
•Tour the facility
•Give board manual
•Discuss organizational culture and common
terminology
•Discuss format of financial statements
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A GOOD ORIENTATION SESSION
•Informs
•Motivates
•Outlines processes / meeting format
•Answers key questions
•Builds team feelings
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THE KEY TO SUCCESS
•Assign new board member to committee(s)
•Assign board member as mentor to the new recruit
•Add new recruit to mailing and email lists prior to
first board meeting
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CONTINUING EDUCATION
•Gauge board member comfort with board roles via
annual or bi-annual assessments
•Provide internal and external education
•Internal: mission and programs, general board trends,
reading financial statements
•External: specialized training and publications on
fundraising, capital campaigns and financial oversight
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boardnetUSA
To facilitate communication between candidates and
nonprofits, BoardConnect uses boardnetUSA.org, a
national online tool where candidates and
organizations complete profiles and search for
potential matches.
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BOARDCONNECT SERVICES
•Public workshops and Webinars
•Individual board trainings
•Workshops for employee groups, associations etc
•The Board Room – forms, templates and policies
for nonprofit board governance
•Board360™ - affordable, informative board
assessment tool, with report and action plan
•Speed networking events in Fall and Spring
•On-demand Webinars
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THANK YOU !!
We’d love to hear from you!
Dan Robin
Program Associate
Email: drobin@new.org
Phone: 313-887-7788 x 300
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